Oscar Wilde's "The
picture of Dorian Gray" offers its
readers the opportunity to cast a glance at the late 1800's society,
underlining people's vanity and superficiality, revealing an almost perfect reflection of today's social values. That's why all the feeling and the emotions that Wilde twists and turn in this story are still valid one, and easily comprehended and felt by the reader. Highlighting the shallow path people often choose, the author focuses on an egocentrical character and criticizes the masses' ideal of beauty. He bring his message through three different parts of the book''s structure: one portraits the image other people have about Dorian , another reveals the
readers how the main character sees himself, and the third satisfies our curiosity and lets us know what ultimately happens to Dorian. The reader is first introduced to the main character through Basic Hallward, the enchanted painter who has fallen in love with Dorian at first site. He describes the effects of this young man on him to his curious friend, Lord Henry, whose plea in favour of the advantage of youth, pulls us into a world where sprinkling faces get whatever they want. Dorian's ego is flattered by Henry''s talk, and he soon learns an important lesson: life is easy and always rewarding for the beautiful. Believing everything Henry tells him, Dorian wishes to stay forever young and let his
picture take age; unfortunately for him, his wish is granted, and without being completely aware of consequences, he dives right into fame, fortune, sex and drugs. Dorian realizes that the use of his beauty is wrong, only through the consciousness shown on his aging picture. The guilt and shame of his acts and of the person who is becoming aren't enough to stop him, as he still strongly believes that his beauty wins over his heart, over his soul. Despite Dorian's belief, Wilde doesn't let us get away with that thought: Dorian stabbing at the picture proves that the soul, the subconscious, or whatever, wins. That's why the character's ultimate downfall is a kind of wake up call Wilde is trying to get across to its readers, warning them not to be blinded by their own egos. Though Dorian remains young and beautiful as the years pass, it is part of evil that his beauty loses its brightness; Oscar Wilde uses this as a good breaking point for Dorian Gray to come up against himself and face who he has become. In the end of the novel, the painting is absolutely disgusting, that the main character find it hard to look at. He sadly discovers he had become so not enchanting, so not nice, and all with the most beautiful face...