The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a work of Gothic horror by fin-de-siècle Irish writer Oscar Wilde. Originally released as a novella in 1890, it was published in its complete form in 1891 and sparked public outcry for its perceived amorality. The work chronicles the life of Dorian Gray, a fictional 19th-century British aristocrat, in his pursuit of beauty and pleasure—a pursuit he shared with Wilde, who was a leading figure in the aesthetic literary movement. Though The Picture of Dorian Gray was the only novel written by an author whose oeuvre encompassed plays, poetry, short stories, and essays, it remains among Wilde's best-known works, alongside titles like The Importance of Being Earnest and Lady Windermere's Fan.

Content Warning: The source material and this study guide contain references to suicide, murder, and drug use.

Plot Overview

When the narrative opens, a somewhat successful painter named Basil Hallward is painting the portrait of a young man named Dorian Gray. A frivolously provocative aristocrat named Lord Henry Wotton—a friend of Hallward’s—sees Dorian’s almost supernatural beauty in the painting and is intrigued, as he himself prizes beauty above all else.