-OSCAR WILDE-
The Picture of Dorian Gray
his eyes, as if he had recognized himself for the first time. He stood there motionless and in wonder, dimly conscious that Hallward was speaking to him, but not catching the meaning of his words. The sense of his own beauty came on him like a revelation[2]. He had never felt it before. Basil Hallward's compliments had seemed to him to be merely the charming exaggeration of friendship. He had listened to them, laughed at them, forgotten them. They had not influenced his nature[3]. Then had come Lord Henry Wotton with his strange panegyric on youth[4], his terrible warning of its brevity. That had stirred him at the time and now, as he stood gazing at the shadow of his own loveliness[5], the full reality of the description flashed across him. Yes, there would be a day when his face would be wrinkled and wizen, his eyes dim and colourless, the grace of his figure broken and deformed. The scarlet would pass away from his lips and the gold steal from his hair. The life that was to make his soul would mar his body[6]. He would become dreadful, hideous, and uncouth.
Figure 1: Dorian is entranced by his portrait in the 2009 film Dorian Gray
As he thought of it, a sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver. His eyes deepened into amethyst, and across them came a mist of tears. He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon his heart.
"Don't you like it?" cried Hallward at last, stung a little by the lad's silence, not understanding what it meant.
"Of course he likes it," said Lord Henry. "Who wouldn't like it? It is one of the greatest things in modern art. I will give you anything you like to ask for it. I must have it."
"It is not my property, Harry."
"Whose property is it?"
"Dorian's, of course," answered the painter.
"He is a very lucky fellow."
"How sad it is!" murmured Dorian Gray with his eyes still fixed upon his own portrait. "How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young [7]. It will never be older than this particular day of June.... If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that--for that--I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" [8]
"You would hardly care for such an arrangement, Basil," cried Lord Henry, laughing. "It would be rather hard lines on your work." [9]
Annotations
[1] This is the first physical signal of Dorian's revelation.
[2] The word "revelation" is commonly found in relation to religion or theology and is associated with the disclosure of truth from a deity. The use of the word "revelation" illustrates the significance of this moment by evoking biblical revelations, such as the birth of Jesus. The fact that Dorian's beauty triggers a revelation parallels the Greek myth of Narcissus
[3] The had not in "had not influenced his nature" implies that it has now taken on a new meaning in hindsight.
[4] The panegyric referenced: "When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or have to content yourself with those mean triumphs that the memory of your past will make more bitter than defeats. Every month as it wanes brings you nearer to something dreadful. Time is jealous of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses. You will become sallow, and hollow-cheeked, and dull-eyed. You will suffer horribly.... Ah! realize your youth while you have it."
[5] After all, the portrait is but a shadow compared to the uncontained beauty of the actual person; the portrait limits the beauty to the canvas but Dorian embodies beauty in three dimensions.
[6] Rather than Dorian's body being marred, it is in fact his soul which suffers from his life of debauchery.
[7] This is an example of dramatic irony. Because of Dorian's wish, during the story, he is the one that remains young while the painting ages.
[8] Trading a soul for eternal beauty is making an allusion to making a Faustian bargain, a deal with the devil. This cultural motif is found throughout literature and gives the story a moral dimension, despite the fact that Wilde writes to the contrary during the preface. This is also reflected in the film, where Dorian says "perhaps I should nail my soul to the devil's altar" (view here). Little does Dorian know, this is the moment when that transaction is made, creating another instance of dramatic irony.
[9] This is a metaphor for the fact that it would be rather unfortunate for the portrait. However, it can also be interpreted literally, since hard lines (wrinkles and other disfigurements) do eventually appear on Basil's painting.
CHAPTER 2 - Page 25
Analysis
In page 25, two pivotal moments occur: (1) the scene in which Dorian first looks at his portrait and the significance of his beauty finally dawns upon him, and (2) Dorian declares that he would rather his and the portrait's roles were reversed. Annotations #1 and 2 refer to Dorian's "revelation," a word that refers to a religious allusion. All his life, Oscar Wilde had a close relationship with Christianity. Revelation is defined as the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world. In Christianity, a revelation is commonly associated with the "revelations of Jesus Christ" in which Christ is the divine deity imparting knowledge upon his followers. Wilde writes, "The sense of [Dorian's] own beauty came upon him like a revelation," connecting Dorian Gray's moment of enlightenment to Christianity.
This religious allusion is perpetuated with the second pivotal moment. Annotation #9 draws attention to Dorian's statement, "I would give my soul away for that!," in exchange for eternal youth and beauty. Trading a soul away for anything is essentially a Faustian bargain, which is a deal with the devil. Satan is the well-known arch nemesis of everything that is good within Christianity. The moment in which Dorian declares his willingness to strike such a bargain with the devil is the moment that the transaction actually occurs, leading to the rest of the plot. As time passes, Dorian indulges himself more and more and commits numerous sins, which stains the purity of his soul more and more. The desecration of his soul is then reflected in the portrait that Basil painted of him, and leads ultimately to his demise.
hat is entirely due to me," broke in Lord Henry. "Isn't it, Mr. Gray?" Dorian made no answer, but passed listlessly in front of his picture and turned towards it. When he saw it he drew back[1], and his cheeks flushed for a moment with pleasure. A look of joy came into
"
