Love it or hate it, "The Picture of Dorian Grey" has influenced literature and even history in such a way that it bacame a fundamental part of popular culture. Most people have heard its basic premise and it is impossible to think about the Victorian era without having this in mind at some point. However, I am tempted to believe there are more meanings than meets the eye. From symbols to censorship, let me attempt to explain this rabbit hole, as I slowly descend into madness. :))
First of all, it seems to be at least partly autobiographical. Once you understand this, you will see it everywhere. When I read the description of Dorian Grey, It struck me as incredibly familiar. I thought that Wilde might have had "Bosie" Douglas in his mind when he wrote it. Then, Sibyl Vane became Sibyl Montgomery and the homoseuality of Basil Hallward seemed to mirror Wilde's own bisexuality. He even explained in a letter that "Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry, what the world thinks of me; Dorian is what I would like to be — in other ages, perhaps."Any artist shows his soul on his art, as Basil expalined.
Second of all, I noticed quite a lot of philosophical themes and symbols. One of my favorites is the death of Basil. To me, the scene where Dorian kills Basil is an almost perfect allegory. Basil is archetype of the sensitive artist while Dorian, though corrupted by Lord Henry, represents the society that fails to understand him. (If I read with my queer glasses on, I could swear that Basil could also be a gay man struggling with his identity amongst homophobic people). His death resonates with readers because evryone knows what it feels like to be passionate about something only to have your spirits killed by those who fail to see your point. Everyone "dies" in this way at some point. Some get used to it and go forward, some others let themselves be caught in the avalanche.
Another thing I enjoyed was the parallel of Dorian himself. The beautiful way he looked was a mask for his mental decay (drum roll for appearance vs. essence). Not to mention that one cannot read this book with a black-and-white, rigid mindset. In my opinion, there is no such a thing as wholly good or wholly bad character. Dorian is rather gullible and narcisitic, but he is intelligent enough cover his tracks. Lord Henry is fantastically cynical and manipulative, but also realistic at times. Basil is a sensitive man and a good artist, but he is obsessed with Dorian. Most characters seem to be grey, if I am permitted a pun. Speaking of which, something you would not expect from a book with such a gothic nature is humour and there is plenty of it.
Did I mention this book was censored not once, but twice? In a nutshell, the critics of the time called it "immoral" due to its homosexual or even homoerotic scenes. As a response, Wilde wrote a preface that served as a protest against these. At some point, it reads "There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well-written or baldy-written, that is it all." He basically showed his middle finger in a polite, poetic and truly British manner, even though he was Irish. In the end, he was still the one who suffered. The Marquis of Queensbury used this against him in the trials. That is how Oscar Wilde ended up in prison under accusations of sodomy and wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". He was a controversial figure at that time, but then again that is the beauty. As he himself writes, the only thing that is worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
To sum up, I really enjoyed this novel and would gladly recommend it to anyone who has a taste for the gothic genre. However, I do advise everyone to read beyond the surface. The true beauty is in dissection, I would say.
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