Welcome to the review of the book that inspired my 2020 resolution to stick to a skincare routine.
The Portrait of Dorian Gray is captivating on many levels.
The overall premise is fascinating in its own right and novel for its time (1890): a gorgeous young man named Dorian Gray laments the ephemerality of his youthful beauty.
His painter friend creates a portrait of him, marveled by all. Time passes and it slowly becomes evident to Dorian that the portrait ages instead of him.
In addition to aging, with every evil deed he performs, the painting imbibes the growing impurities reflected in his festering soul.
But Dorian's physical form never changes. Ashamed of what secrets the portrait tells, he hides it away and murders his painter friend in a fit of rage. Further decay of the soul. Another sin irreversibly etched onto the portrait.
Eventually (20 years, approximately), Dorian can take the detriment to his soul no longer and slashes the painting of himself with a knife.
His servants hear screaming and find a withered, revolting old man, dead. He lies stabbed in the heart next to the portrait of Dorian Gray, restored to its original beauty.
So the story is awesome. The only dry parts were when Wilde spent pages describing Dorian's newest fancies, such as jewelry, music, and embroidery.
The idea is clear: Dorian Gray becomes devoted to studying all things beautiful. But it becomes a slog. With that said, you can't afford to skip a beat: one moment Dorian is admiring a foreign tapestry, the next he is figuring out how to dissolve a friend's body.
The dialogue, I think, is what makes this tale so witty. In particular, everything that comes out of the mouth of Prince Paradox, Lord Henry Wotton.
Lord Henry is a friend of the painter and takes an immediate (and not so subtle romantic) interest in Dorian Gray.
Everything he says is great. Here are a few of my favorite Lord Henry quotes:
"When in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls romance."
"The real drawback to marriage is that it makes one unselfish. And unselfish people are colorless. They lack individuality."
"Conscience is just a polite word for cowardice. No civilized man regrets a pleasure."
Thank you for these pearls of wisdom, Lord Wotton.