Resumo de The Picture Of Dorian Gray

A beautifully-written cautionary tale by Oscar Wilde.

Dorian Gray is a beautiful young gentlemen, who has inspired his friend Basil Hallward to paint a number of excellent portraits. One day while Dorian is sitting for one such painting, Lord Henry Wooton comes to visit, and praises Dorian endlessly for his beauty and youth, claiming that youth is the only virtue worth having. Dorian becomes fascinated by Lord Henry and his flamboyant philosophies, and wishes aloud that he would never have to grow old or ugly, and that this painting could age instead.

Dorian and Lord Henry become firm friends, and Henry lends Dorian a book (which is not named) about a young man who gave his life over to pleasure, and lived only for the sake of experience. Dorian becomes obsessed with this ideal, and from here his life becomes increasingly nihilistic. He meets and falls in love with Sybil Vane, a young actress in a shabby East End theatre. He takes his friends down to watch her perform, but she is so in love with him that she no longer cares for her acting, and Dorian is thoroughly embarrassed by her poor performance. He ends their affair that night, and Sybil is so distraught that she kills herself.

Dorian hears of her death, but decides it is not his fault, and blames her for not living up to his standards. He then notices that the portrait which Basil Hallward painted of him has changed ? a cruel sneer has appeared on the once rosy lips. Realising that his wish has come true, Dorian hides the painting away in his attic, so that no one will see his shame and corruption developing on the painted face.

From here Dorian?s lifestyle becomes increasingly questionable. He develops serial obsessions with art, textiles, religion, precious stones, alchemy, and other fashionable pursuits. He always remains popular and attractive, but soon rumours begin to spread about his night-time activities, and the fallen reputations of his closest friends.

One night, years later, Dorian bumps into Basil on his way home. Basil want to talk to Dorian about the way his life has gone, and Dorian decides to show Basil the painting, which has become more hideous as Dorian sins have built up. He blames Basil for painting the thing in the first place, and in a rage he stabs his friend to death. Instead of remorse, Dorian thinks only of concealing his crime, and blackmails his old friend Alan Campbell into destroying the body.

Ignoring the blood which has now appeared on the hands of the painting, Dorian carries on with his debauched life. One night he is attacked by Sybil Vanes? brother James, who knows that Dorian was the reason for her death. Dorian escapes by claiming mistaken identity, as he has not aged in the eighteen years since the incident, but James keeps an eye on him nonetheless. Dorian becomes increasingly paranoid that he will be killed for what he has done, until James is killed in a hunting accident in Dorian?s country house.

Dorian tries to turn over a new leaf, but Lord Henry reminds him that any attempt to do so would still ultimately be a selfish act. Frustrated, Dorian tries to destroy the painting which (he believes) has cursed his life. His servants hear a scream from the attic, and when they break in, they find Dorian dead: instead of stabbing the painting he has stabbed himself. His corpse is that of an old and ugly man, lying before a beautiful portrait of him in his youth.

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