After much anticipation, the renowned Oscar Wilde has fnally completed

his latest work, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This new work, serialised this past
year in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, is the author's frst novel, although his
profcient, witty prose suggests years of experience. The Picture of Dorian Gray
has provoked oth positive and negative reactions in its readers. The work has
achieved a status of notoriety due to its representation of aestheticism in an
approving light as well as the !uestionale moral status of each of the central
characters in regards to relationships and general lifestyle. When these
elements are disregarded, however, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a thrilling
story of a young man on the rink of adulthood in possession of extraordinary
eauty who has his portrait painted, and due to hedonistic in"uences fnds
himself expressing a desire to retain the eauty represented in the portrait,
never ageing or changing in any manner. This wish, expressed on a whim,
results in a thrilling tale of corruption, youth, and immorality, which result in
horror.
There are three characters that are particularly signifcant in Oscar
Wilde's sensational novel. #irstly, the titular $orian %ray. A mere oy at the
eginning of the novel, na&ve and free from any knowledge of the world, $orian
%ray transforms throughout the duration of the novel into something far more
sinister as he grows cruel and commits sins of escalating si'e, as a result of the
in"uences of society, his newly made ac!uaintance, (ord )enry, in particular.
*asil )allward is a shy painter, who inadvertently introduces his su+ect, $orian
%ray, to his hedonistic friend, (ord )enry Wotton. *asil )allward is the creator
of the portrait the story revolves around, which later ecomes the motivating
factor for the actions of $orian %ray as he ecomes increasingly osessed with
his own image. (astly, signifcantly, is (ord )enry Wotton, a charming, clever
man of society, who holds strong, controversial views on society, and takes
delight in corruption, particularly when he causes it. $orian %ray, the epitome
of youth and innocence, is therefore found to e an appealing target, and (ord
)enry ultimately succeeds in instilling his own numerous opinions in him. While
)enry speaks of controversial ways, however, $orian acts upon the advice he
has given, which is how he ecomes corrupted and dangerous. Oscar Wilde's
novel is a wonderful masterpiece of sensation and horror, providing its readers
with a perfect view of innocence eing gradually corrupted to the core, shown
through, in a stroke of rilliance, the painting in place of the man.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is widely regarded as a dangerous work, and
as a result The Macabray wishes to o,er the author admiration and respect for
stepping into new territory. *y addressing new, controversial topics that are
often circumvented in previous works y di,erent authors, Wilde creates a
fascinating, detailed and entirely original story with delightfully corrupt
characters. -n this respect, reading The Picture of Dorian Gray was refreshing.
.nfortunately, however, we feel that Oscar Wilde attempted to reach too
many social oundaries with a single work, and has received considerale
negativity as a result, where people go as far as to suggest that the morals and
actions of the characters implicate the writer himself. At The Macabray, we can
neither confrm nor deny these allegations, ut would advise /r Wilde to
practice a little more caution in future.