Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" - a topic relevant for all ages

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Picture of Dorian Gray was written at the end of the 19th century, but it has not lost its relevance for our contemporaries. In the novel, fantasy is so harmoniously intertwined with reality that it is sometimes difficult to understand where one ends and another begins. The irreversibility of time is what Oscar Wilde focuses on. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a direct confirmation that obsession with only one's external beauty can lead to a sad ending.

Summary

Let's remind a little the plot of the work. The talented artist Basil Hallward created a portrait of a young man with excellent external data named Dorian Gray. The artist has put all his soul into the picture and does not want to sell the picture. Basil decides that the best thing to do is to give the painting to the sitter. Fuel is added to the fire by Hallward's friend Lord Henry, who is an incorrigible cynic. The Lord begins to incite Dorian with the fact that soon his beauty will fade, and the portrait will remain forever young and will be only a bitter memory of hisyouth.

Lord Henry played a major role in the personal degradation of Dorian, this is what Oscar Wilde points out to us. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a story not only about the moral fall of the protagonist. There is also room for love. But love is not real, but fake, like Gray's whole life. He falls in love with the young actress Sybil Vane. It is not so much Sybil herself that captures him, but her good ability to play roles on stage. As a result, the actress herself falls passionately in love with Dorian, but loses the ability to convey to the audience the deep feelings of her heroines. But Gray does not need such a lover. He was interested in a talented girl who is not like the others, and not a simple earthly woman.

Deciding to break up with Wayne, Dorian said a lot of cruel words to her, which pushed her ex-lover to suicide. After her death, the portrait changed a little, the first wrinkle formed on her lip. The main character realized with horror that from now on all his bad deeds will be reflected only in the portrait.

The image in the portrait will grow old, but the young man will remain young, writes Oscar Wilde. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" again confirms that all our actions are inevitably reflected in our soul.

Many years pass, the portrait becomes more and more ugly, and the main character remains young. Seeing the image of a terrible old man in the picture, Dorian rushes at the portrait with a knife, but as a result he kills himself.

We advise you to definitely read a real masterpiece of world classics, which was created bybrilliant writer Oscar Wilde, - "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Feedback on this product is extremely positive.

Dorian Prototypes

The novel is based on two well-known myths. The first myth is the legend of Narcissus. It tells how one young man, seeing his reflection in the water, which seems to him incredibly beautiful, dies of very strong love for himself.

There is another myth played out in this work by Oscar Wilde. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a reference to the famous myth about Faust, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth.

We hope that the talented English writer, playwright, poet Oscar Wilde has already managed to interest you. The writer's works are filled with deep meaning, which always prompts reflection.