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Character ListDorian Gray( e is a handsome, impressionable, and wealthy young gentleman.1nder the influence of Lord enry otton, Dorian becomes e#tremely concerned with the transience 5decay6 of his beauty andbegins to pursue his own pleasure above all else.e devotes himself to having as many e#periences as possible, whether moral or immoral, elegant or sordid.

Lord Henry Wotton( e is a nobleman and a close friend of 'asil allward. e is urbane 5well(mannered6 and wittyand is perpetually armed and ready to criticise the moralism and hypocrisy of Victorian society.

e is always in search of new e#periences that stimulate the senses without regard for conventional morality. is pleasure(seekingphilosophy of 2new edonism3 plays a vital role in Dorians development.

asil Hallward( e is an artist, and a friend of Lord enry. 'asil becomes obsessed with Dorian after meeting him at aparty.e thinks that Dorian possesses a beauty so rare that it can help him reali0e a new kind of art4 through Dorian, he finds 2the lines ofa fresh school.3Dorian also helps 'asil reali0e his artistic potential, as the portrait of Dorian that 'asil paints proves to be his masterpiece.

!i"yl #ane( She is a poor, beautiful, and talented actress. Dorian falls in love with her but he is mainly attracted by hertalent while Sibyl feels true love for him and for life. hen she realises the falseness of affecting emotions on stage she decides togive up acting. s a result Dorian breaks Sibyls heart and leaves her driving her to suicide.

$he alle%orical &eanin%The story of the novel is profoundly allegorical. %t is a 78 th(century version of the myth of Faust, the story of the man who

sells his soul to the devilto have all his desires satisfied.

The picture represents Dorians soulthat records the signs of experiences, the corruption, the horrorand the sinwhileDorians face and body stay timeless and beautiful. %n other words the picture stands for the dark side of Dorians personality, hisdouble, which he tries to forget by locking the picture in a room.

t the end errors and sins must be facedand the moralof the novel is that reality cannot be escapedand every excessmust be punished. hen Dorian destroys the picture, he cannot avoid the punishment for all his sins, that is, death.

The horrible, corrupting picturecould be seen as a symbol of the immoralityand bad conscienceof the Victorian middle

class, while Dorian and his pure, innocent appearance are symbols of bourgeois hypocrisy.

"inally the picture, restored to its original beauty, illustrates ildes theories of art9 art survives people, art is eternal.

$he&es- $he P'r(ose o) *rtThe Picture of Dorian Graywas first published in 7:8; and it was described as immoral. %n revising the te#t the following year,ilde included a preface, which serves as a useful e#planation of his philosophy of art.

The purpose of art is to have no purpose+ ,*ll artis 'ite 'seless.The Victorians believed that art could be used as a tool for social and moral education, as illustrated in works by writers such aswork of art >, living any moment with happiness and pleasure 5the dandy6.The dandy is an aristocrat and his elegance is a symbol of the superiority of his spirit. e uses his wit to shock and is anindividualist who demands absolute freedom. Life is meant for pleasure and pleasure is an indulgence in beauty. The dandys main

interests are beautiful clothes, good conversations, delicious food and beautiful lovers.ilde affirmed 2There is no such thing a moral or immoral book9 'ooks are well written or badly written. That is all3.The artist, according to ilde, is an alien in a materialistic world. The artist writes only to please himself and not to communicatehis theories to the other people.ilde may have succeeded in freeing his art from the confines of Victorian morality, but he has replaced it with a doctrine that is, inits own way, /ust as restrictive.

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- $he !'(re&acy o) o'th and ea'tyThe first principle of aestheticism, the philosophy of art by which &scar ilde lived, is that art serves no other purpose than to offerbeauty.Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray,beauty reigns. %t is a means to revitali0e the senses. %t is also a means of escaping thebrutalities of the world.Dorian devotes himself to the study of beautiful things*music, /ewels, rare tapestries. %n a society that pri0es beauty so highly,youth and physical attractiveness become valuable commodities.'eauty and youth is of utmost importance in the novel. The novel suggests that the price one must pay for them is e#ceedingly highand Dorian gives nothing less than his soul.s in the novel Lady +arborough notes to Dorian, there is little 5if any6 distinction between ethics and appearance9 2you are madeto be good*you look so good.3

PREFACE (added to the 1891 version) The artist is the creator of beautiful things

o To reveal art and conceal the artist is art!s ai" The critic is he #ho can translate into another "anner or a ne# "aterial his i"$ression of beautiful things

o The highest as the lo#est for" of criticis" is a "ode of autobiogra$h% Those #ho find ugl% "eanings in beautiful things are corru$t #ithout being char"ing This is a fault

o

Those #ho find beautiful "eanings in beautiful things are the cultivated For these there is ho$eo The% are the elect to #ho" beautiful things "ean onl% beaut%o

There is no such thing as a "oral or an i""oral boo& 'oo&s are #ell #ritten or badl% #ritten That is all The nineteenth-centur% disli&e of realis" is the rage of Caliban seeing his o#n face in a glass

o

The nineteenth-centur% disli&e of ro"anticis" is the rage of Caliban not seeing his o#n face in a glass The "oral life of "an for"s $art of the subect "atter of the artist but the "oralit% of art consists in the $erfect

use of an i"$erfect "ediu"o *o artist desires to $rove an%thing Even things that are true can be be $rovedo

*o artist has ethical s%"$athies An ethical s%"$ath% in an artist is an un$ardonable "anneris" of st%le

*o artist is ever "orbid The artist can e+$ress ever%thing Thought and language are to the artist instru"ents of an art

,ice and virtue are to the artist "aterials for an art Fro" the $oint of vie# of for" the t%$e of all the arts is the art of the "usician Fro" the $oint of vie# of feeling

the actor!s craft is the t%$e

o

All art is at once surface and s%"bolo Those #ho go beneath the surface do so at their $erilo

Those #ho read the s%"bol do so at their $eril t is the s$ectator and not life that art reall% "irrors

o .iversit% of o$inion about a #or& of art sho#s that the #or& is ne# co"$le+ and vitalo

/hen critics disagree the artist is in accord #ith hi"self /e can forgive a "an for "a&ing a useful thing as long as he does not ad"ire it The onl% e+cuse for "a&ing a

useless thing is that one ad"ires it intensel%

o All art is 0uite useless

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?uestions

- The book

7. hen was 2The picture of Dorian )ray3 written@A. hat is it about@B. ho is Dorian )ray@C. ho is 'asil allwarth@. ho is Lord enry otton@E. hat happens to the portrait@F. ho does Dorian kill@ hy@:. hy does Dorian want to free himself of the portrait@

- The meaning

7. hy is the novel considered an allegorical story@A. hat is the picture symbol of@B. ho is the 2dandy3@C. hat is the moral of the book@. ho is the artist according to &scar ilde@E.