Dorian Gray for short. Main characters of the novel

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The novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was written in 1891, becoming the most outstanding work of the English writer. We recommend reading summary"The Picture of Dorian Gray" chapter by chapter on our website. Distinctive feature The book is multifaceted, in which the main idea is visible - the superiority of the internal content of the personality over the external shell.

Main characters of the novel

Main characters:

Dorian Gray is an incredibly handsome young man who destroys his soul in search of sensual pleasures.

Other characters:

Basil Hallward is the artist who painted the portrait of Dorian Gray. He notices only positive qualities in his sitter.
Lord Henry Wotton is an aristocrat, satiated with all the available pleasures of life, Dorian’s main tempter.
Sibyl Vane is a young actress who falls madly in love with Dorian.
James Vane is a sailor, Sybil's brother, who, after her death, finds the meaning of life in revenge.

Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" very briefly

O. Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Gray" summary for reader's diary:

Dorian Gray is a very handsome young man, unspoiled by worldly joys. His unusual beauty attracted one artist named Basil. At this very time, the Guy was just beginning to live differently, because he came from a small provincial town to a big city, where his relatives who died left him a large inheritance.

Dorian, at first simple and innocent, happily accepted the acquaintance of an ordinary artist. It was there that he met Sir Henry, who is rich and noble in the society of aristocrats. He is in the business of manipulating people.

He is a terrible cynic who doesn't value life as much as he should. He doesn’t do anything special, but it is with his poisonous words that he moves Dorian off the right path. He says that in life you need to experience everything, since you only get one life.

An impressionable young man takes everything to heart, and, moreover, quite literally. He really likes Ser Henry, since Gray seems to be an interesting and unusual person, especially with a good status in society.

Sir Henry seems to be amused by the fact that he is gradually confusing the young and handsome guy. He likes to secretly manipulate them, is something of an idol and a person to follow.

Dorian is interested in the theater, and therefore meets an actress there with whom he falls in love, or rather, with her skill as an actress. But the girl also falls in love with the guy, and therefore, because of love, she loses her gift. It is then that Dorian rejects her, abandoning her and love. This is where it all begins.

The girl commits suicide. And then an unpleasant wrinkle appears on the portrait of Dorian, drawn by Basil, which makes his face angry and hard. But outwardly, Dorian Gray remains beautiful and innocent.

Further, his heart hardens even more, and, egged on by Henry's words, he begins to do something he has never done. He tries everything he can - generally bad. His portrait ages for him and that’s it bad qualities reflected on him, not Gray. And all only because he once wished to be forever young and beautiful, and so that the portrait would grow old for him.

One day, Dorian reaches his climax. Basil, his friend, finds the portrait and sees that it is simply terrible. He begins to understand everything, and therefore Dorian, fearing that he will tell everything, simply kills his friend, and therefore burns his body so that there is no evidence.

Later, realizing what he had done, Dorian attacks the portrait with a knife, but grows old and dies himself. And the timeless portrait remains in its radiant grandeur.

This is interesting: Reed's novel The Headless Horseman was written in 1865. The plot of the story is based on the author’s own fascinating adventures across America, which made a great impression on him. We recommend reading chapter by chapter. A retelling of Mine Reid's book will be useful both for the reader's diary and in preparation for a literature lesson.

A short retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray

In the latter, the features of Oscar Wilde, well known to contemporaries, are easily recognizable; the author of the novel “gives” him the predominant 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 young beauty, which captivated Basil, does not leave Lord Henry indifferent. But the portrait is finished; those present admire his perfection. Golden-haired, adoring everything beautiful and liking himself, Dorian dreams out loud: “If only the portrait could change, and I could always remain as I am!” Touched, Basil gives the portrait to the young man.

Meanwhile, having paid a visit to his uncle Lord Farmer, Lord Henry learns about the dramatic circumstances of Dorian's origin: raised by a wealthy guardian, he painfully experienced the early death of his mother, who, contrary to family traditions, fell in love and threw in her lot with an unknown infantry officer (at the instigation of his influential father-in-law). killed in a duel).

In turn, Sibile, eking 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 incarnate miracle - a “Prince Charming”, descended from transcendental heights. Her lover does not know that in her life there is also a secret carefully guarded from prying eyes: both Sibylla and James are illegitimate children, the fruits of a love union that once connected their mother, a “tormented, withered woman” serving in the same theater, with a person of an alien class.

However, absorbed in bright hopes for the real happiness ahead of her with her beloved, Sybila that evening reluctantly, as if under duress (after all, “playing a lover is a profanation!” - she believes) pronounces the words of the role, for the first time seeing without embellishment the squalor of the scenery, the falsehood of her stage partners and the poverty of the enterprise. A resounding failure follows, causing the skeptical ridicule of Lord Henry, the restrained sympathy of the good-natured Basil and the total collapse of Dorian's castles in the air, who in despair throws to Sibyl: “You killed my love!”

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 given to him by the artist becomes a merciless mirror of the spiritual metamorphosis brewing in him: a hard wrinkle appears on the flawless face of the young Greek god. Seriously concerned, Dorian removes the portrait out of sight.

As if frozen in his ideal shell, he seeks solace in the magnificent rites and rituals of foreign religions, in music, in collecting antiques and precious stones, in narcotic potions offered in notorious dens. Drawn by hedonistic temptations, falling in love over and over again, but unable to love, he does not disdain dubious connections and suspicious acquaintances. The glory of a soulless seducer of young minds is assigned to him.

However, the spectacle turns out to be beyond Dorian’s strength: holding the creator of the portrait responsible for his moral behavior, in a fit of uncontrollable rage he plunges a dagger into the neck of the friend of his young days. And then, calling for the help of one of his former comrades in revelry and feasting, the chemist Alan Campbell, blackmailing him with some shameful secret known only to both of them, forces him to dissolve Basil’s body in nitric acid - material evidence of the crime he committed.

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

However, fate for the time being protects him from physical death. But - not from the all-seeing eye of Hallward's portrait.

« This portrait is like a conscience. Yes, conscience. And we must destroy him,” comes to the conclusion of Dorian, who has survived all the temptations of the world, even more devastated and lonely than before, vainly jealous of both the purity of an innocent village girl and the dedication of his reluctant accomplice Alan Campbell, who found the strength to commit suicide, and even... the spiritual aristocracy of his friend-tempter Lord Henry, alien, it seems, to any moral obstacles, but incomprehensibly believing that “every crime is vulgar».

Late at night, alone with himself in a luxurious London mansion, Dorian attacks the portrait with a knife, trying to shred and destroy it. The servants, who rise to the cry, discover in the room the dead body of an old man in a tailcoat. And a timeless portrait in its radiant grandeur.

Thus ends the novel-parable about a man for whom “at other moments Evil was only one of the means of realizing what he considered the beauty of life.”

Another fantastic story by Alexander Belyaev, “Ariel,” was written in 1941; this is a fascinating story about a wealthy English heir who had to endure many harsh trials in an Indian religious school and acquired the ability to fly. for a reader's diary will tell about a person with unusual abilities, but simple human desires and dreams.

Contents of The Picture of Dorian Gray chapter by chapter

In the studio of the artist Basil Hallward there is an easel on which there is a “portrait of a young man of extraordinary beauty.” The artist’s guest, Lord Henry Wotton, begins to talk about the virtuoso skill of the painting and the beauty of the depicted young man. He is confident that this painting can decorate the best exhibitions in the country.

Basil admits that he will not do this because he “put too much of himself into it” and is not going to part with the portrait, exposing his “soul to curious and short-sighted eyes.”

Lord Henry expresses a desire to meet Dorian, to which the artist responds with a decisive refusal. He is afraid that his sophisticated friend will not have the best influence on the unspoiled young man.

Meanwhile, the footman reports the arrival of Dorian Gray and an acquaintance cannot be avoided.

When meeting the young man, Lord Henry is immediately captivated by him. He admires the beautiful face, in which “the sincerity and purity of youth, its chaste ardor” shines through. After asking permission to remain during the session, Lord Henry talks to the young man “in his low, melodious voice,” emphasizing the importance of youth and beauty, as well as their unfortunate fragility. In his opinion, “youth is the only wealth worth preserving,” and this thought will sink deeply into the sitter’s soul.

Having finished his portrait, Basil shows it to Gray, but in the young man it only evokes an acute feeling of envy. He dreams that instead of him, his portrait would age, and his youth and attractiveness would remain unchanged for many years.

Having become seriously interested in Dorian Gray, Lord Henry begins to investigate his genealogy. The past of the beautiful young man turned out to be very tragic. His mother, a rare beauty, with all the passion of her romantic nature, fell in love with a poor officer. The girl's father, speaking out against the unequal relationship, challenged an officer to a duel and killed him. A year later, the girl died in agony, having given birth to a boy. Lord Henry concludes that the tragic story he heard about the fate of Dorian “gives him even more charm.”

A month later, in the house of the Wotton couple, Dorian waits for the arrival of his new friend, while away the time talking to his wife. Lady Wotton notices how strong an influence Lord Henry has on the young man, who has completely adopted his way of thinking and manner of speaking.

Having waited for Lord Henry, the young man shares with him his strong feelings for Sibyl Vane, an actress in a seedy theater. Henry dissuades him from taking a serious step, convincing him that “marriage brings disappointment.” For him, Dorian is a “curious object of study” and he is not averse to observing him longer.

Without having time to meet his ward's beloved, Lord Henry learns of his engagement to the young actress.

Sybil shares her feelings for Dorian with her mother, also an actress. To which she reminds her that she “shouldn’t think about anything but the theater.” The family is experiencing serious financial difficulties, a debt obligation hangs over it, and thinking only about love is selfish.

Meanwhile, a “stocky, somewhat clumsy young man” enters the room - Sibyl’s brother, James. To help his family, he got a job as a sailor and is going to sail to Australia. Wanting to finally communicate with his sister, he takes her outside.

Sybil shares her enthusiastic love with her brother, causing him only a feeling of increasing irritation. He is worried that “Prince Charming” will not offend his beloved sister, and asks his mother to monitor her more closely during his departure.

At the Bristol restaurant, Sir Henry tells Basil the news that their mutual friend Dorian intends to marry “some actress.” The artist doubts the veracity of what he heard, since he sincerely believes that “Dorian is not so reckless.” In his opinion, the young man, being the only heir of his rich grandfather, should not enter into such an unequal marriage. Basil worries that a connection “with some rubbish” will make his pet “mentally and morally decline.”

Meanwhile, Dorian joins his friends and, talking with great feeling about his beloved, invites them to go to the theater and meet Sybil. On the way to the theater, Basil becomes acutely aware of how much Dorian has changed.

Finding themselves in a box at a low-grade theater and watching Sybil play, Lord Henry and Basil note her undeniable beauty, but find her “completely mediocre.” The actress’s performance “was unbearably theatrical” and false: “the gestures were artificial to the point of absurdity, she said everything with exaggerated pathos.” The friends leave the theater without watching the performance to the end - “Watching a bad performance is bad for the soul...”.

Shocked, Dorian asks his friends to leave him alone as his “heart is torn to pieces.” He showers the loving Sybil with cold contempt, calling her mediocrity. Despite the pleas of the unfortunate girl, Dorian says that everything is over between them and leaves.

Arriving home, he notices that the face in the portrait has acquired a cruel expression. He covers the portrait with a canvas and decides from now on to do exclusively good deeds.

Waking up in the morning, Dorian remembers yesterday’s changes in the portrait and is tormented by a guess - “is there some incomprehensible affinity between his soul and the chemical atoms that form shapes and colors on the canvas”? The young man decides to make amends to Sybil, but in a letter from Lord Henry he learns about the suicide of his beloved.

Dorian is surprised to find that he remains indifferent, and this frightens him. However, Lord Henry calms the young man down, and they go to the opera together.

The next morning, an alarmed Basil comes to Dorian to support his friend in difficult times, but instead of a grief-stricken young man he finds a bored cynic who suggests not to “talk about unpleasant things.”

Noticing the curtained portrait, the artist intends to look at it, but Dorian forbids him to do so. Basil leaves, and the young man hides the painting, fearing that someone will inadvertently reveal his secret.

Dorian takes the keys to the old, dusty room and gives orders for the portrait to be moved there. He vigilantly makes sure that no one opens the cover and looks at the canvas. Dorian is well aware that his vices “will corrode his image on the canvas.”

The young man regrets that he pushed Basil away from him, who could have saved him from the corrupting influence of Lord Henry and his “own temperament,” but he realizes that it is too late.

Over the following years, Dorian indulged his own passions in everything. He became obsessed with many hobbies, sometimes not entirely decent, and after some time rumors spread throughout London about “his very suspicious lifestyle.” However, even the most evil gossips fell silent, looking at Dorian’s beautiful face - “he seemed like a man who had not been touched by the dirt of life.”

Dorian himself, returning home from “long and mysterious absences,” looked at his portrait for a long time, comparing it with his face.

On the eve of Doriaan's 38th birthday, Basil visits him and informs him of his imminent departure to Paris. But first he would like to talk to him about the gossip that continues to circulate around the city. Basil does not believe them, but does not understand why “many respectable people of London society” do not want to visit Gray’s house, and try in every possible way to avoid meeting him.

The words of an old friend touch Dorian to the quick, and he invites him to go up to the room where the portrait is kept.

Superstitious horror seizes the artist when he looks at the “terrible face grinning mockingly at him from the canvas.” The cruel old man who looked arrogantly from the canvas still bore some resemblance to the living Dorian, but the contrast was frightening.

What he sees convinces Basil that the rumors about his friend are true. The entire devilish essence of his sitter is instantly revealed to the artist. The amazed Basil asks his friend to turn his soul to the Lord and pray for its salvation.

Suddenly, the artist’s words awaken in Dorian “the rage of a hunted beast,” and he mercilessly kills him. What he did does not affect Dorian in any way, who is only worried about hiding the evidence.

Dorian turns to his old friend, the talented chemist Alan Campbell, to help him get rid of the corpse. Having learned the details of the monstrous story, the man refuses to become an accomplice in the crime.

However, Dorian manages to cleverly manipulate Alan, and he eventually agrees. Thanks to his knowledge of chemistry, he gets rid of the body using nitric acid.

That evening, Gray visits Lady Narborough. Dorian’s “blood was pounding furiously, his nerves were extremely tense,” but he managed to pull himself together and easily carry on small talk.

Upon returning home, fear again takes possession of the hero, who hastily burns the remaining evidence - Basil's suitcase and coat.

Wanting to forget himself as quickly as possible, Dorian heads to one of the London brothels. He is tormented by a “tormenting thirst for opium” and he rushes to satisfy it.

Hearing one of the courtesans call Gray “Prince Charming,” the sailor, who was dozing at the table, suddenly jumps up and looks around madly. This is Sibyla's brother, who has been dreaming of avenging his sister's death for 18 years. He almost succeeds in realizing his plan, but Dorian’s young and blooming appearance fills him with doubts.

Soon James Vane realizes that he has made a fatal mistake by letting his sister's killer go, but Dorian manages to escape.

A week later, Gray hosts a reception. He is a gracious host and his guests have a great time. Wanting to please one of the ladies, Dorian goes to the greenhouse to buy a bouquet of flowers.

A scream is heard and, running into the greenhouse, the guests see the owner of the house lying on the floor unconscious. Gray recalls that he fainted when he saw “the face of James Vane, white as a handkerchief, outside the greenhouse window.”

Gray, “exhausted from the wild fear of death,” does not leave the house. After a while, he manages to convince himself that “he is a victim of his shocked imagination.” Returning to his usual way of life, Dorian goes for a walk in the park with the Duchess of Clauston and her brother, an excellent hunter.

Suddenly, a hare jumps out in front of the trio, and Dorian asks not to kill it. In response, he only hears a shot and “a double scream - the terrible cry of a wounded hare and the even more terrible dying cry of a man.” It turns out that the Duke accidentally hit the sailor, Dorian’s persistent pursuer.

Gray shares with Lord Henry his plans to “do good works” and “sin no more.” However, he convinces Dorian that all his attempts to take the righteous path are nothing more than vanity.

Gray changes the topic of conversation and suggests discussing Basil's disappearance. He tries to find out Lord Henry's opinion about his possible involvement in the death of the artist. To which Lord Henry assures his friend that he does not see him in the role of a criminal, since murder is too vulgar for him.

Dorian begins to realize how sinful his life has been and the impact he has had on other people. Wanting to change his fate, he heads towards the portrait with a knife. He mercilessly cuts the canvas, and at this moment there is a “loud scream and thud from the fall of something heavy.”

Frightened servants run into the room and see in front of them “a magnificent portrait of their master in all the splendor of his wondrous youth and beauty,” and on the floor - the body of an old, wrinkled old man. Only “by the rings on the hands of the servants they knew who it was.”

Conclusion

At the center of the novel is the conflict between Good and Evil, all the beautiful and ugly that is in every person. And it depends only on the person himself which side will win in this eternal battle.

This is interesting: Gogol’s story “Portrait” was written in 1833–1834 and was included in the “Petersburg Tales” cycle. You can read Gogol chapter by chapter on our website to use in preparing for your lessons.

Video summary of The Picture of Dorian Gray Wilde

The novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” first saw the world in 1890 in the first version and in 1891 in the second, expanded version. The publication of the novel caused a scandal in society. He was criticized by the political elite. The works were considered immoral. There were demands to ban “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and to judge its author. However, ordinary readers received it with a bang.

The main character in Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is a young man named Dorian.

On a sunny summer day, the talented painter Basil Hallward paints a portrait of an unusually handsome young man whom he recently met. The young man is twenty years old, his name is Dorian Gray. But now the portrait is finished, everyone is delighted with its perfection. The narcissistic Dorian says out loud: If only the portrait could change, and I could always remain as I am! The painter gives a portrait to the young man.

One day, Basil Hallward's acquaintance, Lord Henry Wotton, admired by Dorian's beauty, invites him to dinner. Gradually, Dorian plunges headlong into social life: attending dinner parties, spending evenings at the opera. In addition, he falls in love with the aspiring actress Sibylla Vane, a girl of about seventeen, with a face as delicate as a flower. Sybil Vane, with amazing spirituality, plays on the squalid stage of the miserable East Indra Theater. She ekes out a half-starved existence with her mother and brother, so Dorian seems to her like a handsome prince, descended from transcendental heights. Dorian has no idea that both Sibylla and her brother are illegitimate children born by their mother from a man of a different class.

Dorian informs Basil that he is going to marry Sybil Vane. Basil thinks this idea is crazy. Dorian invites Basil Hallward and Henry Wotton to a play where his beloved is to play Juliet. But it is in this performance that, despite all her talent, Sibylla fails miserably. This evokes the skeptical ridicule of Lord Henry, the sympathy of Basil and the hostility of Dorian. In despair, he says to Sibylla: You killed my love!

After this, Doriana spends a sleepless night wandering around empty London. That same night, the girl commits suicide. Lord Henry advises Dorian not to shed tears in vain for Sybil Vane, and promises to introduce him to his charming sister Lady Gwendolen. Dorian listens to the lord's speeches and that same evening a hard wrinkle appears on the portrait. Concerned, Dorian removes the portrait out of sight.

The next twenty years pass unnoticed by Dorian. But he falls more and more in love with his beauty and watches with greater interest the decomposition of his soul. He seeks solace in precious stones, in music, in narcotic potions, in a crazy series of dubious connections. As a result, Dorian Gray is assigned the words of a seducer of young minds.

Basil Hallward tries to reason with Dorian, but he responds by showing a portrait that Basil once painted. The portrait depicts a voluptuous old man. Dorian, believing that Basil is somehow to blame for his unfortunate fate, plunges a dagger into his friend. Then he calls on the chemist Campbell, using blackmail to force him to dissolve Basil’s body in nitric acid...

Dorian himself seeks oblivion in drugs. In one of the tributaries he almost dies - he is recognized by Sibyl's brother Vane, who has sworn, at all costs, to take revenge on her offender.

One day, Dorian realizes that the portrait painted by Basil is Dorian's conscience, and it must be destroyed.

The mystical and philosophical novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” will seduce everyone who has at least once in their thoughts or out loud wished to preserve their youth and beauty. But Oscar Wilde had no intention of sharing the secret of immortality; the author reflected in the work his own view of human morality, love and a world ruled by the desire for pleasure.

The plot is built around a young man who has natural, sensual beauty. The young sitter poses for his friend, the artist Basil Hallward. In Basil's workshop, Dorian meets Henry Wotton, a man who subsequently poisons the young man's mind with his sophistic speeches and cynical views. Henry expresses regret that beauty is not eternal, and youth, in his opinion, is the only wealth worth cherishing. Well, the portrait of a wonderful hedonist is complete. The handsome man is delighted with his reflection, transferred to the canvas, but bitterness crept into his soul, caused by the words of a new acquaintance. The young man understands that time will take away the beauty and freshness of his face, and he will turn into a wrinkled old man with an ugly figure. In excitement, he exclaims: “If only I always remained young, and this portrait grew old! For this... for this I would give everything in the world! I wouldn't regret anything! I would be ready to give my soul for this.” From this moment on, the description of the book “Dorian Gray” takes on gloomy tones: main character transforms into a perverted egoist, transferring all the consequences of his lifestyle into the picture. She grows old instead of him.

His wish comes true. A man throws himself into the pool of vice, torturing his soul and body with pleasures and amusements. For many years, the hero remains young, and his portrait takes on all his sins and crimes, becoming repulsive. He destroys the lovely girl Sibyl Vane, breaking her heart. He kills his devoted friend Basil, who was very attached to the young man and loved him. And in the finale, a distraught Dorian thrusts a knife into the ill-fated image, wanting to put an end to the past and find peace. But this way he only finds his own death.

History of creation

Oscar Wilde made a bet with his friend that he would write a novel that would drive all of London crazy. "Dorian Gray" was written in the shortest possible time, in a single impulse of creative will. The writer won the argument, but paid for his victory: he was tried for corrupting English morals. As a result, he received a real prison sentence.

The novel has a real basis behind it. Oscar Wilde actually had a friend, Basil, who was a talented artist. One day in his workshop the writer saw a very handsome young man. Wilde was delighted with the sitter’s charming appearance and noted with bitterness that this beauty could not escape old age with its ugliness. But the artist was ready to paint an image of the handsome man every year, so that aging and fading would be reflected only on the canvas.

“Portrait…” is the only published novel that brought its creator success and almost scandalous fame. It was first published in July 1890 in the American Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Subsequently, in 1891, the book was published in a separate edition with six new chapters and a special preface, which became a manifesto of aestheticism.

Genre

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” can be classified as an intellectual novel. In the work, the characters and the narrator are subject to introspection, comprehension of their actions and surroundings. Their conversations go beyond the plot, representing a debate of certain philosophical views. The book raises the most important aesthetic, moral and “eternal” problems.

Based on the time of creation and style, the work can be attributed to a Victorian novel. This is how English prose was called during the reign of Queen Victoria - an era of calm, puritanism and hypocrisy. Its author gracefully ridicules Lord Henry in his remarks.

The definition of “allegorical parable” is also applicable to the book. The events taking place in it should not be taken literally. Heroes are not people, they represent philosophical views, magical pictures - vicious temptation, death and love - trials, copper pipes that open the veil over human nature.

The direction of the author's creative thought is at the junction between romantic, fantastic and realistic principles. Thus, the book reveals an element of fantasy (the magical power of the portrait), the psychological and social components of realism and the romantic type of the main character.

Main characters

Dorian Gray is a naive and beautiful young man who turned into a depraved and insensitive egoist under the influence of Lord Henry. He is a nobleman, a descendant of a noble family. His soul eagerly sought a mentor in the secular world that was new to him. Having chosen a sophisticated and vicious example to follow, the hero, being weak-willed and driven, rushes to try out all the cynical advice of his senior comrade. From the very beginning it is clear that he is a sensual but cowardly self-lover, because the thought of losing his own beauty (the only difference from other men in his circle) enslaves his mind, which has not yet had time to develop. He easily betrays his love for other people, this speaks of the pettiness of his nature and the stinginess of his heart. Using his example, the author draws a parallel between internal and external wealth, which are not at all identical to each other. The writer has already embodied the image of Dorian Gray in the fairy tale “Boy Star”. Wilde turns that hero into a freak, not giving him the opportunity to hide the ugliness. Therefore, he quickly transforms into a good and highly moral young man, aware of his guilt. However, the novel is not a fairy-tale parable; in it, the creator truthfully told about what awaits the arrogant and self-obsessed character.
Lord Henry is a wealthy and refined nobleman, well accepted in high society. His sarcastic remarks and casuistic worldview (he professes hedonism) are liked by the people around him, who enjoy his wit. Every second quote of his is an aphorism. However, he himself never follows his bold thought. He admonishes, cunningly, gradually corrupts Dorian’s soul, but he himself does nothing of the kind. His image is traditionally compared to the archetype of the devil in literature. Wotton is like Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust: he only guides a person, skillfully shuffling hedonistic ideas, subtle humor and arrogant cynicism. The spirit of depravity emanating from this hero is attractive. He has sophistication and sublimity, but this is only external beauty, which, like the beauty of his face, is only a fragile veil of a rotten sinful essence.
Sibyl Vane - Dorian's lover, actress. The girl of rare beauty was also very talented. She amazed Gray with her talent. He loved her for him, because the artist could never get bored: she transformed into different images every day. The real Sybil was ready to sacrifice her career, success, creativity itself for the sake of love, and, feeling this, the young man quickly became fed up with adoration. He liked the stage, far-fetched lady of his heart, as free and incomprehensible as himself. But the young woman was only kind, dreamy, naive and vulnerable. Therefore, the first disappointment in people made her commit suicide. Neither her mother nor her brother could disabuse her of her rosy hopes in time.
Basil Hallward is a painter, a friend of Dorian and Lord Henry, who introduces them. It was he who painted the fatal portrait. The artist sincerely admired the sitter and his beauty, and it was he who sensitively perceived the changes that had occurred in the young man. He saw the emerging depravity in him and sounded the alarm, but Gray only distanced himself from him in response. Basil was a humanist and moralist, his moral principles contrast with Henry's refined immorality, and therefore irritate the protagonist. Hallward values solitude, loves to reflect and philosophize, and is the bearer of the author's point of view in the novel. His sitter blames him for his fall, and then kills him, wanting to break the spell. Little does he know that his friend has been desperately trying to prevent his corruption all this time.
James Vane is Sybil's brother, a sailor. A sane and strong-willed young man. From the very beginning, he is skeptical of the rich nobleman's intentions regarding his sister. The man is accustomed to relying on himself in everything, and not looking for easy ways to the top, so he warns his mother against trusting too much in a stranger from the nobility. He - typical representative victorian era, his social prejudices are unshakable. When Vane learns of the death of his deceived sister, a desperate desire to take revenge on the heartless rich man awakens in his heart. Since then, the sailor, firm in his convictions and purposeful, has been chasing the offender, but meets his death before he can present it to Gray.

The meaning of the book

Wilde's novel is as multifaceted as the creative embodiment of his plan is multifaceted. The meaning of The Picture of Dorian Gray is to show us the superiority of the internal content of the human personality over the external. No matter how beautiful the face, it cannot replace the beautiful impulses of the soul. The ugliness of thought and heart still mortifies the flesh and makes the beauty of forms lifeless and artificial. Even eternal youth will not bring happiness to the ugly.

The author also proves to the reader that art is eternal. The Creator paid for his love and devotion to ideals, but his creation is alive and beautiful. The portrait shows a charming young man in the prime of enchanting youth and beauty. And a person who devotes himself to the cult of pleasure, in love only with himself and his desires, is dead. His appearance is alive in a picture, alive in art, and the only way to preserve a moment for centuries is to depict it in all its glory.

The preface to the novel consists of 25 aphorisms that proclaim the author’s aesthetic ideals. Here are some of them: “The artist is the creator of beauty”, “To reveal oneself and hide the creator - this is what art craves”, “The chosen ones are those for whom beauty means only one thing - Beauty.” “Vices and virtues for the creator are the material of art.” “The ethical preferences of the creator lead to mannerism of style.” Although Oscar Wilde was a supporter of the theory of aestheticism, the work clearly outlines the danger of separating ethical and aesthetic principles. Service leads to death, as it happened to the hero of the novel. To feel and enjoy beauty, and at the same time preserve your face and virtue, you must always observe moral standards and not drive yourself to fanaticism, even if you have eternal life in stock.

Morality

Of course, the most important moral law of existence is not to elevate what is visible to the status of the only significant thing. If a person is beautiful, this does not mean that his soul corresponds to his shell. On the contrary, many handsome people are selfish and stupid, but society continues to value them higher than people gifted with genuine virtues. This misguided worship leads to absurd cults of heartless and empty dummies, while truly beautiful individuals remain misunderstood. Carnival falsehood, hypocritical adherence to decency and generally accepted attitudes constituted the immutable law of the Victorian era, in which the smart, brave and original writer Oscar Wilde did not fit in.

The worship of love destroyed Sibylla Vane, love for beauty and admiration for it as art led the artist Hallward to the house where he met his end. The main character, who plunged into a vicious world of pleasures, fell from own hand. The moral of The Picture of Dorian Gray is that any absolute worship carries with it danger. You can love, create, enjoy, but at the same time leave room for a sober understanding of your actions. The characters are subject to impulsiveness, this is their misfortune: Sybil, after a breakup, commits suicide, Dorian, with triumphant malice, throws himself at the painting with a knife. And they all became victims of their ideals - such is the price of blindness. Within reasonable limits, cynicism helps people avoid making such mistakes; this is what the author teaches by portraying Lord Henry.

Issues

The novel reveals the problem of “beautiful” and “ugly”. These two extremes are needed to understand the integrity of this world. The “beautiful” includes the tragic and pure love of the actress Sibyl, Basil’s sincere affection for the young man and, of course, the main character himself, as the embodiment of true earthly beauty. The “ugly” is carried within his soul; with every vice and crime it smolders, rots, losing sensitivity and the ability to compassion. And all these metamorphoses are taken over by the mysterious canvas, turning the person depicted on it into an ugly, vicious creature. But society is blind to the fine lines between beauty and ugliness; it fixes only the external attributes of a person, completely forgetting about the internal ones. Everyone knows about Dorian’s tricks, but this doesn’t stop them loving and respecting him. Some people are only cowardly afraid of losing their ostentatious virtue, so they do not officially accept it. In these circumstances, along with the promiscuity of people, there is their hypocrisy and cowardice - problems that are no less important.

The portrait of Dorian Gray is a reflection of his soul and conscience. It in no way controls the life of its owner, does not punish him, but only silently reflects all the baseness and immorality of the young man. Virtue is desecrated, real feelings have given way to hypocrisy. The handsome man succumbed to temptation, and only his image will show the retribution for this temptation. There is a problem of impunity for a person from high society: he leads not only an immoral, but also an illegal lifestyle, and no one stops him. Of course, he is from the nobility, and, therefore, has the right to disregard the law until his behavior becomes known to the general public. Only then will everyone pretend that they are shocked by the news, but previously did not suspect anything like this. Thus, the author touches on social and political issues, criticizing Victorian England for turning a blind eye to the crimes of its elite.

Subject

The most interesting topic for the writer was the topic of art. He talked about him in the dialogues of the main characters, and dedicated the ending of the novel to him, where the man died, and his portrait remained an eternal memory of him. The invisible power of a painting is an indicator that the most significant thing created by people is art; it overshadows and outlives its creator, perpetuating his name and skill. This is what makes him truly attractive. Dorian admired Basil's creative genius, Sybil's extraordinary talent, and Henry's oratorical power. His unspoiled soul was drawn to the light of the creative principle, and turned away from it, taking licentiousness and baseness as life guidelines.

In addition, the theme of the work can be called a dramatic collision of the ideas of hedonism (an ethical doctrine where pleasure is the highest good and goal of life) and aestheticism (a movement in European literature and art, which was based on the predominance of aesthetic values - the worship of fine art). Basil Hallward was in love with beauty; art and beauty were inseparable for him. Art is beauty. He sought to immortalize her features with the help of his brush and exceptional talent. But the worship of beauty destroyed the artist; his love and devotion to beauty were trampled by the madness of a corrupt soul. The hero chose the path of pleasure, in the center of which he was himself. He reveled in his impunity and moral decline, because no one could deprive him of his wealth - eternal youth. This lifestyle does not lead to true happiness, but only creates the illusion of it. Dorian in the end begins to regret the lost innocence, the former purity of his soul, but it is too late; sincere feelings, compassion, true love forever lost their meaning for him.

Criticism

The writer's contemporaries vehemently took up arms against Dorian Gray for ridiculing the prim Puritan society of that period. In addition, Wilde vividly described the immoral behavior of the main character, which was indecent to see even on the pages of a book. In the secret adventures of the socialite, especially virtuous readers saw the propaganda of a hedonistic position and vicious leisure. The enlightened and discerning public did not notice the elegantly hidden condemnation, because no one canceled the competition in ostentatious piety.

The writer was even convicted for violating morality, and to a real prison term. Although his speech at the defense caused a sensation among sensible people, it failed to convince everyone else. However, later this work was appreciated, and today it is one of the most significant not only in English, but also in world literature.

On a sunny summer day, a friend, Lord Henry Wotton, visited the studio of the talented artist Basil Golward. Basil said that he was now working on a portrait of a very handsome twenty-year-old youth, Dorian Gray, whose beauty captured the artist, forced him to change his style, opened new method creativity. Lord Henry looked in surprise at the still unfinished portrait and expressed a desire to meet Dorian. This did not delight the owner, because Lord Henry had a reputation as the “Prince of Paradox”, a man who ridicules generally accepted values, mocks modern morality, therefore, according to Basil, he could have a bad influence on the young man. However, at that moment the servant reported that Dorian Gray had arrived and was waiting in the studio. Basil was forced to introduce him to Lord Henry.

Dorian really liked Lord Henry; he had never met people with such paradoxical thinking. In response to his question whether Lord Henry really has a bad influence on people, Dorian heard the following: “There is no good influence on a person at all... because to influence someone means to give up your soul... A person no longer thinks his own thoughts, is not ignited by his natural passions... And she adopts virtues from others and... borrows sins... The goal of life is to realize her own “I”. According to Lord Henry, the basis of morality is fear of society, and the basis and secret of religion is fear of God. Basil saw that Dorian’s expression changed as a result of these conversations, but he was so deep in his work that he did not realize the meaning of that expression. And Lord Henry continued: “... the bravest of us is afraid of himself... Self-denial... continues to cripple our lives... The only way to get rid of temptation is to succumb to it... Having sinned, we end with sin, for already by committing sin, a person is cleansed... The largest sins of the world take place in the human brain, and only in the brain." Dorian was shocked. He didn't know what to say, but he felt the need to find some kind of answer. However, he decided, perhaps, it was better not to think about it. “For about ten minutes he stood motionless, with half-open lips and an unusual sparkle in his eyes. He was vaguely aware that completely new thoughts and feelings had been aroused in him. But it seemed to him that they were rising from the depths of his being, and not brought in from the outside.” Lord Henry's words touched some of the hidden strings of Dorian's soul. So his music confused him, but its influence was less expressive. Lord Henry watched Dorian with a barely noticeable smile, he “shot his arrows at random” and was himself amazed at the effect that his words had on the young man. Basil Hallward did not understand the meaning of this silence; he sought only to convey the expression on the sitter's face, and this captured him. Suddenly Dorian exclaimed that he could no longer stand, because it was terrible stuffiness in the workshop, he had to go out into the air. Basil apologized to Dorian for forgetting about everything while working, and advised him not to believe a single compliment that Lord Henry said, although he did not hear anything from their conversation. Dorian replied that Lord Henry did not court his complement, “perhaps that’s why I don’t believe a word he says.” But Lord Henry was convinced that Dorian believed everything he said. Having turned to Basil with a request to order to bring soft drinks, “what about strawberry juice,” Lord Henry follows Dorian into the garden. There, in the garden, among the flowering lilac bushes, the aroma of which Dorian “drank greedily, like wine,” Lord Henry outlined the theory of “new hedonism”: “Youth is the only thing in the world that you should have!”, “Beauty is a manifestation of genius , even higher than Genius,” “Beauty is beyond any doubt. Given the divine right to supremacy... The real secret of life is the visible, not the invisible. Mock the time while you are young! Do not neglect your golden time, listening to boring talkers... laying down your life for the sake of the ignorant, mediocrity and nonentities... Live your life! With the wonderful life you have! No rays, always look for new impressions. And don't be afraid of anything. The world is yours short time... Our youth never returns ... Over the years, we turn into monstrous puppets, haunted by the memory of passions that we were too afraid of, and acute temptations that we did not dare to succumb to them ... There is nothing pure in the world except youth! "Dorian listened in surprise. The lilac branch fell from his hand, he watched as the bee flew up to the small flowers and “set off on a journey with an oval star tassel,” then she flew out and flew to the birch flower, which “seemed to stir and the stem smoothly swayed” when she “crawled into colorful tube." These observations of the bee returned him to everyday life, pushed aside new thoughts and feelings that confused and frightened him.

Thanks to Lord Henry's sermons and Basil Golward's beautiful portrait, Dorian Gray first realized his beauty and its transience. Dorian felt disappointed, he felt sorry for his beauty. Despite the portrait, he said that it would be good if the portrait grew old, but he himself remained young forever. Basil, moved by these words, gave the portrait to Dorian. Lord Henry began to attract the young man to social life, teaching him to enjoy “earthly existence!” A relative of Lord Henry, Lord Fermont, therefore told the story of Dorian’s origin. Dorian’s mother, contrary to family traditions, linked her fate with a simple officer. Dorian's maternal grandfather made some efforts to break off this marriage: soon Dorian's father was killed in a duel, which was incited by his father-in-law. His mother did not survive her husband for long; Dorian took her early death seriously. Lord Henry found Dorian to be interesting “material” for a psychological experiment.

Dorian fell in love with seventeen-year-old Sybil Vane, an actress in one of the minor London theaters. He was amazed by her talented performance in Shakespeare's plays. Sybil fell passionately in love with Dorian, who seemed to her a real example of beauty, a “Prince Charming” who arose from her girlish dreams. However, this did not stop her from hiding a family secret from Dorian: both Sybil and her brother James are illegitimate children, since at one time their mother dearly loved an aristocrat. Dorian perceived Sybil as the living embodiment of beauty and talent, and in his imagination she personified both Ophelia and Desdemona, and all the beautiful female images created in art. Sybil, on the contrary, sought to see in Dorian a real person who is capable of real feelings and actions. Dorian talked to Sybil about ideal love, she talked about marriage. Dorian and Sybil enlist. The day after Doria's engagement, in order to introduce him to his future wife and show off her talent, he invited Basil and Lord Henry to a play with Sybil, where she was to play the role of Juliet. Neither Basil nor Lord Henry approved of Doreen's intention to marry, but they responded to the invitation. However, that evening Sybil played mediocrely, because she was captured by real feelings, art did not excite her. Dorian's friends were disappointed. They didn’t even sit until the end of the performance, although each of them tried in his own way to reduce Dorian’s disappointment: Lord Henry with paradoxical ridicule, Basil with sympathy. After the performance, Dorian went into Sybil's room. And she did not deny that she played poorly, and explained that before meeting him, she sincerely believed in the reality of the feelings that she portrayed on stage, knowing nothing but art. But now she recognized true feelings and believed that playing them on stage was a disregard for the love that burned in his heart. Dorian did not want to listen to such words, he said that she killed his love. Sybil begged him not to leave her, but he was relentless. All night Dorian wandered the streets of London, returning home, he accidentally glanced at his portrait. Horror gripped the young man when he noticed that the portrait had changed: “cruel wrinkles appeared around the mouth.” Dorian tried to convince himself that he was only dreaming, but he remembered his words in Basil’s studio and realized: from now on, all his passions and sins will be reflected in the portrait. Dorian decided not to sin anymore, get rid of Lord Henry's influence and return to Sybil again. He wrote her a letter, but in the morning he received news that Sybil had passed away. Lord Henry learned about this from the morning newspapers and wrote to Dorian not to see anyone until he arrived. At first, Dorian took the news of Sybil's suicide painfully and blamed himself for her death. Lord Henry was concerned that Dorian “would not be drawn into the investigation,” since “here in London people are still too superstitious.” He convinced Dorian that “you shouldn’t take this too to heart. Better come with me to lunch”, to the opera, where “several interesting women” can be found. Dorian seemed not to hear him, remembering his love for Sybil, his decision to return to her. But in this passionate speech there was no longer repentance, but fear that “nothing can now stop her from falling,” so the end of that monologue was unexpected, but logical from Dorian’s point of view: “She had no right to kill herself! This is selfish! Lord Henry understood: Dorian was trying to get rid of the feeling of moral responsibility for the girl’s death, so he began to convince him that a marriage with Sybil would be unsuccessful, since “a woman can make a man righteous” in only one way - by depriving him of all interest in life. Dorian was delighted by those considerations, placing all responsibility for Sybil’s death on fate: “... I considered it obligatory to get married. And it's not my fault when this terrible tragedy prevented me from doing what belonged." He asked Lord Henry why “this tragedy” does not torment him as hotly as he would like, does he really have no heart at all? To him “it all seems like a strange denouement of a strange play.” Lord Henry felt. acute pleasure, playing on Dorian's "unseemly self-esteem", and explained that "real tragedies occur in an unartistic form", "they lack refinement", and therefore they cause disgust. According to Lord Henry, Dorian felt happy because the girl loved him so much. preferred death to life without his love. There was something beautiful in Sybil's death, Lord Henry continued, and he was "glad to live in an age when miracles do happen." Let Dorian think that Sybil has played her last role. Dorian thought for a long time, then said that Lord Henry helped him understand himself, for he felt all that, but was afraid of those sensations. They would never talk about this death again, because it was an incomparable experience and nothing, Dorian decided. He would only like to know if life will give him something equally extraordinary. Lord Henry left, Dorian gave him his word that he would come to the opera in the evening, but refused to go to dinner because he was “very tired.” Left alone, he rushed to the portrait, but found no new changes there. "The portrait probably learned of Sybil Vane's death before he did." Now even death seemed romantic to him. He decided to no longer remember “how much he (Sybil) suffered through her that terrible evening” when she played on stage for the last time. “He is like a beautiful tragic image, sent to the big stage of life to show the world the supreme reality of love.” Dorian approached the portrait again, feeling that he had to make a choice. “Eternal youth, boundless passions, pleasures... - He carries all this. And the portrait bears the burden of his shame, and nothing more.” An hour later he was at the opera, "with Lord Henry sitting behind him, leaning on his chair."

The next morning, Basil Hallward came to Dorian to express his condolences over the tragic death of Sybil. But the handsome young man spoke calmly about this tragedy, even saying that he had been to the opera last night. Basil was outraged; he realized that under the influence of Lord Henry, Dorian was turning into a cruel egoist. Hallward wanted to look at the portrait, but Dorian did not allow this: he was afraid that the artist would notice the changes. He also said in a request to exhibit his portrait at an exhibition in Paris. When Basil went, Doria took the portrait into a room where no one had entered for many years, locked the door and hid the keys in his pocket. Now he was sure that no one would be able to see how his soul was being distorted. Having hidden the portrait, Dorian calmly sat down to drink tea. Lord Henry sent him a newspaper and a book that interested him. In Doria's newspaper I read notes about the investigation into Sybil's case, from which it followed that death was due to an accident. Dorian sat comfortably in his chair and opened with interest the book that Lord Henry had sent. It was an amazing book by a fashionable French author - a psychological study with one hero, “who, in the half of the 19th century, tried to incorporate into himself the passions and ways of thinking of past eras in order to understand for himself all the states through which the human soul has ever passed.” “It was a poisonous book: as if a thick aroma of incense curled its pages and fogged the brain... all this stirred unhealthy delirium and dreams in Dorian’s imagination.”

For a long time, Dorian Gray could not free himself from the influence of this book. He ordered himself as many as nine copies, each of them framed in luxurious covers of different colors that corresponded to Dorian’s changing mood. The hero of this book would become a prototype of himself, and the whole novel seemed to him to be the story of his own life. “But in one thing Dorian was happier than the fantastic hero of the novel. He had never experienced... that terrible fear of mirrors. With a feeling similar to schadenfreude... Dorian re-read the last part of the book, where with truly tragic pathos (albeit slightly exaggerated) the grief and despair of a man who had lost what was precious in other people and in the world around him was depicted.” Dorian was consoled by the fact that his beauty would remain with him forever. Rumors about his insecure lifestyle circulated from time to time, but it was difficult to believe his dishonor, because it seemed that no dirt could touch this young handsome man. Dorian often disappeared from society for long periods of time, giving in to his passions and vices. Having returned, he stood with a mirror in his hands next to his portrait and compared the evil, increasingly older face on the canvas and the beautiful young face that smiled at him from the chandelier. “He fell in love with his own beauty and watched the schedule of his own soul with more and more interest.” “However, sometimes at night, lying awake in his thickly perfumed bedroom or in the dirty closet of the infamous tavern near the docks, where he visited, disguised and under an assumed name, Dorian Gray thought with regret about ruin, calling on his own soul, with that bitter regret that this feeling was purely selfish. True, such moments happened rarely.” His thirst for life became increasingly unsatisfactory. He sought solace in the lavish ceremonies of foreign beliefs and religions, but “never officially accepted any particular faith or dogma, realizing that this would limit his mental development.” For some time he was interested in mysticism with its amazing efforts to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. At other times he studied materialistic teachings. “And yet, whatever theories of life there were, they were presented by Dorian as nothing against life itself.” He sought to discover the secret of human feeling; he is sure that it contains no less secrets than the soul. He is interested in studying aromatic substances and dreams of creating a system for the influence of various odors on the psychological state of a person. At other times, he devoted himself entirely to music, collecting the finest national musical instruments from all over the world. “Dorian was fascinated by the very pretentiousness of these works; the thought that art, like nature, also has scarecrows - things ugly in form and disgusting in voice. However, he soon grew tired of them and, sitting at the opera, alone or with Lord Henry, Dorian enthusiastically listened to “Tannhäuser,” and he heard in the overture to this majestic work a reflection of the tragedy of his own soul.” One day Dorian began to study precious stones, later his attention turned to embroidered jewelry and tapestries, then he studied the cult outfit. He collected all these treasures in his house, seeing in them only a means to forget the fear that was becoming almost unbearable. “In the empty locked room where Dorian spent his boyish summers, he... he himself hung his terrible portrait on the wall, which, ever changing, presented to his eyes the schedule of his own soul.” After a few years, he could no longer bear to be outside England for a long time, because it seemed that whoever saw the portrait would reveal its secret. Although he charmed many, rumors had already begun to spread about him, bad fame surrounded him, and his closest friends subsequently began to bypass him. “The women who had first senselessly loved Dorian, disdaining decency and public opinion for his sake, now turned pale with shame and horror as soon as he entered the room.” But in the eyes of many, these rumors only increased his extraordinary and dangerous charms. “And his great wealth fully testified to him. The public, at least the civilized public, is not very inclined to believe in harming people who are rich and attractive."

One evening Dorian met with Basil Golward, with whom he had long since broken off relations. Dorian Gray tried to pretend that he did not notice the artist, but he saw him himself. Dorian was forced to invite his former friend to his place. Basil asked to confirm or refute the terrible gossip that was spreading about Dorian in London, and remembered the disfigured fates of the hornets and chosen ones of the ageless handsome man. Dorian invited Basil into the classroom, where he hid the portrait from the whole world, and shows it to the artist. Astonished, Basil saw the face of a disgusting, spoiled old man. And Dorian couldn’t bear to look at this ugly spectacle. He held the artist responsible for his moral decline. In a blind rage, he killed Basil with a dagger, and then turned to his former friend Alan Campbell, a chemical scientist, and, blackmailing him with a secret, forced him to dissolve Basil's body in nitric acid.

Dorian tried to forget himself in drug intoxication. In one tavern, at the very “bottom” of London, he almost died at the hands of Sybil Vane’s brother, James, who late learned about the cause of his sister’s death and swore an oath of revenge on the one who offended her. James began to follow Dorian. While hunting, James is accidentally killed. And Dorian’s conscience did not give him peace. Now his great fame seemed to Dorian a burden that he did not want to bear. He dreamed of changing, he was “overwhelmed by a burning longing for the immaculate purity of his youth... Dorian knew well that he had dishonored himself, defamed his soul, filled his imagination with ugliness, he was aware that he had a harmful influence on others and that he had terrible pleasure from this... But really Is this all irreparable? Now Dorian cursed his beauty and eternal youth, preferring to let every sin be reflected on his face. This would be a punishment that could keep him from falling further. However, he decided that there was no point in thinking about the past, because nothing could be corrected there. "James Wayne is buried in an unmarked grave in Selby Cemetery. Alan Campbell shot himself in his laboratory one evening, without expressing the secret that was imposed on him. Excited speculation about Galward's disappearance will soon subside - that's how it's already going. Therefore, he, Dorian, is quite safe.” He wanted to think about the future. Dorian remembered the young village girl Getty Merton, whom he fell in love with, could have seduced, but did not. “And never again will he seduce the innocent. He will become virtuous,” Dorian decided. He wanted to see if the portrait had changed for the better thanks to his “virtuous” behavior with Getty Merton. But when he removed the veil from the portrait, he realized that the image of his soul not only did not improve, but became even uglier: deceit and hypocrisy were clearly visible on that face. There were red stains on the hands that looked like blood. Dorian saw the dagger with which he killed Basil Hallward. “This knife ended the artist - and it will also end the a work of art and with all the fact that that work is disparate! ..Dorian will find peace in the end.” Dorian grabbed the dagger and plunged it into his portrait. There was a scream and a dull thud. The servants came running at the cry, for a long time they could not find the owner, and finally stumbled upon a classroom where no one had been for many years: “When they entered the room, a magnificent portrait of their owner caught their eye on the wall - exactly the same as they were the last time he was seen in all the splendor of his charming youth and beauty." A dead man lay nearby, old and ugly. Only the rings on the fingers helped to understand who it was.

Still from the film "Dorian Gray" (2009)

On a sunny summer day, the talented painter Basil Hallward receives in his studio his old friend Lord Henry Wotton, an epicurean esthete, 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 recognizable; the author of the novel “gives” him the predominant 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.

Ignoring Basil's sluggish 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, having paid a visit to his uncle Lord Farmer, Lord Henry learns about the dramatic circumstances of Dorian's origin: raised by a wealthy guardian, he painfully experienced the early death of his mother, who, contrary to family traditions, fell in love and threw in her lot with an unknown infantry officer (at the instigation of his influential father-in-law). killed in a duel).

Dorian himself, meanwhile, falls in love with the aspiring actress Sibyl Vane - “a girl of about seventeen, with a face as delicate as a flower, with a Greek head entwined in dark braids. Eyes are blue lakes of passion, lips are rose petals”; with amazing spirituality she plays the best roles of Shakespeare's repertoire on the squalid stage of a beggarly theater in the East Indies. In turn, Sibile, eking 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 incarnate miracle - a “Prince Charming”, descended from transcendental heights. Her lover does not know that in her life there is also a secret carefully guarded from prying eyes: both Sibylla and James are illegitimate children, the fruits of a love union that once connected their mother, a “tormented, withered woman” serving in the same theater, with a person of an alien class.

Having found in Sybil the living embodiment of beauty and talent, the naive idealist Dorian triumphantly informs Basil and Lord Henry of his engagement. The future of their ward fills both with anxiety; however, both of them willingly accept the invitation to the play, where Dorian’s chosen one must play the role of Juliet. However, absorbed in bright hopes for the real happiness ahead of her with her beloved, Sybila that evening reluctantly, as if under duress (after all, “playing a lover is a profanation!” - she believes) pronounces the words of the role, for the first time seeing without embellishment the squalor of the scenery, the falsehood of her stage partners and the poverty of the enterprise. A resounding failure follows, causing the skeptical ridicule of Lord Henry, the restrained sympathy of the good-natured Basil and the total collapse of Dorian's castles in the air, who in despair throws to Sibyl: “You killed my love!”

Having lost faith in his beautiful illusions, mixed with faith in the indissolubility of art and reality, Dorian spends a sleepless night wandering around empty London. Sibila is unable to bear his cruel confession; the next morning, preparing to send her a letter with words of reconciliation, he learns that the girl committed suicide that same evening. Friends and patrons 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 given to him by the artist becomes a merciless mirror of the spiritual metamorphosis brewing in him: a hard wrinkle appears on the flawless face of the young Greek god. Seriously concerned, Dorian removes the portrait out of sight.

And again, his helpful Mephistopheles friend, Lord Henry, helps him drown out the disturbing pangs of conscience. On the advice of the latter, he plunges headlong into reading a strange book by a newfangled French author - a psychological study about a man who decides to experience all the extremes of existence. Bewitched by her for a long time (“it seemed that the heavy smell of smoking rose from her pages and stupefied the brain”), Dorian over 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 frozen in his ideal shell, he seeks solace in the magnificent rites and rituals of foreign religions, in music, in collecting antiques and precious stones, in narcotic potions offered in notorious dens. Drawn by hedonistic temptations, falling in love over and over again, but unable to love, he does not disdain dubious connections and suspicious acquaintances. The glory of a soulless seducer of young minds is assigned to him.

Reminding him of the destinies of fleeting chosen ones and chosen ones, broken at his whim, Basil Hallward, who had long ago severed all ties with him, but was planning to visit him before leaving for Paris, tries to bring some sense into Dorian. But in vain: in response to fair reproaches, he laughingly invites the painter to see the true face of his former idol, captured in Hallward’s portrait, gathering dust in a dark corner. The astonished Basil reveals the terrifying face of a voluptuous old man. However, the spectacle turns out to be beyond Dorian’s strength: holding the creator of the portrait responsible for his moral behavior, in a fit of uncontrollable rage he plunges a dagger into the neck of the friend of his young days. And then, calling for the help of one of his former comrades in revelry and feasting, the chemist Alan Campbell, blackmailing him with some shameful secret known only to both of them, forces him to dissolve Basil’s body in nitric acid - material evidence of the crime he committed.

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

Thus ends the novel-parable about a man for whom “at other moments Evil was only one of the means of realizing what he considered the beauty of life.”

Retold