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Petra It's a year now, still in a dark place's Reviews > The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Petra It's a year now, still in a dark place's review
bookshelves: fiction, reviewed, books-read-a-long-time-ago, 2016-150-reviews
Jun 13, 2008
bookshelves: fiction, reviewed, books-read-a-long-time-ago, 2016-150-reviews
Possessing eternal youth and beauty produces exactly the same effect as sentencing a man to life without the possibility of parole. Both have nothing to lose and morals disappear before the desire for immediate self-gratification in all things. And so it is with Dorian Gray. It's a moral story so eventually his evil catches up with him and he dies, as does the criminal.
Is Oscar Wilde saying that it is man's essential nature, to be so internally psychopathic and selfish that so long as he can keep his reputation he will wreak havoc on people's lives and not care in the process of enriching his own?
Oscar Wilde was a man who held some very nasty views and only cared when extremely similar ones were turned upon himself. (He was imprisoned for homosexuality, but felt it was ok for Dreyfus to be imprisoned on trumped-up crime of murder but really because he was Jewish. He chose the wrong side on that one and lost even his best friend and was out of step with almost the whole of Britain). I don't like the author, but I do love his prose.
I read this book years ago. But the psychological story of a man's realisation that there are no consequences to his actions, nothing is forbidden, everything is permitted, you never forget.
Is Oscar Wilde saying that it is man's essential nature, to be so internally psychopathic and selfish that so long as he can keep his reputation he will wreak havoc on people's lives and not care in the process of enriching his own?
Oscar Wilde was a man who held some very nasty views and only cared when extremely similar ones were turned upon himself. (He was imprisoned for homosexuality, but felt it was ok for Dreyfus to be imprisoned on trumped-up crime of murder but really because he was Jewish. He chose the wrong side on that one and lost even his best friend and was out of step with almost the whole of Britain). I don't like the author, but I do love his prose.
I read this book years ago. But the psychological story of a man's realisation that there are no consequences to his actions, nothing is forbidden, everything is permitted, you never forget.
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Reading Progress
January 1, 2000
–
Started Reading
January 2, 2000
–
Finished Reading
June 13, 2008
– Shelved
June 20, 2008
– Shelved as:
fiction
March 13, 2016
– Shelved as:
reviewed
March 13, 2016
– Shelved as:
books-read-a-long-time-ago
June 27, 2016
– Shelved as:
2016-150-reviews
Comments Showing 1-27 of 27 (27 new)
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message 1:
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Henry
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rated it 4 stars
Mar 13, 2016 04:31PM
A classic book that will always be read, the George Sanders film is pretty good too, Petra.
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Many truths in this condensed, incisive review, Petra. Works should be judged by their quality not by the person who penned them (did we have a similar discussion involving Ezra Pound, the gullible moron?)
message 5:
by
Petra It's a year now, still in a dark place
(last edited Mar 14, 2016 01:08PM)
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Dolors wrote: "Many truths in this condensed, incisive review, Petra. Works should be judged by their quality not by the person who penned them..."Nope we did not discuss the vile and traitorous Ezra Pound, that must have been another of your (fierce!) friends :-)
Thanks John, Sabah & Deanna. Also for the film suggestion Henry.
Henry wrote: "A classic book that will always be read, the George Sanders film is pretty good too, Petra."Mon vieux, I call it the Albert Lewin film. (LOL)
Petra, OW was dying of alcoholism and syphillis at time of Dreyfus Case... he was a ghastly wreck. ~~~ Read the Henry James work "The Story of a Masterpiece," (1868). This surely inspired Dorian.
Sketch, that is beneath you giving Oscar Wilde an excuse for his anti-semitism when it is written in so many of his books and not just limited to the Dreyfus Affair. In any case he was still up and about and wondering why so much of fashionable London had rejected him presuming they were as bad-minded as he was. I might read the Henry James one day, thanks for the heads-up.
Have you expressed yourself the same on Shakespeare and The Merchant of Venice? ~~ How about GGreene's Stamboul Train, aka Orient Express. Consider poor Coral having to service merchant Myatt....it's tew howwid ! (You have a thing about OW and I know it's cos you admire his writing. I let pass...)
I don't have a thing about Oscar Wilde it's just looks that way because all any of us know about each other is what we choose to say or who we review on GR.
What we say is who we are >> sometimes. Sometimes scorching irony is missed - without voice - on the NET. (Those who know me well know I like to start humorous brushfires).
Sketchbook wrote: " (Those who know me well know I like to start humorous brushfires). "I know that. :-) But I never know when. It's a very selective self we all present online, even those who think they are totally open.
Petra,An uncensored version of the Picture of Dorian was released about 5 years ago. I'm not sure how different it is.
@13 -- Wise words...
Sketchbook wrote: "@13 -- Wise words..."*faints*
Smelling salts, darl? Exit through the gift shop...
Great review. I haven't' read it myself yet.
Erin (Paperbackstash) *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Great review. I haven't' read it myself yet."I hope you get round to it. It really is one of the all-time great classics. I prefer Wilde's prose to his drawing-room dramas all of which seem just silly and designed to showcase Wilde's wit (and ego).
Possessing eternal youth and beauty produces exactly the same effect as sentencing a man to life without the possibility of parole. Both have nothing to lose and morals disappear before the desire for immediate self-gratification in all things. I love this.
Anuradha wrote: "Possessing eternal youth and beauty produces exactly the same effect as sentencing a man to life without the possibility of parole. ..."Thank you. I did too.
Petra X wrote: "Anuradha wrote: "Possessing eternal youth and beauty produces exactly the same effect as sentencing a man to life without the possibility of parole. ..."Thank you. I did too."Fine reflection Petra,usually it is so,but I dont share the very pessimistic view of OW about humans esential nature.
Jose wrote: "I dont share the very pessimistic view of OW about humans esential nature..."I don't share it either but I understand it, you have everything (as Oscar Wilde did) then it is all taken away. The power of evil, to him, was greater than that of tolerance.
One of my favorite fables Petra. I wonder if is about people’s perception of themselves as they age, a narcissistic desire to remain attractive, sticking it to the man or all of the above.
Dmitri wrote: "One of my favorite fables Petra. I wonder if is about people’s perception of themselves as they age, a narcissistic desire to remain attractive, sticking it to the man or all of the above."All of the above!
I don’t like Oscar Wilde either. His prose was pretty, but otherwise he was just a douche canoe 🛶
The Goon wrote: "I don’t like Oscar Wilde either. His prose was pretty, but otherwise he was just a douche canoe 🛶"The old separating art from artist thing. We can. Rather a lot of people these days are having problems with some popular authors whose opinions they don't agree with and then saying because of that they wouldn't read any more of their books.
