The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, while the novel-length version was published in April 1891. Wilde's only novel, it is widely regarded as a classic of both Gothic and English literature, having been adapted many times for films, stage, plays, and other forms of art performances, in addition to inspiring the Dorian Awards since 2009.
The work was originally commissioned by J. M. Stoddart, the managing editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, as a novella in 1889, but after facing public backlash for its perceived immorality, Wilde revised the story. He added a new preface which outlined his aesthetic philosophy and also expanded the initial narrative with six additional chapters. It was this expanded version which eventually became the novel. Critics have also noted that an earlier story written by Wilde, titled The Portrait of Mr. W. H. and published in 1889, has several of the themes and styles seen in this novel. The story itself originated from a conversation Wilde had with his friend, artist Basil Ward, who was an early version of the character Basil Hallward.
The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Knowing that he will lose his beauty with time, Dorian impulsively chooses to sell his soul and asks for the portrait, rather than himself, to age and fade. His wish granted, Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied immoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins. Wilde used several aphorisms to explain the role of the artist in society, the purpose and utility of artistic representations, and the value of beauty. He also uses the themes of morality and influence to explore various societal values and ethics, individual relationships and personal choices, and their role in shaping an individual's moral compass.
The novel was initially subjected to much controversy and criticism in its time even after its revisions, with publishers sometimes withdrawing it from public circulation. Since the 20th century, however, there has been a surge in interest and it is now recognised as one of Wilde's best-known publications. It remains an important work as the novel is a direct commentary on the aesthetic movement of the 19th century, and is regarded as a centerpiece of the movement, which emphasised beauty and art for art's sake.
Origins
In 1882, Oscar Wilde met Frances Richards in Ottawa, where he visited her studios. In 1887, Richards moved to London where she renewed her acquaintance with Wilde and painted his portrait. Wilde described that incident as being the inspiration for the novel:In 1889, J. M. Stoddart, an editor for Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, was in London to solicit novellas to publish in the magazine. On 30 August 1889, Stoddart dined with Oscar Wilde, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and T. P. Gill at the Langham Hotel, and commissioned novellas from each writer. Doyle promptly submitted The Sign of the Four, which was published in the February 1890 edition of Lippincott's. Stoddart received Wilde's manuscript for The Picture of Dorian Gray on 7 April 1890, seven months after having commissioned the novel from him.
In July 1889, Wilde published "The Portrait of Mr. W. H.", a very different story but one that has a similar title to The Picture of Dorian Gray and has been described as "a preliminary sketch of some of its major themes", including homosexuality.
Publication and versions
1890 novella
The literary merits of The Picture of Dorian Gray impressed Stoddart, but he told the publisher, George Lippincott, "in its present condition there are a number of things an innocent woman would make an exception to." Fearing that the story was indecent, Stoddart deleted around five hundred words without Wilde's knowledge prior to publication. Among the pre-publication deletions were: passages alluding to homosexuality and to homosexual desire; all references to the fictional book title Le Secret de Raoul and its author, Catulle Sarrazin; and all "mistress" references to Gray's lovers, Sibyl Vane and Hetty Merton.It was published in full as the first 100 pages in both the American and British editions of the July 1890 issue, first printed on 20 June 1890. Later in the year the publisher of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Ward, Lock and Company, published a collection of complete novels from the magazine, which included Wilde's.
1891 novel
For the fuller 1891 novel, Wilde retained Stoddart's edits and made some of his own, expanding the text from thirteen to twenty chapters and adding the book's famous preface. Chapters 3, 5, and 15–18 are new, and chapter 13 of the magazine edition was divided into chapters 19 and 20 for the novel. Revisions include changes in character dialogue as well as the addition of the preface, more scenes and chapters, and Sibyl Vane's brother, James Vane.The edits have been construed as having been done in response to criticism, but Wilde denied this in his 1895 trials, only ceding that critic Walter Pater, whom Wilde respected, did write several letters to him "and in consequence of what he said I did modify one passage" that was "liable to misconstruction". A number of edits involved obscuring homoerotic references, to simplify the moral message of the story. In the magazine edition, Basil tells Lord Henry how he "worships" Dorian, and begs him not to "take away the one person that makes my life absolutely lovely to me." In the magazine edition, Basil focuses upon love, whereas, in the book edition, he focuses upon his art, saying to Lord Henry, "the one person who gives my art whatever charm it may possess: my life as an artist depends on him."
Wilde's textual additions were about the "fleshing out of Dorian as a character" and providing details of his ancestry that made his "psychological collapse more prolonged and more convincing." The introduction of the James Vane character to the story develops the socio-economic background of the Sibyl Vane character, thus emphasising Dorian's selfishness and foreshadowing James's accurate perception of the essentially immoral character of Dorian Gray; thus, he correctly deduced Dorian's dishonourable intent towards Sibyl. The sub-plot about James Vane's dislike of Dorian gives the novel a Victorian tinge of class struggle.
In April 1891 Ward, Lock and Company published the revised version of The Picture of Dorian Gray. In the decade after Wilde's death, the authorised edition of the novel was published by Charles Carrington.
2011 "uncensored" novella
The original typescript submitted to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, now housed at UCLA, had been largely forgotten except by professional Wilde scholars until the 2011 publication of The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition by the Belknap Press. This edition includes the roughly 500 words of text deleted by J. M. Stoddart, the story's initial editor, prior to its publication in Lippincott's in 1890. For instance, in one scene, Basil Hallward confesses that he has worshipped Dorian Gray with a "romance of feeling", and has never loved a woman.Preface
Following the criticism of the magazine edition of the novel, Wilde wrote a preface in which he indirectly addressed the criticisms in a series of epigrams. The preface was first published in The Fortnightly Review and then, a month later, in the book version of the novel. The content, style, and presentation of the preface made it famous in its own right as a literary and artistic manifesto in support of artists' rights and art for art's sake.To communicate how the novel should be read, Wilde used aphorisms to explain the role of the artist in society, the purpose of art, and the value of beauty. It traces Wilde's cultural exposure to Taoism and to the philosophy of Chuang Tsǔ. Before writing the preface, Wilde had written a book review of Herbert Giles's translation of the work of Zhuang Zhou, and in the essay "The Critic as Artist", Oscar Wilde said:
Summary
In Victorian England, Lord Henry Wotton observes his friend, artist Basil Hallward, painting the portrait of Dorian Gray, a wealthy young man who is Basil's ultimate muse. The hedonistic Lord Henry thinks that beauty is the only aspect of life worth pursuing, prompting Dorian to wish that his portrait would age instead of himself.Under Lord Henry's influence, Dorian fully explores his sensuality, leading to both men neglecting their friendship with Basil. Dorian discovers the actress Sibyl Vane, who performs Shakespeare plays in a dingy, working-class theatre. Admiring her talent, Dorian courts her and soon proposes marriage. The enamoured Sibyl calls him "Prince Charming". Her younger brother, James, leaves for a job at sea, but warns Sibyl that if "Prince Charming" harms her, he will murder him.
Dorian invites Basil and Lord Henry to see Sibyl perform in a play. Sibyl, too enamoured with Dorian to act, performs poorly, which makes Basil and Lord Henry think Dorian has fallen in love with Sibyl because of her beauty instead of her talent. Embarrassed, Dorian rejects Sibyl, saying that acting is her beauty; without that, she no longer interests him. Returning home, Dorian notices that the portrait has changed; his wish came true, and the man in the portrait bears a subtle sneer of cruelty.
Conscience-stricken and lonely, Dorian decides to reconcile with Sibyl, writing a letter. However, in the morning, Lord Henry arrives and informs Dorian she has killed herself. Rationalizing his cruelty, the young man decides that he has no need for love since his immortality protects him from any consequence. Dorian locks the portrait up, and for eighteen years, he experiments with every vice, influenced by a morally poisonous French novel that Lord Henry gave him.
One night, before leaving for Paris, Basil goes to Dorian's house to ask him about rumours of his self-indulgent sensualism. Dorian does not deny his debauchery and takes Basil to see the portrait. The portrait has become so hideous that Basil can only identify it as his by the signature on it. Horrified, Basil beseeches Dorian to pray for salvation; angered by Basil's reaction, Dorian stabs him to death. Dorian then blackmails an old friend, scientist Alan Campbell, into using his knowledge of chemistry to destroy Basil's body. Alan later kills himself.
To escape the guilt of his crime, Dorian goes to an opium den, where, unbeknownst to him, an older James Vane is present. James has been seeking vengeance upon Dorian ever since Sibyl's death but had no leads to pursue as the only thing he knew about Dorian was the nickname she called him. There, however, he hears someone refer to Dorian as "Prince Charming". James accosts Dorian, who deceives him into believing he is too young to have known Sibyl, as his face is still that of a young man. James relents and releases Dorian but is then approached by a woman from the den who reproaches James for not killing Dorian. She confirms Dorian's identity and explains that he has not aged in eighteen years.
James begins to stalk Dorian, who starts to fear for his life. During a shooting party, a hunter accidentally kills James, who was lurking in a thicket. On returning to London, Dorian tells the elderly Lord Henry that he will live righteously from now on. His new probity begins with deliberately not breaking the heart of Hetty Merton, his current romantic interest. Dorian wonders if his newly found goodness has rescinded the corruption in the picture but when he looks at it, he sees an even uglier image of himself. From that, Dorian understands that he can never be truly redeemed as he only wishes to be absolved of his sins, without truly believing that what he has done is wrong.
Deciding that only a full confession will suffice, Dorian finds the knife with which he murdered Basil and stabs the picture in a bout of fury.
His servants awaken on hearing a cry from the locked room; on the street, a passerby who also heard it calls the police. On entering the locked room, the servants find an old man stabbed in the heart, his figure withered and decrepit. They identify the corpse as Dorian only by the rings on the fingers, while the portrait beside him is beautiful again.