The Picture of Dorian Gray (English, Paperback, R Raman)

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY is a philosophical novel by the writer Oscar Wilde, published 1890. It offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers, some of whom said that Oscar Wilde should be prosecuted for violating the public morality. Wilde aggressively defended his novel and art though he finally agreed to omit some of the most controversial material. Basil Hallward, an artist who is impressed and infatuated by Dorian's beauty painted a full length portrait in oil. He believes that Dorian's beauty is responsible for the new mode in his art which he learnt as a painter. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and is brain-washed by his hedonistic worldview and starts believing that beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life. As Dorian knows that his beauty will fade though the beauty of the portrait will remain, he expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied and amoral experiences; all the while his portrait ages and records every soul-corrupting sin. One day when he was no longer able to keep seeing the ugliness of the portrait, he takes a knife and stabs it repeatedly – ends up in stabbing himself as per his earlier wish.