I first want to apologize for missing last week. It is not that I haven't been reading because I have been doing a lot of that. But my time for writing decreased greatly as my number of work hours doubled. But, I am adjusting to my new schedule and should have plenty of time for writing. Anyway, this week, I want to talk about the book I just finished: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
So, as far as plot goes, I am certain most of you are familiar with the story of Dorian Gray, the man who owns a painting of himself that ages while he remains young. It is a wonderful story really but there is so much more to it than aging. Rather, the painting begins to reflect the evil and sin that collects in his soul. The story starts out with a young Dorian Gray posing for a painting for Basil Hallward. Upon completing the painting, Basil raves about how it is his greatest work and a close friend of theirs, Lord Henry Wotton, comments to Gray about how he should cherish such youth and beauty while he has it. Well, Gray begins truly pondering over Lord Henry's statement and finds himself wishing to stay as youthful as he is in the painting. But, feeling it is a frivolous wish, Gray takes the painting home and thinks nothing more of it.
As time moves on, Gray falls in love with a young actress, only to break her heart the moment they are meant to run away together; the young girl kills herself in grief. This guilt of her death begins weighing on Gray and, when he looks at the painting, he finds the features of it have changed. They seem harsher, more evil. And this is just the beginning. Through the years, Gray drowns himself in every pleasure known to man, never showing remorse and never aging. And as he continues in debauchery, the painting becomes more and more grotesque. Eventually, the painting drives him to madness, forcing him into an action from which he never recovers. I don't wish to spoil what this action is for those who haven't read it. But I hope I have intrigued you enough to go and read it for yourself.
Now, I have been a longtime Oscar Wilde fan. I find him insanely witty and his writing never fails to make me smile. But up until now, I have never read The Picture of Dorian Gray. I felt I knew the story and always seemed to put other books ahead of it. But I was gravely mistaken and there is so much more to the plot than I imagined. What intrigued me the most was the way the painting reflected not only age but sin and darkness as well. The idea of a painting showing the true depravity of the soul of a person is something that gives me shivers and makes me wonder what my own painting would look like. In this book, Wilde addresses not only social issues but what it truly means to experience pleasure in life and at what cost it comes at.
While this book can, at times, be a slow read due to its depth and elevated speech, it is one I highly recommend. There is no doubt in my mind that it belongs on the list and I hope everyone picks it up at least once in their lifetime. And if you do read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Until next week...
Happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment