Minutes June book: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

(chosen by LC)





Last year, while in Paris, LC visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery and saw Oscar Wilde's grave. For years fans have visited the grave, and left lipsticked kisses on the cream-coloured gravestone (the stone has recently been cleaned off and protected by a glass screen - which is now also covered in lipstick kisses.) LC saw a message written on the glass which said, 'You changed my life'. She was intrigued by this and then decided to make The Picture of Dorian Gray her book choice.

About the author:

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854, the son of an eye-surgeon and a nationalist poetess. He went to Trinity College, Dublin and then to Magdalen College, Oxford. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884, and then tried to establish himself as a writer. Success was slow, however his three volumes of short fiction, The Happy Prince (1888), Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1891) and A House of Pomegranates (1891), together with his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), gradually won him a solid reputation as a modern writer. His Society Comedies – Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, were all performed on the West End stage between 1892 and 1895 and were very popular.

In 1891, Wilde had met and fallen in love with Lord Alfred Douglas. In 1895, Wilde brought an unsuccessful libel action against Douglas's father, the Marquess of Queensberry. Wilde lost the case and after a further two trials was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for acts of gross indecency. He was released from prison in 1897 and exiled himself to a life on the Continent. He died in Paris in 1900.

(general biographical detail from the publisher's website)

What the publisher says about the book:

Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence. The Picture of Dorian Gray was a succes de scandale. Early readers were shocked by its hints at unspeakable sins, and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895.

What we discussed about the book:

• In what ways did the portrait represent a conscience?
• Was the character of Basil a conscience?
• Were Lord Henry's shocking words, worse than / better than / the same as shocking deeds?
• What was it about Dorian that fascinated Lord Henry?
• What did Dorian have over Alan Campbell?
• How could we explain Henry's attitude towards Sybil - 'The girl never really lived, and so she has never really died...'. What did he mean by that?
• Was Lord Henry a more insidious character than Dorian?  How/when would he pay for his sins?
• The symbolism of colours in the novel. What was the 'yellow book'?
• Could this be called a fable? A morality tale? Were there elements of fairy tale?
• Was there ever an actual pact with the devil/evil? 
• Were the underclasses portrayed as having an ugliness?
• Did we agree with the quotes, 'There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr Gray. All influence is immoral - immoral from the scientific point of view.'...'Because to influence a person is to give him one's own soul.'?

And then we were sidetracked into:

• In what ways was the Victorian social code suffocating to individuals? How did this play out in their lives?
• The concept of opium houses and brothels in that time.
• Is this considered an immoral book today?  What would the definition of immoral literature look like today? Does it depend on the reader, rather than a societal view?
• The concept of 'keeping up appearances' in the upper classes. After the beater was shot, the shoot was cancelled because it would not look good to go on.
• How does the book stand up now, over a century later?
• How did censorship/editing of this novel change the original intended meaning?

In other news we discussed:

• The Age article about the dark Internet - a webworld beyond law enforcement.
• Botox and the 'Dorian Gray Effect' - a medical condition in which rapid aging occurs when the botox wears off. 
• Various approaches to religion - which churches swing the incense.

Ratings:
Range: 7 to 8
Average: 7.66

Next book: Runaway by Alice Munro (chosen by KE)