Lord Henry Dorian Gray. Main characters and plot

Mood now - something strange...

The portrait of Dorian Gray is classic in the world of literature. This novel is distinguished by its philosophy, and makes it unique.
The storyline of the novel is based on a deal with the devil. This is not a formal meeting of the devil with a simple young man. At the center of everything is a magical picture that plays a fatal role in the lives of all the characters in the book.
The portrait was painted for young man unearthly beauty- Dorian Gray. The portrait is drawn by a fashionable and talented artist Basil Hallward. The artist literally fell in love with a guy of indescribable beauty and put his whole soul into painting a portrait. Not knowing that this young man, for whom he paints a picture, will soon kill him ... Lord Henry also plays the role of the snake tempter in the life of young Dorian.
And as a result, the young handsome man, admiring his image, cannot get rid of the thought that the portrait will always have what it will inevitably lose - youth. “Oh, if it were the other way around! If the portrait changed, and I could always remain the same as now! I would sell my soul to the devil for that!” The prayer was heard, and the wish came true!

And now I want to present brilliant phrases Lord Henry, who clung to my soul)

Conscience - official name cowardice, that's all.
I choose beautiful people as close friends, people with a good reputation as friends, I only make smart enemies. There is not a single fool among my enemies. All of them are thinking people, intelligent enough and therefore know how to appreciate me.

Modern costumes are ugly, they oppress with their gloominess. There is nothing colorful left in our life, except vice.

Loyalty is entirely a matter of physiology, it does not depend on our will at all. Young people want to be faithful - and they don't, old people would like to cheat, but where can they be! That's all.
Nowadays, people know the price of everything, but they have no idea about the true value.

Never marry a woman with straw hair. They are terribly sentimental. And yes, don't get married.

Men marry out of fatigue, women marry out of curiosity. Both marriages are disappointing.

I consider superficial people just those who love once in a lifetime. Their so-called fidelity, constancy is only the lethargy of habit or lack of imagination. Loyalty! .. Someday I will analyze this feeling. It is the greed of the owner. There are many things we would gladly give up if not for the fear that someone else would pick them up.

We are all ready to believe in others for the simple reason that we are afraid for ourselves. Optimism is based on pure fear. We ascribe to our neighbors those virtues from which we can profit ourselves, and imagine that we do this out of generosity. We praise the banker, because we want to believe that he will increase our credit in his bank, and we find good traits even the robber high road in the hope that he will spare our pockets.

When a person is happy, he is always good. But not always good people are happy.

To be good means to be in harmony with oneself.

Of course, it is better to adore than to be admired. To endure someone's adoration is boring and painful.
Women treat us, men, the same way that humanity treats its gods: they worship us - and get bored, constantly demanding something.

Only two kinds of people are really interesting - those who know absolutely everything about life, and those who know nothing about it.

The secret to staying young is to avoid worries that make you look ugly.

A woman can make a man righteous in only one way: to annoy him so that he loses all interest in life.

Do not trust a woman who, regardless of her age, wears mauve (French - mauve) dresses or at thirty-five has a passion for pink ribbons: this is undoubtedly a woman with a past.

How much nonsense we talk about happy marriages! A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her.
I love men with a future and women with a past.

The worst thing in the world is boredom. This is the only sin that cannot be forgiven.

Omens are nonsense. Fate does not send messengers to us - for this she is wise enough or cruel enough.

Knowledge is detrimental to love. Only the unknown captivates us. In the fog, everything seems unusual.
In our age, people read too much, which prevents them from being wise, and think too much, which prevents them from being beautiful.

The first conversation between Dorian Gray and Lord Henry. Further words from the dialogues of heroes with Lord Henry.
...
“Lord Henry, are you really such a harmful influence on others?”
“Good influence doesn't exist, Mr. Grey. Every influence is already
immoral - immoral scientific point vision.
- Why not?
- Because to influence another person means to transfer your soul to him. He will begin to think not with his own thoughts, blaze with not his own passions. And his virtues will not be his own, and sins - if we assume that such exist at all - will be borrowed. He will become an echo of someone else's melody, an actor acting in a role that was not written for him.

The purpose of life is self-expression. To manifest our essence in all its fullness - that's what we live for. And in our age, people have become afraid of themselves. They forgot that the highest duty is a duty to oneself. Of course they are merciful. They will feed the hungry, clothe the poor. But their own souls are naked and starving. We have lost courage. Or maybe we never had it. Fear public opinion, this basis of morality, and the fear of God, the fear on which religion rests, is what dominates us.

But even the bravest of us is afraid of himself. Self-denial, this tragic relic of those wild times when people maimed themselves, overshadows our lives. And we are paying the price for this self-restraint. Every desire that we try to suppress wanders in our soul and poisons us. And having sinned, a person gets rid of the attraction to sin, for realization is the path to purification. After that, only memories of pleasure or the voluptuousness of repentance remain. The only way to get rid of temptation is to give in to it. And if you decide to fight it, the soul will be tormented by the attraction to the forbidden, and you will be tormented by desires that the monstrous law, created by you, has recognized as vicious and criminal. Someone said that greatest events in the world are those that occur in the brain. …

And I never approve or condemn anything - this is the most ridiculous approach to life. We are not sent into this world to preach our moral prejudices. I do not attach any importance to what the vulgar people say, and I never interfere in the lives of people who are pleasant to me. If I like a person, then everything in which he manifests himself, I find beautiful.

Dorian Gray fell in love with beautiful girl who plays Juliet and wants to marry her. Why not? Marry him at least Messalina - from this he will not become less interesting. You know, I'm not in favor of marriage. The main harm of marriage is that it corrodes selfishness from a person. And people who are not selfish are colorless, they lose their individuality. True, there are people whom married life makes difficult. While retaining their "I", they supplement it with a multitude of other "I". Such a person is forced to live more than one life and becomes a highly organized person, and this, I believe, is the purpose of our existence. In addition, every experience is valuable, and no matter what they say against marriage, this is, of course, some kind of new experience, a new experience.

Yes, at the touch of her hand, I forget you and your fascinating but poisonous and false theories.
- Which ones exactly? said Lord Henry, as he began to eat his salad.
- Well, about life, about love, about pleasure. Basically all your theories, Harry.
“The only thing worth theory is pleasure,” said Lord Henry slowly in his melodious voice. - But, unfortunately, I have no right to attribute the theory of pleasure to myself. Its author is not me, but Nature. Pleasure is the touchstone with which she tests a person, and a sign of her blessing. When a person is happy, he is always good. But good people are not always happy.
- And who do you call good? exclaimed Basil Hallward.
“Yes,” said Dorian, leaning back in his chair and looking at Lord Henry over a lush bouquet of purple irises that stood in the middle of the table. "Who do you think is good, Harry?"
“To be good is to live in harmony with oneself,” said Lord Henry, grasping the stem of the glass with thin white fingers. - And who is forced to live in harmony with others, he is at odds with himself. Your life is the most important thing. Philistines or Puritans may, if they please, impose their moral rules on others, but I maintain that it is not our business to interfere in the lives of our neighbors.

Good intentions are simply fruitless attempts to go against nature. They are always generated by the purest self-conceit, and nothing exactly comes out of these attempts. They only give us sometimes blissful, but empty sensations that amuse weak people. That's all. Good intentions are checks that people write to a bank where they don't have a checking account.

After all, the beauty of the past is that it is the past. And the women never notice that the curtain has come down. They certainly give the sixth act! They want to continue the performance when all interest in it has already disappeared.

You will never marry again, Lady Narborough, retorted Lord Henry. - Because you were happily married. A woman marries a second time only if her first husband was disgusting to her. A man marries again only because he loved his first wife very much. Women seek happiness in marriage, men put their own at stake.
“Narborough was not so perfect,” said the old lady.
“If he were perfect, you wouldn't love him, dear. Women love us for our flaws. If there are a fair amount of these shortcomings, they are ready to forgive us everything, even the mind ... I'm afraid that for such speeches you will stop inviting me to dinner, Lady Narborough, but what can you do - this is the true truth.

I believe in the greatness of the nation. [Gladys]
- It is only a relic of enterprise and assertiveness. [Lord Henry]
- It is the key to development.
- Decay is dearer to me.
- What about art? Gladys asked.
- It's a disease.
- And love?
- Illusion.
- What about religion?
- A common surrogate for faith.
- You are a skeptic.
- Not at all! After all, skepticism is the beginning of faith.
- Who are you?
To define means to limit.
- Well, give me at least a thread! ..
- Threads break. And you risk getting lost in the maze.
You've completely cornered me. Let's talk about something else.

How women love to do risky things! said Lord Henry with a smile. - I really like this feature in them. A woman is ready to flirt with anyone as long as others pay attention to it.

No, Harry, I have too many grave sins on my conscience. I decided not to sin anymore. And yesterday I started doing good deeds. [Dorian Gray]
- Where were you yesterday?
- In the village, Harry. I went there alone and stopped at a small tavern.
“My dear friend, anyone in the country can be righteous,” said Lord Henry with a smile. - There are no temptations. For this reason, people living outside the city have not been touched by civilization. Yes, yes, to join civilization is a very difficult matter. There are two ways to do this: culture or the so-called depravity. And the villagers do not have access to both. Here they are stagnant in virtue.

Oh, pleasure can be found in everything that becomes a habit, ”said Lord Henry with a laugh. - This is one of the main secrets of life. However, murder is always a miss. You should never do anything that you can't talk to people about after dinner...

Released from the pen of Oscar Wilde in 1890, it remains relevant today. It is read, discussed and recommended. Today we will talk about the main characters and follow the changes with the help of quotation characteristics.

Prologue by Oscar Wilde

The author's words play big role throughout the book. But the prologue helps the reader understand that an unusual journey into the world of art, aesthetics and pleasure awaits him next. Ahead of events, Wilde insists that "there are no books moral or immoral, there are good or bad written - that's all." The attitude to art expressed by him will be reflected in each character individually.

Quote from Dorian Gray

Arriving in London, the young Dorian Gray immediately began to merge into high society, where he first met the artist Basil Holluod, and then Henry (Harry) Wotton, who actually shaped him. further fate. Sincerity, innocence and chastity were felt in the young man, he smiled a lot and did not worry about anything thanks to the inheritance, as evidenced by the quotation. Dorian Gray wasn't attracted to entertainment at first high society, he did not think about vices.

Before meeting Henry Wotton, the young man was well-bred and dreamed of love, had his own, provincial (as Henry would say) views on life. When Wotton criticizes women for constantly demanding something from men, Dorian comes to their defense and objects to him. According to the unspoiled (yet) young man, women are worthy of respect and have full right demand reciprocity, as they give men the best that they have - love.

Having fallen under the influence of the charismatic Harry, Dorian begins to change. Changes in him spoil everything pure, including the relationship with Sybil Vane. The girl kills herself, unable to stop loving him. The tragedy is that Dorian does not care, he does not consider himself responsible for what happened.

There comes a moment when the young man begins to tire of himself, and his speeches become very similar to the philosophy of Henry Wotton. Instead of a young man in love who was looking for simple happiness, the same young-looking, but different Dorian Gray looms before us: he insists that he was looking for only pleasure in life, and he never needed happiness.

Henry (Harry) Watton: Character Characteristics

Henry Wotton - family man who, however, is unhappy in marriage. Departing from the realities of an unbearable, boring life, he professes only one religion, and the main thing in life is not moral principles, but pleasure and beauty. "Your own life is the most important thing," - such is his brief quotation. Dorian Gray is immensely attracted by Henry's difference from the rest, his courage and cynicism. It is Harry who becomes his guide to the world of pleasure.

Love does not exist, only feeling and desire exist, most people are in love only with the image of love - Wotton repeats to Dorian. And the young man who was in love and believed in love begins to become callous. The world would be better and much happier if every person could give expression to every thought, every feeling that arises in him - Harry believes, and Dorian begins to bring his life in line with this statement.

It can be said that in the novel, Henry Wotton is the theorist of hedonism, and Dorian Gray is the practitioner who decided to test its viability.

quotation by artist Basil Hallward

Basil Hallward is an artist. He serves art - and this is reflected in his quotation. He met Dorian Gray at a social reception, and they immediately became friends. The beauty of the young man - pure and innocent - shocked him to the core. The portrait of Dorian turned out to be the best of what he painted so far.

"The artist must create beautiful works art, without bringing anything from his personal life into them, "says Basil and breaks this rule. He confesses to Lord Henry that he has invested too much of himself in the portrait of Dorian Gray, and therefore cannot send him to any exhibition.

“It often occurs to me that art hides the artist to a much greater extent than it reveals him,” Basil argues, but this is only a theory that has nothing to do with his work after meeting Dorian. It is to this character that most of the quotes about the art of the artist belong.

So, pleasure as the basis of life and the consequence of this choice - that's how Dorian Gray thinks. Quote characteristic The heroes of the novel allow you to form a certain opinion about them and about the book. Still, it is worth reading the book in its entirety to understand its relevance in modern world and enjoy the figurative, rich prose of Oscar Wilde.

The novel begins with a description of his "philosophy of pleasure". Henry is an elegant aesthete, loves in beauty and renounces the ugly, the ugly. This desire not to notice anything but beauty makes him not just indifferent to everything and cynical. Lord Henry has the cold soul of a man who has no ideals. Awakening in Doriana the desire to enjoy life at any cost, he does not think at all about possible consequences such behavior both for the young man himself and for other people.

The selfishness of Lord Henry is the selfishness of an aesthete, who, although he has an idea of real life but does not take it into account. Even the suicide of Sybil, Lord Henry, first of all, evaluates not from an ethical, but from an aesthetic point of view. It was precisely such a tragedy that completely satisfied the tastes of both aesthetes, was the death of a young actress. Smart student Lord Henry, Dorian is only at first startled by what has happened. Very little time will pass, and he will feel the same as his mentor: “And yet what happened did not strike me as it should strike. It contains all the terrible beauty of a Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which I was one of the main characters, but which did not hurt my soul.

Characteristic. Results

What is the reason for this behaviour? Lord Henry, and then his student Dorian Gray, replaced moral feelings with admiring beauty. Both heroes do not want to admit that in real world Every action has a certain ethical value. Guilt for Sibylla's death remains guilt; the murder of the painter Basil Hallward remains murder. At the same time, Lord Henry himself does not do anything immoral, his cynicism is just words. But this posture is his essence. Therefore, most of all, the lord is annoyed by naturalness. We can say that he acts as a theoretician, a preacher of the philosophy that guides Dorian Gray in real life.

Irish philosopher

Oscar Fingal O'Flaherty Wills Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde

English philosopher, esthete, writer, poet of Irish origin. One of the most famous playwrights of the late Victorian period.

The Picture of Dorian Grey

The only published novel by Oscar Wilde. In genre terms, it is a mixture of a novel of education with a moral parable. It exists in two versions - in 13 chapters and in 20 chapters. Became the most successful work of Wilde, filmed more than 30 times.

In terms of genre, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a conte philosophique, an intellectual and allegorical story, so popular in the Enlightenment, but written from the standpoint of the decadence of the end of the century. In Dorian Gray, the protagonist of the novel, the features of the new Faust are guessed. Lord Henry plays the role of Mephistopheles, it is he who, throughout the novel, seduces Dorian Gray with the ideas of a new hedonism, turns an innocent and talented young man into a vicious monster. Under the role of Marguerite falls Sybil Vane, new valentine— James Wayne. As you know, Faust also received eternal youth from Mephistopheles.

Main characters

Dorian Gray- youth endowed incredible beauty. Falling under the influence of the ideas of new hedonism preached by Lord Henry, he devotes his life to a thirst for pleasure and vice. This figure is dual. It combines subtle esthete and even a romantic and vicious, ruthless criminal and lecher. These two opposite sides of his character are in constant struggle with each other. This duality of the hero is characteristic of many Gothic novels.

Basil Hallward - the artist who painted the portrait of Dorian Gray. He is distinguished from other heroes by his extreme affection for Dorian Gray, in whom he sees the ideal of beauty and man. In other words, he is Dorian Gray's failed guardian angel.

Lord Henry- aristocrat, preacher of the ideas of new hedonism, "Prince of Paradoxes". His paradoxical, contradictory thinking is imbued with criticism of the entire Victorian English society. Is a kind of Mephistopheles for Dorian Gray.

Sybil Vane- actress, one of the most amazing images novel. Before meeting Dorian, she lived in her fictional world, the world of the theater, was talented actress. Love showed her all the artificiality of her world, where she did not live, but only played. With love, talent will disappear in her soul, as she tries to escape from the world of illusions into the real world. But this is what leads to her death.

James Wayne- Sybil's brother, a sailor. A man of military bearing, who practically lost the meaning of life after Sybil's suicide. Finds rest in the desire for revenge.

Summary of The Picture of Dorian Gray

On a sunny summer day talented painter Basil Hallward receives in his studio an old friend, Lord Henry Wotton, an Epicurean aesthete, the "Prince of Paradox", as one of the characters defines it. In the latter, the features of Oscar Wilde, well known to contemporaries, are easily recognized; the author of the novel “gives” him the prevailing number of his famous aphorisms. Captivated by a new idea, Hallward enthusiastically works on a portrait of an unusually handsome young man whom he recently met. Tom is twenty years old; His name is Dorian Gray.

Soon the sitter appears, listening with interest to the paradoxical judgments of the weary hedonist; Dorian's youthful beauty, which captivated Basil, does not leave Lord Henry indifferent either. But now the portrait is finished; those present admired his perfection. Golden-haired, adoring everything beautiful and liking himself, Dorian dreams aloud: “If the portrait changed, and I could always remain the same!” Touched, Basil gives the young man a portrait.

Ignoring Basil's languid resistance, Dorian accepts Lord Henry's invitation and, with the latter's active participation, plunges into social life; attends dinner parties, spends evenings at the opera. Meanwhile, after paying a visit to his uncle Lord Farmer, Lord Henry learns of the dramatic circumstances of Dorian's parentage: raised by a wealthy guardian, he painfully endured his mother's early death, in defiance of family traditions who fell in love and connected her fate with an unknown infantry officer (at the instigation of an influential father-in-law, he was soon killed in a duel).

Dorian himself, meanwhile, falls in love with the aspiring actress Sybil Vane - “a girl of about seventeen, with a face as gentle as a flower, with a Greek head entwined with dark braids. Eyes are blue lakes of passion, lips are rose petals”; she plays with amazing spirituality on the wretched stage of a beggarly theater in the East Indies best roles Shakespearean repertoire. In turn, Sibile, dragging out a half-starved existence with her mother and brother, sixteen-year-old James, who is preparing to sail as a sailor on a merchant ship to Australia, Dorian seems to be an embodied miracle - the “Beautiful Prince”, descended from transcendental heights. Her lover does not know that in her life there is also a secret carefully guarded from prying eyes: both Sybil and James are illegitimate children, the fruits of a love union that at one time tied their mother - "a tortured, withered woman", serving in the same theater, with a person of a foreign class.

Having found in Sybil the living embodiment of beauty and talent, the naive idealist Dorian triumphantly announces his engagement to Basil and Lord Henry. The future of their ward instills anxiety in both; however, both of them willingly accept an invitation to a performance where Dorian's chosen one must play the role of Juliet. However, swallowed up by bright hopes for the real happiness that awaits her with her beloved, Sybil that evening reluctantly, as if under duress (after all, “playing a lover is a profanity!” she believes) pronounces the words of the role, for the first time seeing without embellishment the squalor of the scenery, the falsity of stage partners and the poverty of the enterprise. A resounding failure follows, evoking the skeptical mockery of Lord Henry, the restrained sympathy of good-natured Basil and total collapse Dorian's castles in the air, in desperation throwing Sibile: "You killed my love!"

Having lost faith in his beautiful-hearted illusions, mixed with the belief in the indissolubility of art and reality, Dorian spends a sleepless night wandering around deserted London. Sibile, however, finds his cruel confession beyond her powers; the next morning, preparing to send her a letter with words of reconciliation, he learns that the girl committed suicide that same evening. Friends-patrons and here react to the tragic news, each in their own way: Basil advises Dorian to strengthen his spirit, and Lord Henry - "not to shed tears in vain for Sybil Vane." In an effort to console the young man, he invites him to the opera, promising to introduce him to his charming sister, Lady Gwendolen. To Basil's bewilderment, Dorian accepts the invitation. And only the portrait recently presented to him by the artist becomes a merciless mirror of the spiritual metamorphosis brewing in him: a hard wrinkle is indicated on the flawless face of the young Greek god. Seriously worried, Dorian puts the portrait out of sight.

And again, his helpful friend Mephistopheles, Lord Henry, helps him drown out the disturbing pricks of conscience. On the advice of the latter, he plunges into reading strange book newfangled French author- a psychological study about a person who decided to experience all the extremes of life. Bewitched by her for a long time (“it seemed that the heavy smell of incense rose from her pages and intoxicated the brain”), Dorian in the next twenty years - in the narrative of the novel they fit into one chapter - “falls more and more in love with his beauty and watches with great interest the decomposition of his souls." As if drunk in his ideal shell, he seeks consolation in the magnificent rites and rituals of foreign religions, in music, in collecting antiquities and precious stones, in narcotic potions offered in notorious haunts. Drawn by hedonistic temptations, falling in love over and over again, but not able to love, he does not shun dubious connections and suspicious acquaintances. The glory of a soulless seducer of young minds is fixed behind him.

Recalling the destinies of fleeting chosen ones and chosen ones, broken at his whim, Dorian tries to reason with Basil Hallward, who has long cut off all ties with him, but was going to visit him before leaving for Paris. But in vain: in response to fair reproaches, he laughingly invites the painter to see the true face of his former idol, captured on the Hallward portrait, gathering dust in a dark corner. To the astonished Basil, the frightening face of the voluptuous old man opens up. However, the spectacle is beyond the power of Dorian: considering the creator of the portrait responsible for his moral behavior, he, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, plunges a dagger into the neck of a friend of his young days. And then, calling for help one of his former associates in revels and feasts, chemist Alan Campbell, blackmailing him with some shameful secret known only to both of them, makes him dissolve Basil's body in nitric acid - material evidence of the villainy he committed.

Tormented by belated remorse, he again seeks oblivion in drugs. And he almost dies when some tipsy sailor recognizes him in a suspicious brothel at the very “bottom” of London: this is James Wayne, who found out too late about the fatal fate of his sister and swore at all costs to take revenge on her offender.

However, fate for the time being keeps him from physical death. But not from the all-seeing eye of Hallward's portrait. “This portrait is like a conscience. Yes, conscience. And it is necessary to destroy it, ”Dorian concludes, having survived all the temptations of the world, even more devastated and lonely than before, vainly envious of both the purity of an innocent village girl and the selflessness of his accomplice involuntarily Alan Campbell, who found the strength to commit suicide, and even ... the spiritual aristocracy of his friend-tempter Lord Henry, who, it seems, is alien to any moral obstacles, but incomprehensibly believes that "every crime is vulgar."

Late at night, alone with myself in a luxurious London mansion, Dorian attacks the portrait with a knife, trying to chop and destroy it. Shouting servants discover in the room dead body an old man in a tailcoat. And a portrait, timeless, in its radiant grandeur.

Thus ends the novel-parable about a man for whom "in some moments Evil was only one of the means of realizing what he considered the beauty of life."

gave the world philosophical story about an ageless young man with angelic features, still heard by readers and literary critics, despite the fact that The Picture of Dorian Gray was his only published novel. The eccentric young man Dorian has both admirers and ill-wishers: some are delighted with the egoism of the protagonist, others condemn his immoral behavior.

Story

According to legend, at the only novel Oscar Wilde had a real background. They say that in 1884 the writer often visited the workshop of his friend Basil Ward, where he always breathed creative inspiration and smelled of oil paints. At that time, the artist was just painting a portrait of a young man of unearthly beauty. After the work was completed, the sitter left, but the picture remained. Then the connoisseur of fine art Wilde remarked:

“Oh, what a pity that such a beautiful creature will grow old sooner or later!”

Basil Ward agreed with the opinion of a friend and added that it would be wonderful if, over the years, not the face of a young man, but his own portrait would be covered with wrinkles.

Paying attention to the inspired plot, the genius of literature composed the intellectual-conceptual story "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in just three weeks. However, the author himself admitted that this is too long. Oscar's creation was first published in Lippincott's Monthly Journal (1890), and a year later Wilde's manuscript was published as a separate book with a preface, which became the manifesto of aestheticism.

The novel caused a powerful emotional shock among the public: the regulars bookstores admired the creation of Oscar, but the literary establishment did not like the book. The literary elite condemned Wilde's work as low and immoral. Some critics have suggested tabooing The Picture of Dorian Gray and putting the author on trial.

It is noteworthy that with his scandalous work, Oscar Wilde seems to have predetermined his fate. Married man scared in early years words "homosexuality", raising two children, ceased to enjoy communicating with the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity.

From the biography of the writer it is clear that he was an extremely amorous person: when the master of the word turned 21, he began to court Florry Balkum. This girl literally tore Oscar Wilde's heart apart, preferring the creator of the grim vampire. Further in the life of the writer there was a series of unsuccessful love interests, until in 1881 he met his future wife, Constance Lloyd. The lovers doted on each other, but family life was unusual for Oscar Wilde.

What caused Wilde's heterosexual attraction to males is anyone's guess. It is known that, while still studying at Oxford, the creator of The Picture of Dorian Gray kept dropping into the "red light district".

One day after another meeting with lung woman behavior, the master of decadence contracted syphilis. This terrible disease had to be treated with mercury, from which teeth deteriorated. Despite the fact that the doctors assured Wilde in excellent health, two years later there was a relapse. After that Oscar stopped love relationship with Constance and began to share his bed with men.

In 1891 (a couple of months after the release of the novel), Wilde, while in own house together with his wife, he met a young aristocrat, Alfred Douglas, whom his relatives and friends affectionately called "Bosie". This nickname comes from English word"bossy", which in translation means "loving to dispose of."

The arrogant narcissist Alfred was unlucky with his family: noble parents were constantly engaged in litigation leaving the child to the mercy of fate. In 1891, a book by Oscar Wilde fell into the hands of Bosie: according to the young man, the novel, which was re-read as many as 11 times, bewitched the 21-year-old guy. Douglas immediately set out to see the author immortal work. This acquaintance was extremely successful: Bozi became the most big love in the life of a writer.

Image

The characterization of Dorian Gray is extremely complex and controversial. Readers get acquainted with the main character on the first pages of the work. According to the author, Dorian Gray was like an angel: he had Blue eyes and scarlet lips, and his face was framed by light golden curls.

However, the actor who performed leading role in the film "Dorian Gray" (2009), does not fit the described canons. The audience saw a brown-eyed brunette with a strong-willed chin, who was remembered for his smile: on the Internet there are pictures and gif animations with captured frames from Oliver Parker's fantastic drama.

But behind the pretty image, a sinner was hiding, spoiling the life of himself and those around him. Everyone who came across Dorian Gray at least once was doomed to suffering and misfortune. For example, his lover, actress Sybil Wayne, after hearing about the cancellation of her marriage, committed suicide.

It is worth noting that the writer did not indicate the specific vices of the protagonist of the novel. The reader thought out the sins of the character himself, based on his own life experience. But one thing is clear: Dorian Gray suffered from narcissism, in his view the form prevailed over the internal component. For the sake of preserving beauty and eternal youth, the young man was even ready to sell his soul to the devil.

Dorian becomes a puppet in the hands of the "Prince of Paradox" Lord Henry, whose thinking is saturated with hatred for English society. Lord Henry instills his views on life and critical statements in the mind of Dorian, who is rolling down the slope: orgies, sadomasochism, alcohol, drugs and sodomy appear in his life.

Main characters and plot

Oscar Wilde's book is a mixture of a novel and a moral parable. Moreover, when analyzing the work, researchers often identify Dorian Gray with the new Faust, while Lord Henry appears in the form of Mephistopheles, pushing the main character to rash acts and watching everything that happens from the shadows.

The plot of the philosophical story is not trivial: the artist Basil Hallward is working on a portrait of a pretty young man who, being in the role of a sitter, is not aware of his own beauty.

Seeing the picture, Dorian envies the image: if after decades the face of a young man will be decorated with wrinkles, then nothing will happen to the portrait, except that the colors will fade. Because of strong desire Grey, who was ready to almost make a deal with Satan, his appearance remains unchanged, while the portrait begins to age.

A naive young man accidentally meets a friend of the artist - Henry "Harry" Watton, a preacher of the idea of ​​hedonism. According to this aristocrat, pleasure received in any way is the meaning of human life. The soulless lord instills his ideas in Dorian, who plunges into the pool: now his image on the canvas reflects not only the time frame, but also all his spiritual falls.

The actress Sybil Vane was the only one who could save Gray from Lord Henry's magical spell. After the failure of the performance, Dorian rejected his beloved, so the girl drank a bottle of poison. Sibylla's brother - James - swore revenge, and the culprit tragic death looked at the picture: the face of the portrait was distorted by a devilish smile. It was then that the young man realized that his wish had come true.

Dorian instantly conquered bad reputation in society. When Basil Hallward wondered if all these rumors were true, Dorian showed the artist a portrait, and then killed his "guardian angel". Gray believed that it was because of the person who deified him that misfortunes occurred.

After the murder, paranoia took over the consciousness of the protagonist. The ageless destroyer of destinies could not find peace, so he decided to go over to the side of good, but all his actions were echoes of vanity, as evidenced by the portrait. Ultimately, Dorian Gray decides to destroy Hallward's painting, but dies himself.

Quotes

“My lips found her lips. We kissed. I can't tell you what I felt at that moment. It seemed that life had stopped, and this moment of sweet bliss would last until the end of my days.

“Harry, imagine a girl of about seventeen, with a delicate face like a flower, with a Greek head wrapped in dark braids. Eyes are blue lakes of passion, lips are rose petals.

"I'm tired of myself today and would be glad to turn into someone else."

"We each have our own secret."

"I am what I am - there's nothing you can do about it."

• As you know, filmmakers rarely screen the writer's manuscript exactly as directors like to add original details. So the film "Dorian Gray" (2009) was no exception: the main character has a beloved Emily Wotton (), although according to the novel, the young man does not love anyone but himself.
• TV series directors scary tales”, where the role of the handsome man was played by Reeve Carney, also dragged romantic motives: the seducer experienced feelings for the girl Angelica.

• In psychiatry, there is a concept that is called "Dorian Gray syndrome", which is expressed in the fear of aging. People who fit the description of the syndrome are acutely worried about wrinkles and physical withering, sometimes resorting to drastic methods.
• Few people know that the real name is Dorian. The singer was named by his parents after the character of the same name from the Oscar Wilde novel.

• inspired by Wilde's work, so he wrote the book "Glory to Dorian in the highest!". According to the plot, the protagonist finds himself in a society of such narcissists who offer him eternal youth.
• In the world there are film adaptations of the novel, musicals, as well as performances. On the Russian stage, Lord Henry played, and the role of Dorian Gray went to Sergei Kempo.