The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891),
sometimes referred to as The Portrait of Dorian Gray,
is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde.
SparkNotes:
"Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and at Magdalen College, Oxford, and settled in London, where he married Constance Lloyd in 1884. In the literary world of Victorian London, Wilde fell in with an artistic crowd that included W. B. Yeats, the great Irish poet, and Lillie Langtry, mistress to the Prince of Wales. A great conversationalist and a famous wit, Wilde began by publishing mediocre poetry but soon achieved widespread fame for his comic plays. The first, Vera; or, The Nihilists, was published in 1880. Wilde followed this work with Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and his most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Although these plays relied upon relatively simple and familiar plots, they rose well above convention with their brilliant dialogue and biting satire.
"Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached the height of his fame. The first edition appeared in the summer of 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. It was criticized as scandalous and immoral. Disappointed with its reception, Wilde revised the novel in 1891, adding a preface and six new chapters. The Preface (as Wilde calls it) anticipates some of the criticism that might be leveled at the novel and answers critics who charge The Picture of Dorian Gray with being an immoral tale. It also succinctly sets forth the tenets of Wilde’s philosophy of art. Devoted to a school of thought and a mode of sensibility known as aestheticism, Wilde believed that art possesses an intrinsic value—that it is beautiful and therefore has worth, and thus needs serve no other purpose, be it moral or political. This attitude was revolutionary in Victorian England, where popular belief held that art was not only a function of morality but also a means of enforcing it. In the Preface, Wilde also cautioned readers against finding meanings “beneath the surface” of art. Part gothic novel, part comedy of manners, part treatise on the relationship between art and morality, The Picture of Dorian Gray continues to present its readers with a puzzle to sort out. There is as likely to be as much disagreement over its meaning now as there was among its Victorian audience, but, as Wilde notes near the end of the Preface, “Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”
"In 1891, the same year that the second edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray was published, Wilde began a homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, an aspiring but rather untalented poet. The affair caused a good deal of scandal, and Douglas’s father, the marquess of Queensberry, eventually criticized it publicly. When Wilde sued the marquess for libel, he himself was convicted under English sodomy laws for acts of “gross indecency.” In 1895, Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor, during which time he wrote a long, heartbreaking letter to Lord Alfred titled De Profundis (Latin for “Out of the Depths”). After his release, Wilde left England and divided his time between France and Italy, living in poverty. He never published under his own name again, but, in 1898, he did publish under a pseudonym The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a lengthy poem about a prisoner’s feelings toward another prisoner about to be executed. Wilde died in Paris on November 30, 1900, having converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed."
I have so many things to say about this book.
I just happened to read it after another book, Madame Bovary, which was also considered immoral in its time.
im·mor·al (-môrl, -mr-) adj.
Contrary to established moral principles.
a·mor·al (-môrl, -mr-) adj.
1. Not admitting of moral distinctions or judgments; neither moral nor immoral.
2. Lacking moral sensibility; not caring about right and wrong.
For some reason, as I read, The Picture of Dorian Gray, kept reminding me of The Tell Tale Heart (1843) by Edgar Allan Poe. It has been a very long time since I read any Poe, but I popped over to SparkNotes to read a bit about Poe and a summary of The Tell Tale Heart, and I could see why it came to mind.
If you have a very good memory for my minutia, you might recall The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of the books read by my long standing book group last summer (I was an active member).
mi·nu·ti·a (m-nsh-, -sh, -ny-)
n. pl. mi·nu·ti·ae (-sh-)
A small or trivial detail: "the minutiae of experimental and mathematical procedure" (Frederick Turner).
And you might also recall it is one of middle's favorite books.
Last summer I tried to read Dorian and I thought I could not stick with/finish it.
I did not go to last (2011) summer's book discussion (I don't go if I have not read the book).
And this was painful for me. I do not have a lot of things I attend, and I really enjoy this group. I missed not going for the Dorian month.
I also missed the month before (Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky) because I had read the book long ago, didn't want to reread it, but didn't remember enough to discuss it. This was pretty stupid of me. I should have read SparkNotes to refresh my brain and gone.
Two months I missed, and really missed, because I sort of did not have it together.
Reading Bleak House last November (2011) matured me considerably.
If you recall, the first two chapters of Bleak House made little sense to me. The time line jumped around and I felt like I needed a big diagram to keep track of the characters.
This was Dickens trying to set the story.
When I got to the third chapter of Bleak, the story unfolded and I loved it all the way to the end.
If I had not kept pushing and finished Bleak, I would (probably) never have gone on to read two other Dicken's books Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. Both of those titles were much easier reading than Bleak (or maybe I just got used to Dickens' style). I seriously love Dickens.
The leader of the long standing group wanted to include a Dickens' book on this year's reading list. I talked him out of it (because we were just reading Bleak House as we were making the list).
Now, I would like to suggest we read one Dickens each year until we have finished all his major titles. I think that is what he was saying, but I didn't hear him.
The first couple chapters of Dorian also set the story. The author gives the history of the characters and explains about The Portrait. All of that is necessary. And once all is set, the book turns into an actual story.
I didn't understand this (patience I suppose, maturity I am sure) and just did not stick with Dorian long enough. On my second reading, I still didn't love those first few chapters, but I understand why they were written the way they were, after finishing the book.
I am not quite sure why this book (Dorian) is one of middle's favorites. I note there are very few books she doesn't like. And I think she read Dorian with one of her favorite, high school, English teachers. It might be, if I pay attention, that any time I mention a title, she tells me it was one of her favorites.
Yes, Dorian was a good read. It had a very clear message. And I am gaining a lot by reading the books and then reading the context section from SparkNotes.
I read SparkNotes after I finish the book.
I miss not getting to discuss every book I read.
So, for the ones not related to a group, reading SparkNotes and then posting about it, sort of fills that hole and completes the cycle for me.
And I am glad I have matured up in my reading.
I think I have matured a lot in the past year, in many ways.
