Concetti Chiave
- The novel is set in 19th century London and follows Dorian Gray, who becomes aware of his own beauty through a portrait painted by Basil Hallward.
- The portrait reflects Dorian's moral corruption, showing signs of age and vice while he remains youthful, leading him to commit heinous acts including murder.
- The narrative employs third-person perspective, allowing readers to closely identify with Dorian, while vivid settings and character dialogues enhance the dramatic technique.
- The story is a modern retelling of the Faust myth, with the portrait symbolizing Dorian's soul and the moral decay of the Victorian middle class.
- The restoration of the portrait to its original state upon Dorian's death underscores Wilde's belief that art is eternal and transcends human flaws.
The novel is set in London at the end of the 19th century. The protagonist is Dorian Gray, an handsome man, who realizes how handsome he is only after looking at his portrait, painted by Basil Hallward.
What is the relationship between the portrait and corruption?
While his desires become true, including that of eternal youth, the signs of age, experience and vice appear on his portrait. Little by little, Dorian becomes insensitive, makes use of people and lets people die. When Hallward sees the corrupted image of the portrait, Dorian kills him. Dorian can’t see his picture damaged and stabs it, killing surprisingly himself. When he dies, the picture return to its original purity.
Narrative techniques and setting
The poet uses the third-person narration; the perspective adopted is internal, allowing this way a process of identification between the reader and the character. The settings are vividly described, the characters reveal themselves through what they say or what other people say of them, according to a technique which is typical of drama.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 19th century version of the myth of Faust. The Portrait represents Dorian’s soul and records the signs of his experience, corruption, horror and sins. Wilde plays on the idea of the correspondence between the physical and spiritual realms: beautiful people are moral people, ugly people are immoral people. His variation on this theme is in his use of magical portrait. The picture represents the dark side of Dorian’s personalities. The corrupted picture can be seen as a symbol of the immorality of the Victorian middle class, while Dorian is an example of the Victorian hypocrisy. The picture, restored to its original beauty, express Wilde’s theories of art: art survives people, art is eternal.
Domande da interrogazione
- How does Dorian Gray's portrait relate to his moral corruption?
- How does "The Picture of Dorian Gray" reflect themes of Victorian society and art?
Dorian Gray's portrait reflects the signs of age, experience, and vice as he indulges in his desires, remaining youthful himself. His moral corruption is mirrored in the portrait's degradation, culminating in Dorian's death when he attempts to destroy it, restoring the portrait to its original purity.
The novel critiques Victorian society by symbolizing its immorality through Dorian's corrupted portrait and his hypocrisy. The restored portrait underscores Wilde's belief in art's eternal nature, contrasting the transient nature of human life and morality.
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