Today is Oscar Wilde’s birthday. His wit and style are the stuff of legend. He also wrote one hell of a scary novel called The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The story begins with an artist painting the portrait of a beautiful young man named Dorian Gray. He gives Dorian the finished portrait and the young man hangs it in his home.
Soon after, Dorian’s innocence and good nature begin to be corrupted. He becomes increasingly cruel and thoughtless and breaks the heart of a woman he loves, for no apparent reason.
When he arrives home from the confrontation with his ex-lover, he sees that the portrait has changed. There is now a sneer on the face and an evil look in the eyes of Portrait Dorian.
He hides the painting in the attic and goes on with his degenerate life.
Dorian becomes more soulless with each passing year. He is selfish, vain and violent, yet he remains young and beautiful. His deviant lifestyle has done nothing to tarnish his beauty and youth.
While people marvel at Dorian’s ageless face, the hidden painting becomes more and more hideous. Dorian’s character flaws, bad behavior and advanced years are present in his portrait.
The painting shows Dorian Gray for what he is – a monster.
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It’s a creepy book with a great ending that I won’t ruin here, in case you want to read it.
XOXO
