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porridgegirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
veexene's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rymrgard's review against another edition
4.0
Oscar Wilde was an aestheticist (or was he?)
He believed (or did he?) that art should not need/have a purpose beyond being art.
This was in direct contrast to the strict moralising in Victorian England —‚Moralising‘ here meaning being defined by a very strict corset of rules and social norms, othering everything and everyone deemed „abnormal“. This meant that Wilde, as a gay man, stood in direct contrast to these morals by default.
Him advocating against moralising in literature (or art in general) should therefore always be considered in the context of the society and circumstances he lived in – especially considering his changed approach in The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
This approach can also be seen in the language used in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Aside from typical Victorian verbosity, dramatic flare and heaviness of tone, language here portrays the significance of the aesthetic over the mundane.
Language is not used as a means to tell a story – in a way, language is the story. It is shown in the way how repeatedly ‚trivialities‘ are described – something that seems to irk certain readers according to some goodreads reviews (perfectly understandable.)
Looking at these scenes from an aestheticist‘s point of view, however, they suddenly become of high importance. Naturally, men so obsessed with the ideals of eternal youth and beauty such as Dorian Gray or Lord Henry would not look at furniture, curtains or a door knob and think of them in such a trivial manner. As Lord Henry says:
„The man who would call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for“.
Aestheticism sees no point in stating the everyday, the practical or the mundane; it would, however, comment on how the light reflects, the sounds or smells, the emotions evoked, the exquisite nature of the materials or the extravagance in it. To appreciate the meanderings is to appreciate how an aestheticist would look at the world. Is to appreciate the art for art‘s sake.
It also makes Oscar Wilde‘s personal feelings towards his novel even more interesting:
„Basil Howard is what I think I am:
Lord Henry what the world thinks me:
Dorian what I would like to be
– in other ages, perhaps.“
Aestheticist ideals can be found in each of these main characters, and in Wilde himself, and yet how these ideals are applied to life is vastly different -especially Basil vs Lord Henry.
Lord Henry is Wilde’s mask of uncaring dandyism, the „spoiled brat“ I have seen Wilde being described as, the privileged hedonist, the man seeking scandal. The man far, far away from moralising.
„My dear boy, you are really beginning to moralize.“
The man calling Basil Howard a „bore“.
Basil, in turn, is also fascinated by beauty and draws a direct line to a supposed superiority of character in someone so beautiful as Dorian. He can only believe that the things said about Dorian are the truth when he sees them represented in hideousness and grotesqueness. Where the aesthetic can no longer veil reality, morals, again, find their place.
Beyond beauty lies The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
Contrary to Lord Henry, however, he sees the aesthetic as a way of bringing meaning to life, instead of taking all meaning out of it and drowning in hedonistic pleasures. His sense of beauty is the raw emotion, the hurt and the ability to dare look beyond the superficial. To him, moral and beauty (=aesthetic) are not separated but connected.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is, deep down, a „tragedy of Aestheticism“ (Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde‘s biographer) and its preface actively contradicting some of the novel‘s contents - especially in regards to Basil Howard. And reason for that can at least be partly found in its daring portrayal of homoeroticism.
It can be argued that, as stated above, Wilde‘s position against moralising, seeing art only for art‘s sake and not drawing parallels between a work‘s contents and its creator was done less out of genuine conviction and more out of the necessity of protection and survival when it came to protecting his Basil-esque hurts. The times he ended up, just like Basil in the beginning of the novel, pouring too much of himself onto the pages by accident. Giving strict societal conventions too much ammunition against himself. A protective barrier, a paradox, to hide behind when critics come too close. Too personal.
Something especially important given not only the controversy surrounding The Picture of Dorian Gray given its homoerotic allusions but also how much Wilde clearly identified with all three main characters (see above).
„There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.“
Looking at this statement from the position of a gay man in Victorian England I can almost sense a certain desperation in it. Seeing at how often this and other sentences from the preface are quoted and taken at face value, I can only highlight once again how important it is, in my opinion, to never take them out of the specific context of Oscar Wilde‘s life and the society they were applied to.
This contradiction is only heightened if one remembers that a book with „bad influence“ takes a key role in corrupting Dorian‘s character, too.
Possibly closest to Wilde‘s actual convictions comes his following statement:
„For in art there is no such thing as a universal truth. A Truth in art is that whose contradictory is also true.“
He believed (or did he?) that art should not need/have a purpose beyond being art.
This was in direct contrast to the strict moralising in Victorian England —‚Moralising‘ here meaning being defined by a very strict corset of rules and social norms, othering everything and everyone deemed „abnormal“. This meant that Wilde, as a gay man, stood in direct contrast to these morals by default.
Him advocating against moralising in literature (or art in general) should therefore always be considered in the context of the society and circumstances he lived in – especially considering his changed approach in The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
This approach can also be seen in the language used in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Aside from typical Victorian verbosity, dramatic flare and heaviness of tone, language here portrays the significance of the aesthetic over the mundane.
Language is not used as a means to tell a story – in a way, language is the story. It is shown in the way how repeatedly ‚trivialities‘ are described – something that seems to irk certain readers according to some goodreads reviews (perfectly understandable.)
Looking at these scenes from an aestheticist‘s point of view, however, they suddenly become of high importance. Naturally, men so obsessed with the ideals of eternal youth and beauty such as Dorian Gray or Lord Henry would not look at furniture, curtains or a door knob and think of them in such a trivial manner. As Lord Henry says:
„The man who would call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for“.
Aestheticism sees no point in stating the everyday, the practical or the mundane; it would, however, comment on how the light reflects, the sounds or smells, the emotions evoked, the exquisite nature of the materials or the extravagance in it. To appreciate the meanderings is to appreciate how an aestheticist would look at the world. Is to appreciate the art for art‘s sake.
It also makes Oscar Wilde‘s personal feelings towards his novel even more interesting:
„Basil Howard is what I think I am:
Lord Henry what the world thinks me:
Dorian what I would like to be
– in other ages, perhaps.“
Aestheticist ideals can be found in each of these main characters, and in Wilde himself, and yet how these ideals are applied to life is vastly different -especially Basil vs Lord Henry.
Lord Henry is Wilde’s mask of uncaring dandyism, the „spoiled brat“ I have seen Wilde being described as, the privileged hedonist, the man seeking scandal. The man far, far away from moralising.
„My dear boy, you are really beginning to moralize.“
The man calling Basil Howard a „bore“.
Basil, in turn, is also fascinated by beauty and draws a direct line to a supposed superiority of character in someone so beautiful as Dorian. He can only believe that the things said about Dorian are the truth when he sees them represented in hideousness and grotesqueness. Where the aesthetic can no longer veil reality, morals, again, find their place.
Beyond beauty lies The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
Contrary to Lord Henry, however, he sees the aesthetic as a way of bringing meaning to life, instead of taking all meaning out of it and drowning in hedonistic pleasures. His sense of beauty is the raw emotion, the hurt and the ability to dare look beyond the superficial. To him, moral and beauty (=aesthetic) are not separated but connected.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is, deep down, a „tragedy of Aestheticism“ (Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde‘s biographer) and its preface actively contradicting some of the novel‘s contents - especially in regards to Basil Howard. And reason for that can at least be partly found in its daring portrayal of homoeroticism.
It can be argued that, as stated above, Wilde‘s position against moralising, seeing art only for art‘s sake and not drawing parallels between a work‘s contents and its creator was done less out of genuine conviction and more out of the necessity of protection and survival when it came to protecting his Basil-esque hurts. The times he ended up, just like Basil in the beginning of the novel, pouring too much of himself onto the pages by accident. Giving strict societal conventions too much ammunition against himself. A protective barrier, a paradox, to hide behind when critics come too close. Too personal.
Something especially important given not only the controversy surrounding The Picture of Dorian Gray given its homoerotic allusions but also how much Wilde clearly identified with all three main characters (see above).
„There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.“
Looking at this statement from the position of a gay man in Victorian England I can almost sense a certain desperation in it. Seeing at how often this and other sentences from the preface are quoted and taken at face value, I can only highlight once again how important it is, in my opinion, to never take them out of the specific context of Oscar Wilde‘s life and the society they were applied to.
This contradiction is only heightened if one remembers that a book with „bad influence“ takes a key role in corrupting Dorian‘s character, too.
Possibly closest to Wilde‘s actual convictions comes his following statement:
„For in art there is no such thing as a universal truth. A Truth in art is that whose contradictory is also true.“
erkkmoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jess_garner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Murder
alexyani's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
cecile87's review against another edition
3.0
While I admire the depth of Wilde's literary references and writing chops, I got bogged down with the repetitiousness of Henry's platitudes. There was no one I really cared about in the book, except perhaps for the brother (James?) and the painter of the portrait.
Anyhoo, I didn't finish the book. It was just too tedious for me. I would say the story behind the novel interests me more--the classic references, Wilde's life, the way gay people were treated by society and the law, and so on.
yogurtwater's review against another edition
Absolutely dreadful, but that was probably the point.
Look, it's not that I don't "get it." I get it - cautionary tale and all that. That didn't make this any less of a slog to get through, though. I liked the ending, but I had to claw my way towards it. For most of the novel, each time I turned a page I hoped some madman would spring out from a corner and murder everyone with an axe. Except for dear Basil, of course.
Truly dreadful.
Look, it's not that I don't "get it." I get it - cautionary tale and all that. That didn't make this any less of a slog to get through, though. I liked the ending, but I had to claw my way towards it. For most of the novel, each time I turned a page I hoped some madman would spring out from a corner and murder everyone with an axe. Except for dear Basil, of course.
Truly dreadful.