The Picture Of Dorian Gray

You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit. A perfect depiction of fin-de-siècle decadence Oscar Wildes only novel highlights the tension between the polished surface and murky depths of Victorian high society. The picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wildes classic story of a young man whose beauty prompts a painter to paint a life-like portrait of him. However all is not what it seems...Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul to ensure that the picture rather than he will age andfade. The novel is a social satire as well as a key Explorer of Victorian norms. We are made to observe human emotions like love jealousy hate and the forces of evil and good. Oscar Wilde propagates his art for arts sake theory even as he weaves a narrative around a beautiful young man (Dorian Gray) and his friends (Lord Henry and Basil). The book is a classic in the true sense of the word as it appeals to the universal instincts of man.