The Picture of Dorian Gray

Summary of: "The Picture of Dorian Gray"


Basil Howard a painter draws a portrait of a young man, that becomes the best thing he has ever done. Dorian Gray who has been painted discovers for the first time how good he looks by seeing his portrait. Being at Basil’s house Dorian meets Lord Henry a friend of Basil whom Basil did not want Dorian to meet because he feared that he could steel Dorian’s purity and innocence. Nevertheless Lord Henry and Dorian become close friends while Dorian is impressed by Lord Henry’s hedonistic philosophy. Dorian realizes by the conversations with Lord Henry, who says he should profit of his beauty before it is gone, that his marvelous body will degenerate. So he hopes that he could stay forever young and that his portrait would make the physical changes he should. He would even give his soul away for this wish.
Dorian meets Sybil Vane an actress that in the end of their relation commits suicide because of him, and then the first changes in the portrait become visible. Dorian realizes that his wish became true and leads for years a vicious live comporting drug addiction and many relations to women’s without losing one bit of his beauty. This whole change in his live has always been supported by Lord Henry’s ideas. With the years Dorian became an example for younger people trying to imitate his way of live.
When Dorian meets the painter Basil after some years again he shows him the picture and in a rush of anger against him, blaming him for his vicious live kills Basil. Then he makes the corps disappear and continues his bad live. Some day Dorian gets scruples and he realizes that he can’t continue the way he lives so he destroys the picture and all the signs of age are transferred from the picture to him. When he sees himself in the mirror he commits suicide. The second part of his wish became also true he had to give his soul for his everlasting youth.

343 Words

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