This one has been on my list for some time, and I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I haven't read it in its entirety until now. That said, many people seem to get much more out of it than I did. It is a complex and important novel, nonetheless, with this edition enhanced by an excellent introduction. I tend to save reading introductions and critiques until after I've finished the book itself, typically, as I like to read something of great significance without being biased by others' opinions to avoid viewing the text through the lens of their (usually very competent) analyses. I concur with many of the observations the editor made in this case, so I'm gratified to see that I'm at least on the right track: to that end, I think there are a couple of passages which offer insight far more fully than I could hope to. For example:
"Wilde's novel goes further in blurring the distinctions between high and low, respectable and outcast. For while this supposed affinity between art and criminality [which certainly came to apply in Oscar Wilde's case], idle hedonism and actual delinquency, would not shock or trouble a large portion of the respectable and industrious classes at the same time (who suspected as much and had their suspicions confirmed in some learned quarters), Lord Henry's rapier wit threatens to indict a much larger section of the social spectrum... Therefore, while Dorian constitutes an extreme combination of cultivation and corruption (the embodiment of the idea of 'Decadence'), in some respects this supreme hypocrite is, as Henry puts it, 'the type of what the age is searching for and what it is afraid it has found.'" (xiii)
"At the center of the narrative is a study of an individual struggling with the consequences of his actions, and coming face to face with the reality of his 'soul.' Wilde's study of conscience and corruption can also be understood in both 'metaphysical' and 'psychological' terms." (xxvii)
"The Picture of Dorian Gray is therefore a work that can be read in a number of ways. It is an enduring parable on the corruption of the soul and a study in psychological collapse, a compendium of the beliefs of its period, and an exercise in literary decadence, conspicuous in its exotica and esoteria, and defining the Zeitgeist of the so-called fin de sicle." (xxviii)
Incisive insight, indeed. As stated above, this is a complex novel with many interwoven themes, both concrete and abstract. First, many have argued, including at Wilde's "indecency" trial, that there is a distinct homoerotic undercurrent, which is much more pronounced in the original version of the story, before it was released to the mass market. For that reason, it's often considered in some respects a veiled semi-autobiography, with the art described in the story serving as a substitute for the novel itself.
Wilde's magnum opus is certainly a product of its time, as the editor noted, in that it is a prime example of the prevailing thought of the day. It thus serves as an expose of the bored aristocrat upper class, even Dorian, in his "innocence lost." As the story begins, he is a beautiful innocent, albeit one who shows the makings of decadence and corruption, as he is in love with his own image. Over time, however, he sinks into despair, seemingly, as one of the characters notes, dying of ennui, after submerging himself in all the aimless, vain pursuits of the day: art, tapestries, music, theater, and other trappings of civilization which Dorian eventually finds are vacuous and meaningless without a life of higher purpose.
One thing that really struck me: its Classical overtures are overt. It's essentially the story of Narcissus with a twist: a beautiful yet callow, shallow youth falls in love with his own reflection, in the form of a painting, but also becomes obsessed with another object of beauty and genius, Sybil, who becomes his singular fixation. This nineteenth-century Narcissus likewise destroys himself, and the object of his obsession, albeit in a more protracted manner. I'd really like write an article on the Classical themes of all these 19th-century works someday. The references are a subtext in and of themselves, but even the overall themes and form of the narrative are heavily influenced by antiquity. There is even the rather theatrical nature of the text. It's unclear whether this was intentionally ironic or by design, that the object of obsession is an actress. The novel is very much written like a play, moving from scene to scene.
This is a more rambling and disorganized "review" of this capable novel, more a series of observations than critiques, but as so much has been written about it, I wanted to just offer my few thoughts. I tend to write novella in these reviews, so I'll try to keep it brief. As it's so representative of the genre of the day, I would recommend it as an important historical work, one which eerily and presciently predates the downfall of its creator, who is likewise destroyed by his own creation, having been driven from polite society and dying essentially in exile in 1900, at the tender age of 45.
------------
Yes, Dorian, you will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.
"Wilde's novel goes further in blurring the distinctions between high and low, respectable and outcast. For while this supposed affinity between art and criminality [which certainly came to apply in Oscar Wilde's case], idle hedonism and actual delinquency, would not shock or trouble a large portion of the respectable and industrious classes at the same time (who suspected as much and had their suspicions confirmed in some learned quarters), Lord Henry's rapier wit threatens to indict a much larger section of the social spectrum... Therefore, while Dorian constitutes an extreme combination of cultivation and corruption (the embodiment of the idea of 'Decadence'), in some respects this supreme hypocrite is, as Henry puts it, 'the type of what the age is searching for and what it is afraid it has found.'" (xiii)
"At the center of the narrative is a study of an individual struggling with the consequences of his actions, and coming face to face with the reality of his 'soul.' Wilde's study of conscience and corruption can also be understood in both 'metaphysical' and 'psychological' terms." (xxvii)
"The Picture of Dorian Gray is therefore a work that can be read in a number of ways. It is an enduring parable on the corruption of the soul and a study in psychological collapse, a compendium of the beliefs of its period, and an exercise in literary decadence, conspicuous in its exotica and esoteria, and defining the Zeitgeist of the so-called fin de sicle." (xxviii)
Incisive insight, indeed. As stated above, this is a complex novel with many interwoven themes, both concrete and abstract. First, many have argued, including at Wilde's "indecency" trial, that there is a distinct homoerotic undercurrent, which is much more pronounced in the original version of the story, before it was released to the mass market. For that reason, it's often considered in some respects a veiled semi-autobiography, with the art described in the story serving as a substitute for the novel itself.
Wilde's magnum opus is certainly a product of its time, as the editor noted, in that it is a prime example of the prevailing thought of the day. It thus serves as an expose of the bored aristocrat upper class, even Dorian, in his "innocence lost." As the story begins, he is a beautiful innocent, albeit one who shows the makings of decadence and corruption, as he is in love with his own image. Over time, however, he sinks into despair, seemingly, as one of the characters notes, dying of ennui, after submerging himself in all the aimless, vain pursuits of the day: art, tapestries, music, theater, and other trappings of civilization which Dorian eventually finds are vacuous and meaningless without a life of higher purpose.
One thing that really struck me: its Classical overtures are overt. It's essentially the story of Narcissus with a twist: a beautiful yet callow, shallow youth falls in love with his own reflection, in the form of a painting, but also becomes obsessed with another object of beauty and genius, Sybil, who becomes his singular fixation. This nineteenth-century Narcissus likewise destroys himself, and the object of his obsession, albeit in a more protracted manner. I'd really like write an article on the Classical themes of all these 19th-century works someday. The references are a subtext in and of themselves, but even the overall themes and form of the narrative are heavily influenced by antiquity. There is even the rather theatrical nature of the text. It's unclear whether this was intentionally ironic or by design, that the object of obsession is an actress. The novel is very much written like a play, moving from scene to scene.
This is a more rambling and disorganized "review" of this capable novel, more a series of observations than critiques, but as so much has been written about it, I wanted to just offer my few thoughts. I tend to write novella in these reviews, so I'll try to keep it brief. As it's so representative of the genre of the day, I would recommend it as an important historical work, one which eerily and presciently predates the downfall of its creator, who is likewise destroyed by his own creation, having been driven from polite society and dying essentially in exile in 1900, at the tender age of 45.
------------
Yes, Dorian, you will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.
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