Portrait of Dorian Gray

Author: Oscar Wilde
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: This book is a classic masterpiece for college students learning English, with concise and easy-to-understand content that fully reflects the characteristics of British and American literature. The Picture of Dorian Gray is Wilde's only novel and a comprehensive embodiment of his aesthetic philosophy, making it recognized as a masterpiece in aestheticist fiction. The story revolves around the young and stunningly handsome Dorian Gray. The beautiful Gray immediately captures the artistic imagination of Lord Henry Wotton and becomes his favorite model. The monumental portrait Lord Henry paints makes Gray realize his extraordinary beauty. His new friend, Lord Henry Wotton, praises youth and beauty, making Gray realize that youth is fleeting and beauty is not lasting. Thus, he offers his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty, allowing the portrait to bear the marks of time. Miraculously, his wish comes true. Under the constant influence of Lord Henry, Gray becomes a practitioner of new hedonism. He falls in love with the young actress Sibyl Vane, but his cruelty leads to her suicide. Instead of feeling guilty, he treats this tragic event as a romantic story. From then on, pursuing pleasure becomes his sole goal in life, and many people who get close to him either become infamous or ruined due to his decadent and reckless lifestyle. Later, he even loses his sanity and kills Lord Henry, disposing of the body. In this way, he lives a double life. Although 20 years have passed, he still appears as the handsome and innocent 20-year-old youth he once was, despite his countless corrupt and depraved deeds. In the end, when he tries to destroy his only evidence of his sins—the portrait—with a knife, the knife goes through his own chest, and the portrait returns to its original perfect state.