The Picture of Dorian Gray
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| Dorian feels guilty over this, and goes to an [[opium]] parlor to lose himself. There, he sees Sibyl's brother, who tries to kill him, but he escapes. Later, the brother is accidentally killed by some hunters. Dorian decides to make up for the past life and become a new man, but with the help of his painting, he realizes he is just a hypocrite. He stabs the painting. His maids hear a crash, and go to see what happened. The painting looks just as it did when it was painted, and Dorian is lying stabbed on the floor, an old, ugly man. | Dorian feels guilty over this, and goes to an [[opium]] parlor to lose himself. There, he sees Sibyl's brother, who tries to kill him, but he escapes. Later, the brother is accidentally killed by some hunters. Dorian decides to make up for the past life and become a new man, but with the help of his painting, he realizes he is just a hypocrite. He stabs the painting. His maids hear a crash, and go to see what happened. The painting looks just as it did when it was painted, and Dorian is lying stabbed on the floor, an old, ugly man. | ||
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| ==Other references== | ==Other references== | ||
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| *The 1945 film version was nominated for several [[Academy Award]]s and starred [[Peter Lawford]] and [[Angela Lansbury]]. The portraits used in the film were by [[Ivan Albright]]. | *The 1945 film version was nominated for several [[Academy Award]]s and starred [[Peter Lawford]] and [[Angela Lansbury]]. The portraits used in the film were by [[Ivan Albright]]. | ||
| *A [[1976]] [[BBC Television]] adaptation of the novel in the ''Play of the Month'' strand was scripted by [[John Osborne]] and starred [[Peter Firth]], [[Jeremy Brett]] and [[John Gielgud]]. This production is available on [[DVD]] from [[BBC Worldwide]]. | *A [[1976]] [[BBC Television]] adaptation of the novel in the ''Play of the Month'' strand was scripted by [[John Osborne]] and starred [[Peter Firth]], [[Jeremy Brett]] and [[John Gielgud]]. This production is available on [[DVD]] from [[BBC Worldwide]]. | ||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Eternal youth]] | ||
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Revision as of 11:34, 20 May 2008
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The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde first published in 1890. It is the only novel that he wrote.
Summary
Dorian Gray is a handsome and naive young man living in England. His artist friend, Basil Hallward, is obsessed with his beauty and paints a perfect portrait of him. Dorian sees the finished painting and wishes that the picture would grow old and ugly instead of him - so he would stay just as the picture looks and the picture would look like him. Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's famous for his cynicism, also befriends Dorian and becomes the agent of Dorian's transformation from an earnest naif to a sarcastic misanthrope.
Dorian falls in love with an actress, Sibyl Vane. She loves him back, but being in love makes her act poorly. He thus rejects her, causing her to commit suicide. After this, Dorian notices that his painting has a sneer on it, so he locks it in an unused room. Over eighteen years, Dorian becomes more and more evil, but looks the same as always, while his painting becomes ugly and distorted. Dorian eventually kills Basil for discovering his secret.
Dorian feels guilty over this, and goes to an opium parlor to lose himself. There, he sees Sibyl's brother, who tries to kill him, but he escapes. Later, the brother is accidentally killed by some hunters. Dorian decides to make up for the past life and become a new man, but with the help of his painting, he realizes he is just a hypocrite. He stabs the painting. His maids hear a crash, and go to see what happened. The painting looks just as it did when it was painted, and Dorian is lying stabbed on the floor, an old, ugly man.
Other references
- Dorian Gray was later reincarnated in "Dorian" by Will Self.
- Dorian Gray was also re-done in a modern setting in a novel by Rick R. Reed titled "A Face Without a Heart" (Design Image Group Inc., 2000). The plot takes place in an amidst the gay club scene and a sophisticated hologram stands in for the painting.
- The book was parodied in The Green Carnation by Stanley Hichen.
- A 1981 episode of the TV series Blake's Seven, "Rescue", featured a charcter named "Dorian", whose base contained a room that functioned like the portrait in Wilde's story: "The room exists, Avon. And since I found it I haven't aged one day. It cleanses me of all the corruptions of time and appetite. "
- The character also featured in the 2003 motion picture The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but, despite references to the book in the comic book series the film was based on, the character is not a major part of the comic series.
- The 1945 film version was nominated for several Academy Awards and starred Peter Lawford and Angela Lansbury. The portraits used in the film were by Ivan Albright.
- A 1976 BBC Television adaptation of the novel in the Play of the Month strand was scripted by John Osborne and starred Peter Firth, Jeremy Brett and John Gielgud. This production is available on DVD from BBC Worldwide.
See also
