At the minute when the novel was foremost published, the response was nil but negative. Many newspapers and literary magazines criticised the novel naming it immoral. The St. James Gazette referred to it as the “ refuse of the Gallic Decandents ” while the Daily Chronicle called it a “ toxicant book ” .
As a response, Wilde revised his book by adding a foreword and a figure of chapters, spread outing it. At the same clip, Wilde was concerned that his novel was misunderstood stating “ I can non understand how they can handle Dorian Gray as immoral ” . As a affair of fact, he was stated that his novel was non immoral, but moral in its didactic portraiture of the effects of wickednesss, stating that “ the moral is excessively obvious ” .
On the alteration of the book, Oscar Wilde decided to add a foreword in which he explains the purposes of art. This foreword is in fact a list of apothegms sing art, the creative person, critics and the audience which can be interpreted as a pronunciamento written in order to steer the reader in his reading of the book. Being concerned with the hapless review which welcomed the book, Wilde decided to explicate in this foreword the manner in which the reader should read his book, being cognizant of his guidelines refering the intent of art and the function of the creative person.
The first apothegm defines the creative person as the “ Godhead of the beautiful things ” , while the 3rd one calls the critic “ he who can interpret into another mode or new stuff his feeling of beautiful things. ” Furthermore, Wilde states the intent of art which is to “ To uncover art and hide the creative person ” . His list of aphorisms directs us to the motto aˆzArt for art ‘s interest ” bring outing Wilde ‘s dedication to the Aesthetic motion which said that life had to be lived intensely, with an ideal of beauty. He states that art means beauty, that the creative person is the Godhead of beautiful things and, in the terminal, he declares that aˆzWe can forgive a adult male for doing a utile thing every bit long as he does non look up to it. The lone alibi for doing a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is rather useless. ” With this, Wilde approaches a new statement of the aestheticism, this clip by Theophile Gautier “ nil is truly beautiful unless it is useless ” . Furthermore, the foreword offers one of Wilde ‘s most celebrated quotation marks: “ There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are good written, or severely written. That is all ” . Diving books into moral and immoral is a affair of subjectiveness and it concerns merely the reader.
The book tells the narrative of Dorian Gray, a immature adult male who decides to do a Faustian deal in order to derive and continue ageless beauty. The book exposes many major subjects and symbols. As a consequence, The Picture of Dorian Gray can be interpreted as authoritative Gothic horror fiction in which the reader can easy descry the Narcissus myth and aesthetic subject of fraudulence, a major subject in Gothic novels. His wish becomes world and the image grows old in his position. Becoming aware of the nature and the effects of his wickednesss, Dorian efforts to destruct his scruples, he stabs the portrayal without cognizing that he can ne’er be separated from his other ego, and he kills himself.
The first chapter introduces two chief characters of the book, go forthing the entryway of the supporter to be anticipated by these two. The fresh Begins in the studio of Basil Hallward, a painter who is merely completing a portrayal of “ a immature adult male of extraordinary personal beauty ” . The other character is Lord Henry Wotton, a Lord who tells Basil that the image should be displayed in a gallery. What strikes here is Basil ‘s reply: “ I have put excessively much of myself in it ” . This transpires the thought that the creative person identifies with his work, an creative person ‘s dedication to his art. He besides says that any image painted with true feelings is in fact, the portrayal of the creative person, non of the theoretical account, that non the theoretical account appears on the canvas, but the painter. Basil refuses because he is afraid that he will uncover the secret of his ain psyche but besides he wants to maintain the portrayal merely for himself, being wholly fascinated by Dorian ‘s beauty. He explains how he met Dorian and points out that his presence was so powerful and so absorbing that it could hold absorbed him and his art. Dorian becomes non merely his Muse, but a presence on which Basil depends. He refuses to expose the portrayal but besides to state the name of his Muse. Without him desiring to, Dorian Gray comes to his place and meets Henry Wotton. Reluctantly, Basil agrees to present Dorian to Lord Wotton but he is afraid that Wotton ‘s cynicism and immorality might botch Dorian ‘s pure and naA?ve psyche.
The chief character is introduced in the 2nd chapter, one of the most of import of the book. This is when the reader is introduced to the supporter. Dorian ‘s first meeting with Henry Wotton is the decisive 1. Bing a manipulative individual, Wotton feels Dorian is vulnerable and attempts to enforce his ain positions of life and to act upon him with his thoughts. He even tells him about his hedonic positions. He is the 1 who persuades Dorian to wish for ageless beauty, he is the 1 who makes Dorian aware of his physical qualities. The immature adult male acknowledges that he will age and he begins to fear it. He want to stay everlastingly immature and says he does non desire to populate to be an old adult male.
Dorian from the terminal of this chapter is no longer Dorian from the beginning. The reader faces in merely a few pages Dorian ‘s passage. His naivity and his pureness disappear when he realises the importance of his beauty and the fact that he will lose it someday. Henry Wotton manipulates his head and turns him into a individual ready to sell his psyche in order to continue his beauty. Not merely does he bury about his friend, Basil, but he changes his nature. In the minute when he sees the portrayal, he is every bit fascinated by himself as Basil is and acts every bit if this is the first clip when he sees himself. This transition comes similar to the minute when Narcissus sees his contemplation in the H2O for the first clip.
Listening to Henry ‘s advice to bask life, Dorian enters “ an absurd small theater ” in the East End where he sees a seventeen-year-old actress Sybil Vane with whom he falls in love. Dorian himself tells the reader that he loves her because she is an actress, therefore a different adult female every dark. Thinking that he genuinely love her, Dorian tells his friends that Sybil and him are engaged to be married without even suggesting to her. Dorian invites Henry Wotton and Basil to a drama, but Sybil, now when she has founded true love and non the theatrical love, loses her abilities and Acts of the Apostless awfully. One-half of the audience leaves and Dorian is disgusted and accuses Sybil of killing her love.
Returned place from the theater, Dorian looks at the portrayal and sees that it has changed. He wonders whether he made a error refering Sybil but in the terminal he decides that she is the 1 who is to fault because she disappointed him and after all, she had non truly loved him. He becomes concerned with the portrayal and remembers his wish, but shortly he tells himself that it is impossible that it can go true. However, he thinks that the image is a contemplation of his wickednesss and swears to ne’er transgress once more.
