A U T H O R D AT A S H E E T Macmillan Guided Readers
O S C A R
W I L D E 1
In 1884, Oscar married a rich Irish woman called Constance L l o yd , a n d t h e c o u p l e h a d t w o s o n s . After this, Oscar edited a popular magazine c a l l e d Women’s World for t w o y e a r s . B u t he gradually lost interest in being a professional adviser on fashion. After 1888, he spent nearl y all his time writing the works for which we now remember him. He wrote two books of fairy stories for his children, The Happy Prince And A House of Pomegranates, a n d then a book of short stories – Lord Arthur Seville’s Crime . Hea l s o w r o t e a f a m o u s n o v e l c a l l e d T h e P i c t u r e o f Dorian Gray .
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY SUMMARY
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The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of one beautiful, innocent young man's seduction, moral corruption, and eventual downfall. We meet our three central characters at the beginning of the book, when painter Basil Hall ward and his close friend, Lord Henry Wotton, are discussing the subject of Basil's newest painting, a gorgeous young thing named Dorian Gray. Basil and Henry discuss just how perfectly perfect Dorian is – he's totally innocent and completely good, as well as being the most beautiful guy ever to walk the earth. Lord Henry wants to meet this mysterious boy, but Basil doesn't want him to; for some reason, he's afraid of what will happen to Dorian if Lord Henry digs his claws into him. 3-4 However, Lord Henry gets his wish – Dorian shows up that very afternoon, and, over the course of the day, Henry manages to totally change Dorian's perspective on the world. From that point on, Dorian's previously innocent point of view is dramatically different – he begins to see life as Lord Henry does, as a succession of pleasures in which questions of good and evil are irrelevant. 4-5 Basil finishes his portrait of Dorian, and gives it to the young man, who keeps it in his home, where he can admire his own beauty. Lord Henry continues to exert his influence over Dorian, to Basil's dismay. Dorian grows more and more distant from Basil, his former best friend, and develops his own interests. 6-7 One of these interests is Sybil Vane, a young, exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally talented – and exceptionally poor – actress. Though she's stuck performing in a terrible, third-rate theatre, she's a truly remarkable artist, and her talent and beauty win over Dorian. He falls dramatically in love with her, and she with him. For a moment, it seems like everything will turn out wonderfully. However, this is just the beginning of Dorian's story. Once he and Sybil are engaged, her talent suddenly disappears – she's so overcome with her passionate love for Dorian that none of her roles on stage seem important to her anymore. This destroys Dorian's love for her, and he brutally dumps her. Back home, he notices a something different in his portrait – it looks somehow crueler. In the meanwhile, the distraught Sybil commits suicide, just as Dorian decides to return to her and take back his terrible words.
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When Dorian wakes later that day, he goes about his usual business – he peruses his mail (setting aside a letter from Henry, unopened), gets dressed, and has a pleasant breakfast. During his meal, Dorian's eye falls upon the screen that hides the portrait. He worries that the frightening change he saw in it last night might still be there in the clear morning light. As soon as his valet leaves the room, Dorian locks the doors and takes another look at his picture. His impression the night before was right – the portrait has changed. He can't understand or explain it: does the painting have some kind of link to his own soul? He's horrified. Regarding his altered image, Dorian feels terrible about what he's done to Sibyl. He decides to go back to her and devote his life to loving her – the portrait's embodiment of his sins serves as a kind of conscience. He immediately sits down to write her a long, melodramatically passionate letter; when he's done, he already feels forgiven. At that moment, Lord Henry shows up. He wants to make sure Dorian's not too worried about the whole Sibyl thing; Dorian tells him that he's not sorry for any of it, and that it's taught him more about himself. He announces that he wants to be good from now on to keep his soul from growing hideous, and says he'll start by marrying Sibyl Vane. Henry is taken aback – it turns out that the letter he wrote to Dorian (the very one we saw the boy put aside unread) contains some terrible, terrible news: Sibyl Vane is dead. Dorian is understandably distraught, but Henry mostly wants to make sure that Dorian's in the clear, and that he won't be scandalously involved in the death. It turns out that Sybil almost certainly committed suicide by poison (ugh!). Dorian is incredibly upset, but Henry callously starts talking about the opera – he wants Dorian to come out with him and his sister. Dorian can't get over the shock, and hashes out all of his feelings – he's guilty and sad and angry all at the same time. Henry convinces him that the whole Sibyl thing was a mistake to begin with, and that they would never have been happy had they gotten married. Dorian is alarmed by the fact that he doesn't exactly feel this event as much as he should – rather, he's starting to look at it like the completion of a beautifully tragic work of art. Henry seizes upon this moment of weakness to convince Dorian even more fully that this was how things had to play out; he even claims that Sibyl proved just how special she was by killing herself over Dorian. Wow, if that's not warped, we don't know what is.
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Henry ends by claiming grandiosely that since Sybil never "really" lived, she didn't really die, either. This logic seems a little flawed to us, but Dorian buys it. He gives in to Henry's torrent of words, and agrees to go to the opera. Once his friend leaves, Dorian takes another look at the portrait. The cruelty in the painted figure's face has a new meaning now – it's associated with Sibyl's death. He gets all emotional about the idea of Sibyl's tragic sacrifice (notably, he's no longer sad about the girl herself, but her abstraction). Regarding the portrait, Dorian thinks for a moment that maybe he should pray to try and stop the weird, symbiotic relationship between his soul and the picture. He decides, however, that he should leave the portrait as it is, so he can watch what happens to his soul. All that matters to him is that his own physical beauty remains unmarred. • 10-11 Dorian's servant almost walks in on him contemplating the incriminating portrait, and he hastily writes a note to Henry, asking him for something new to read, and reminding him that they have a date later. He sends the servant to deliver the note. In a moment, Mr. Hubbard, a famous framemaker, arrives with his helper. He tries to sell Dorian a new frame, but Dorian cuts him off brusquely, saying that he just wants a heavy picture moved to another room today. Mr. Hubbard and his assistant move the picture to the schoolroom for Dorian. The schoolroom has been empty ever since Dorian grew up; nobody's been in it for four years. The room, where he spend much of his childhood, away from his unloving grandfather, reminds Dorian of his innocent youth, and it occurs to him that it might be wrong to keep the proof of his corrupt soul there. However, there's nowhere else that's safe to keep it. Dorian has a brief moment of regret – maybe he can salvage the portrait by being a better person? He ignores this impulse, realizing that the portrait will grow old anyway. He locks it in the schoolroom and rushes Mr. Hubbard out. When Dorian returns to the library, he finds that Lord Henry has complied and sent him a rather worn book. It's covered with yellow paper, and looks well-read. Along with it, Henry has sent a short note and a newspaper, in which he's circled a brief paragraph about Sibyl Vane.
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In this rather lengthy chapter, the narrator describes the profound influence the yellow book has on Dorian – it totally changes his life. The book involves a young Parisian hero, who reminds Dorian a lot of himself. The hero, like Dorian, was once incredibly beautiful, but suddenly loses his beauty. This terrifies Dorian. As the years pass, Dorian remains as beautiful as ever. Even though awful rumors circulate about him, people still love Dorian because of his seemingly innocent, golden beauty. Dorian often looks at the portrait, and takes pleasure in the aging, corrupt image on the canvas. He's morbidly obsessed with it, and delights in comparing his own untouched beauty with the marred portrait. It turns out that Dorian is still hanging out with Lord Henry, who's helped him become a leader of the decadent social scene. All the young men try to imitate his grace and elegance. Dorian, however, wants to be more than just a figure of fashion. He strives to understand, well, basically everything about human nature. He longs to find new sensations and pleasures everywhere. 12 It's the night before Dorian's thirty-eighth birthday, and he's walking home from dinner at Lord Henry's. He runs into Basil, who's walking in the other direction, suitcase in hand. He pretends not to see him, but Basil notices. Dorian feels strangely apprehensive. Basil apparently just came from Dorian's house, where he'd been waiting for hours. Dorian makes an excuse for ignoring Basil and asks where he's off to. Basil's plan it to leave England for half a year and hang out in Paris until he's painted a masterpiece. The pair reaches Dorian's house, and Basil invites himself in, saying that he's got something to say to Dorian. Dorian vaguely tries to get Basil to leave, but Basil isn't to be stopped – he's got everything he needs for his trip, so he's in no rush. The two men settle in Dorian's library, and Basil gets down to business: he wants to talk to Dorian about Dorian. Basil lays it all out there – though Basil himself can't believe that someone as innocent looking and beautiful as Dorian could commit any crimes, Dorian's name has been dragged through the mud, and pretty much everyone else in London either loathes him or fears him. Rumor has it that he's ruined the lives of loads of young women and men in various ways. Dorian revolts, saying that people gossip about how he's ruined so many of his ex-friends, but it's actually their fault – he just brings out tendencies that are already innate in people (sound familiar?). Dorian then tries to blame it all on English society…kind of a lame excuse.
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But Basil's not done – he continues to enumerate the horrible things he's heard about Dorian, who has apparently even ruined the reputation of poor Lady Gwendolen, Henry's sister. We wonder how Lord Henry feels about that. Gravely, Basil says he thought he knew Dorian, but he obviously doesn't, for he can't see into Dorian's soul. For obvious reasons, this comment really gets to Dorian. He laughs bitterly, and announces that Basil will see his soul tonight, since it's his own work. Uh oh – this can't possibly end up well for Basil. Dorian is excited – and insane! He can't wait to show the portrait to Basil, and hopes that the painter will feel bad for what he's done. Basil is understandably frightened. He begs Dorian to simply answer one question – are all these charges against him true? Dorian smiles contemptuously, and lures Basil upstairs, saying that he has a diary in which he records all of his actions (which is kind of what the portrait is, after all). Basil agrees to go with him. •
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In the old schoolroom, Dorian asks Basil once more if he's sure he wants to see Dorian's secret. Basil confirms, but he's obviously uncomfortable – what are they doing in this dingy old room? Why would Dorian take him to this dreadful place? Basil thinks Dorian has lost it (which he pretty much has). Dorian flings off the covering from the painting, and Basil sees the horrible image that lies beneath. Basil is shocked, appalled, terrified, disgusted – basically, there aren't enough adjectives to contain his horror. He sees his own signature on the terrible picture, and he can tell that the subject is Dorian, but he can't believe his eyes. What could it possibly mean?! Dorian is eating all of this up; he's delighted by Basil's terror. He reminds Basil of the wish that he once made, that the portrait could grow old and he stay young… Basil remembers, but doesn't believe that it could possibly have happened (understandably). He tries to explain the portrait's transformation scientifically, but it's impossible. Basil is thoroughly disgusted by the image of the evil man in the portrait. If this is what Dorian's soul looks like, he says, all the grotesque stories about him must be true. He has the answer to his question. By now, both Basil and Dorian are upset – even Dorian is crying. Basil tries to capitalize upon this moment of vulnerability, and tells Dorian he must pray for forgiveness, but Dorian weakly says that it's too late. Basil
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pushes back, saying that Dorian's done enough evil – after all, the cursed portrait proves that. Dorian looks back at the portrait, and is suddenly filled with hate and rage for Basil. He seizes a knife and brutally stabs his former friend to death. Whoa. That was really sudden – we totally didn't expect it, and neither did Dorian. He's flustered, but he doesn't actually feel bad about the murder; he tries to emotionally disconnect from it. His primary concern is how to dispose of the body and avoid getting caught. Dorian realizes that since Basil was supposed to leave England, it'll probably be ages before anyone even notices that he's missing. Dorian has a sudden flash of inspiration – he makes his own alibi by sneaking out of the house, then ringing the doorbell to get back in, as though he's just coming home really late. When his valet lets him in, Dorian explains that he forgot his key, and has been out all night. Back in the library, Dorian thinks over the situation, and comes up with a solution, apparently in the person of someone named Alan Campbell. • 14 The next morning, Dorian is awakened at nine by his valet. At first, he doesn't remember what happened the night before – his sleep was untroubled by conscience. Then, the memories come back; Dorian can't stop thinking about how much he suffered, but totally unsympathetic towards Basil (who was murdered! Come on, man). Dorian tries not to think too much about all of this unpleasant stuff, and goes about his business, getting dressed, reading letters, and having breakfast. He then writes two letters, and has one sent to the mysterious Alan Campbell. Dorian then lounges about in the library, comforting himself with poetry. Caught up in emotion, he briefly feels a little bad for Basil, then tries again to forget about it. However, though Dorian keeps trying to think of more pleasant things (like sphinxes and aesthetic crocodiles), he is overcome by nerves. What if Alan Campbell doesn't show up? We learn that Alan is one of the ex-friends that now hates Dorian. He's a brilliant young man – a scientist – and he and Dorian were great friends for a while. They were brought together by their love for music and were totally besties for about a year and half. Then, all of a sudden, they weren't friends anymore – nobody knows why. Alan then devoted his life to science. While Dorian's waiting for Alan, time drags on. He might not realize it, but this is the thing called "fear" that the rest of us are well acquainted with. Finally, Alan shows up. He's cold and unsympathetic – we have to wonder what terrible thing Dorian did to him.
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Dorian knows that he has to do another terrible thing to Alan, and there's pity in his eyes. He tells Alan about the corpse upstairs, and requests that Alan use "science" to get rid of it. You know, because "science" can do anything, including make dead bodies disappear. Trying to get the reluctant Alan on his side, Dorian claims that Basil committed suicide, but then admits to the murder when Alan still refuses. The two ex-friends argue fruitlessly for a while. When it seems as though Alan's just going to keep refusing, Dorian pulls out all the stops and resorts to blackmail. He writes something (that we don't get to see) on a piece of paper and shows it to the astonished, horrified Alan. Whatever it is, it must be damning. Alan is totally miserable – wouldn't you be? Dorian has him backed into a corner; he has to take this mission, or Dorian will ruin his life. Alan agrees to dispose of the body. Dorian sends his servant to get Alan's lab equipment and supplies from his house, and, while they wait, things are totally, horrifically awkward. Finally, the servant returns, and Dorian dismisses him for the rest of the day. They're ready to start the gruesome "experiment." Dorian takes Alan upstairs, and leaves him in the schoolroom with the dead man. He flees the room, and Alan begins what he has to do. Hours later, Alan emerges, pale and drawn. He's finished the job, and he never wants to see Dorian again. Dorian goes to check out the schoolroom – it smells like acid, but Alan got the job done. The body is gone. • 15 That night, Dorian attends a very dull dinner party at the home of Lady Narborough, a clever but ugly socialite. She's very fond of Dorian, and she apologizes for how dull her other guests are that evening. Fortunately, Lord Henry arrives, which livens up the party a bit. Still, Dorian's feeling listless; he can't touch a bite of the exquisite dinner, and he drowns his sorrows in champagne. Henry and Lady Narborough rag Dorian a bit for being so low. Lady Narborough assumes he's in love, which directs the conversation to related topic, Dorian's friend, the infamous Madame de Ferrol. This famously beautiful lady is on her fourth husband, and they have a pleasant time gossiping sassily about her for a while. However, Dorian is still feeling down. Lady Narborough tells him he ought to get married; Henry agrees, though it doesn't stop him from sharing his cynical views on marriage. The conversation is interrupted by some of the other guests, who really aren't of interest to us. Lord Henry and Dorian take this opportunity to talk privately. Dorian won't admit that anything's wrong, and just says that he's tired. They discuss plans for an upcoming holiday in the countryside.
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Henry makes the mistake of asking Dorian what he was up to last night; Dorian has a minor freak out, and reacts defensively. Dorian apologizes to Henry for being so irritable, and heads off home, full of anxiety. At home, Dorian can't shake his feeling of terror. He burns Basil's traveling bag, making sure that there's no evidence that he was ever there, then tries to calm down. Suddenly, he's filled with a craving – he reaches inside a cabinet for a small, ornate box. Inside is a mysterious substance that can only be one thing: opium. Dorian puts the box back, then, disguised as a commoner, sneaks out of his house. He hails a cab and asks to be taken to a mysterious, distant location. • 16 Dorian's cab ride takes him to a sketchy part of town. Along the way, he can't help but mull over the words Henry told him when they first met – the only way to cure the soul is to give in to the senses. The best way he can think of to do that is to buy forgetfulness with opium. Dorian's conscience is really getting to him, and so is his opium craving. Finally, way out in the middle of nowhere, the cab deposits Dorian in a horrifying quarter of the city. He walks through the hideous, povertystricken streets for a while, then turns in at a shabby old house. Inside, he encounters some creepy characters, including his old friend, Adrian Singleton; one of the young men Basil accused him of ruining. Adrian is in a bad state – he doesn't care about anything but opium. Dorian is disgusted; he asks Adrian to accompany him to another opium den, but he refuses. The pair is accosted by two beggar women, one of whom seems to know Dorian. He's revolted, and throws some money at her to make her go away. Dorian gets ready to leave, but, before he goes, he tells Adrian to write to him if he needs anything – could he possibly feel bad about ruining the guy's life? As Dorian leaves, the beggar woman laughs and calls him "the devil's bargain" (aw, snap!). He yells back at her, and she mockingly calls him "Prince Charming." A sailor in the background leaps up when he hears this nickname, and follows Dorian out. Dorian walks along the waterfront through the rain, and he ponders Adrian's downfall. Could it really be his fault? Was Basil actually right, or all his former friends responsible for their own failures? He decides that the latter is true, and he bears no responsibility. Dorian hurries on, but is suddenly seized by a mysterious figure. He finds himself pushed against a wall, a gun at his head.
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The assailant accuses Dorian of ruining Sibyl Vane's life – it turns out that he's James Vane, back from Australia after all these years. He is the sailor that overheard Dorian called "Prince Charming," which he remembers to be her nickname for him. Dorian panics and tries to deny it, but James is determined to kill him before he flees the country aboard a ship for India. Suddenly, a brain wave hits Dorian – he asks how long ago Sibyl died. It was eighteen years ago, and, when he tells James to look at his face in the light, the vengeful sailor realizes that the man he's looking at can't be more than twenty. James is horrified by what he thinks is a terrible mistake – he's convinced he almost killed an innocent boy. James lets Dorian go, and he walks away, unharmed. The beggar woman from the opium den creeps up to James, and asks why he didn't go through with the murder. He tells her that Dorian wasn't the man he was looking for – he's too young. She only laughs, and tells him that it's been eighteen years since "Prince Charming" ruined her life…rumor has it that he sold his soul to the devil for eternal youth. James curses and rushes to look for Dorian – but he's gone. • 17 Dorian and his aristocratic friends are at his country house at Selby. Among his guests are the Duchess of Monmouth, her husband, Lord Henry, and Lady Narborough. They're all having tea and lounging around, generally being fabulous. Lord Henry comes over to chat with the Duchess (whose name is Gladys) and Dorian. They banter about aesthetics – you know, the usual. Dorian goes off to fetch some orchids for the Duchess, and she and Henry keep chatting. He accuses her facetiously of flirting too much with Dorian. For the first time, we seem to have met a woman who can keep up with Dorian and Henry. The two of them hear a groan and a thud from the other end of the conservatory. Everyone is startled, and Lord Henry rushes over to see what happened: he finds Dorian, collapsed face downwards. The guests carry Dorian to a couch, and he comes to after a little while. He's obviously shaken up, and is still distraught. Henry, worried, tells him he should rest and not come down to dinner, but Dorian would rather be with the rest of the party than stay alone. The reason for Dorian's collapse, we learn, was that he saw a terrifying sight through the conservatory window – James Vane.
Comment
is considered that the book of Dorian Gray is one of the most interesting because it makes us think about the behavior of a person, so too must think the important people are not the best and not talk things that harm the other people be sensible is the right way. For he who touches you to be evil touch him a reward.