The Picture of Dorian Gray is a foundational work of gothic Victorian literature. Deeply atmospheric and preoccupied with Victorian morality and social norms, Oscar Wilde’s only published novel is a beautifully written reflection on the nature of beauty and ugliness. That said, this is a fairly simple novel. Compared to other gothic and Victorian classics like Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, and Great Expectations, The Picture of Dorian Gray has a simple plot and is not particularly subtle. Wilde is at his best here when his characters, especially Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton, and Basil Hallward, play off one another and pontificate about the nature of youth and beauty as compared to ugliness. Most everything else is innuendo. We as readers are meant to be appalled by Dorian’s debased lifestyle and moral decay, but Wilde spends very little time describing Dorian’s actions, with one notable exception which occurs fairly late in the novel’s short page count. Again, I think back to how appalled I felt reading about Heathcliff’s abusive behavior in Wuthering Heights, or how disappointed I was in Pip as he came of age in Great Expectations. I did not feel those emotions here. Dorian and the entire cast of characters feel more like ciphers for Wilde’s ideas than actual people. Events such as those that befall Sybil and James Vane seem to more closely resemble cosmic punishment than deliberate outcomes. There is very little plot to predict or spoil here. This is a novel where a premise is established very early on, and the author then plays in that sandbox until it runs its course.
I enjoyed The Picture of Dorian Gray, but believe it could have been a richer, more emotionally impactful novel if Wilde had gone deeper. That said, I would recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray to anyone who wants to read an accessible Victorian classic and sample gothic literature before picking up longer, more complicated works.
