"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is an Irish Gothic novel of 1890, written by the renowned Irish writer Oscar Wilde and first published on June 20, 1890 as a short story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Controversial, censored and considered a classic in the history of literature.
Synopsis.
Basil Hallward is an artist who is strongly impressed by the aesthetic beauty of a young man named Dorian Gray and begins to admire him. Basil paints a portrait of the young man. Chatting in Hallward's garden, Dorian meets a friend of Basil's and begins to be captivated by Lord Henry's worldview. Expounding a new kind of hedonism, Lord Henry points out that "the only thing worthwhile in life is beauty, and the gratification of the senses." Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian wishes to always be the age he was when Basil painted him in the picture. While he forever maintains the same appearance as the painting, the figure portrayed ages for him. His quest for pleasure leads him to a series of acts of lust; but the portrait serves as a reminder of the effects of his soul, where the portrait will bear the burden of his aging and his sins.
What will you find?
A work harshly criticized in its beginnings that shows us the consequences of taking a look inside the "mirror" and not seeing beyond our own reflection.
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" audiobook.
Original publication.
Literary analysis (Premium).
