The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Over the Christmas holidays we were give the task to read a book. Not any book though. We were given a list that we could choose and there were a few that stood out. One which was 'Dorian Gray'. Now I know that there have been a few films made about it, but I had never seen one and I wasn't really sure what it was actually about. 

Dorian Gray was written by Oscar Wilde in 1891 and the little section on the back of the book that explains briefly what it's about reads:

'Upon seeing his own striking portrait, Dorian Gray is bewitched and offers his soul if only the painting will age while he remains eternally youthful. Believing himself incorruptible, Dorian indulges in a life of pleasure and excess. But what has become of his portrait?'

Now after reading this, I was quite intrigued and I felt quite pumped to start reading. I normally enjoy reading anyway as it is a bit of a hobby, so I felt that when it came to this book it would just be a walk in a park. What I didn't think about was that the language would be so different. However seeing as it was written over a century ago it is very different. I found this book incredibly difficult to read and it took me a long time as I didn't want to pick up the book because I knew I wouldn't always understand what was going on. I had to re-read paragraphs so that I could get a better understanding as to what was being said, and even then I still struggled. I also found that it took a while for the the book to really 'get going'. I found that I didn't really enjoy the beginning as at first I felt that it didn't really have much to do with what I originally thought the book was about. However towards the end I really started to enjoy the book (well the parts that I understood) and I started to realise how everything fit together.

So Dorian Gray is meant to be a young, naive teen with an ethereal look that appealed to both men and women. This is what originally caught the eye of notorious painter Basil Hallward and made him question what beauty really is. This then lead to the meeting of Dorian Gray and Lord Henry Wotton, who would soon become a philosophical yet dangerous and influential person in Dorian's life. Wotton is the character that manages to convince Gray that Beauty only matters when one is young, and that when you get old beauty leaves you along with other signs of happiness. After seeing a portrait of himself done by Hallward, Gray realises the extent of his beauty and in an impulsive moment sells his soul so that he could stay young at that the painting would age. At the time Gray though nothing of the comment, it is only later on in the book that he realises what he has done. 

Pretty early on in the book, Gray announces that he is in love with a small time actress called Sibyl Vane. However Gray was in love with the thought of being in love and the idea of the art that Vane creates through her acting. However after finally introducing himself, Vane feels as though her love for acting is nothing compared to her love for Dorian and so when he next goes to see her with Wotton and Hallward she acts horrendously causing major embarrassment for Gray. After being told that Sibyl had  acted badly on purpose due to the fact that Dorian was more important to her, Gray reacted with saying the she had 'Killed his love' for her. Immediately he got rid of her and went back to his town house in a state of fury. After calming down, he realised his mistake and wrote a letter to Sibyl apologising for the way he acted and asked for her forgiveness however it was too late. Vane had committed suicide by taking a large amount of pills due to the heartbreak that Gray had caused. This was what started the change in the portrait. After noticing a slight in expression on the painting, an almost cruel undertone, Gray realised the severity of the problem and had the painting removed from the sitting room to his old school room at the top of the house.

What Dorian wasn't planning on was letting the painting take up a huge part of his life. Gray started collecting objects and learning new things as well as throwing the most extravagant parties throughout his years, however he became so paranoid that someone would find the painting that he couldn't bear to be away from it for too long. He would sit up in the old school room day after day watching the painting change as he learns new things. Throughout his life, Wotton is by him every step of the way, placing new thoughts and ideas into Gray's head, however one day Basil Hallward shows up and tells Gray that he is far from the boy that he originally met and that he hasn't changed for the good. This leads to the first viewing of the portrait from an 'outsider' as Dorian shows Basil the monstrosity that has become of the painting. After realising how bad Dorian has got, Basil exclaimed that Gray could get help however due to the fact that Dorian is so engrossed in the fact that he will forever stay young he refuses and in a fit of rage kills Hallward. This is what starts a downward spiral for Gray. Another thing that doesn't help Gray's state of mind is bumping into Sibyl Vane's brother and having him try to kill Gray for 'killing' Sibyl. The guilt from Sibyl and killing Hallward presses down on Gray and eventually he realises the extent of how he has been acting and goes up to destroy the painting and in turn killing himself along with it.

Now I got very confused reading this and I felt the need to watch a film to see if I could get a better understanding. I first watched the 2009 remake. Point blank I didn't like the film. I found that at first yes it related to the book and it helped me figure out the personalities of the characters better but towards the end it just went off and did not relate to the book at all. I also found that the characters didn't really fit the descriptions that the book described them. I tried to see if I could find another version to see if I preferred that one. I found one made in 1973 which I actually really enjoyed. It had all the original wording so I was able to get an even better understanding as I was able to understand what was meant to be said. I found that this film also really related to the book and it followed the storyline really well.