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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Antisemitism, Blood, Classism, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use
kashby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Death, Murder, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Misogyny, Alcohol, and Drug use
visorforavisor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The last time I read this, I knew next to nothing about the meaning of it in the context of the intense homophobia of the late-19th-century UK. But, reading it now, I realise how brave Oscar Wilde was to publish this. I quote from the original, uncensored version, Basil speaking to Dorian:
“It is quite true that I have worshipped you with far more romance of feeling than a man should ever give to a friend. Somehow, I had never loved a woman. […] I quite admit that I adored you madly, extravagantly, absurdly. I was jealous of everyone to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you. […] Of course I never let you know anything about this. It would have been impossible. You would not have understood it. […] But, as I worked at it, every flake and film of colour seemed to me to reveal my secret. There was love in every line, and in every touch there was passion. As I said to Harry, once, you are made to be worshipped.”
And this is just one of the most blatant examples, one that had to be cut. There aren’t “homoerotic undertones” in Dorian. There is no “gay subtext”. It’s. About homosexuality. The whole book is about homosexuality. Even that bit at the start, about judging a book on its morality vs judging it on how well-written it is; what, it’s a coincidence that everyone ignored a beautifully written book because its gayness went against their morals?
All three couples possible between Dorian, Basil, and Henry are implied to have existed. Dorian almost certainly had a beyond-platonic relationship with Alan, who he later blackmails (a crime that comes later than murder, even as we know that his crimes become worse and worse… absolutely nothing [/s] to do with blackmail being the primary crime against gay men in this era, especially since we aren’t told what the blackmail material is, but we are told about Alan and Dorian’s “intimacy”). Dorian is repeatedly compared to male favourites of kings. He goes to a costume ball, in drag, dressed as a male favourite of Henri III of France. (Was it just chance that this is a similar name to Henry Wotton’s? Probably not.) Dorian owns homes, in which he and Henry holiday together, in known homosexual hotspots. He also attends brothels in an area known for its brothels having men for hire.
Dorian, thinking about how Basil’s affection and good nature could have saved him:
The love that he bore him — for it was really love — had nothing in it that was not noble and intellectual. It was not that mere physical admiration of beauty that is born of the senses and that dies when the senses tire. It was such love as Michael Angelo had known, and Montaigne, and Winckelmann, and Shakespeare himself. Yes, Basil could have saved him.
All the men named had homosexual relationships, and Wilde knew this. Compare with Wilde’s speech, in court, for the crime of homosexuality:
“The love that dare not speak its name” in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art, like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as “the love that dare not speak its name”, and on that account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an older and a younger man, when the older man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope, and glamour of life before him. That it should be so, the world does not understand. The world mocks at it, and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it.
(It’s worth noting that while Wilde does emphasise the younger and older men being in a relationship together, he’s not talking about paedophilia: Dorian is 20 when the story begins, and Henry 30. Basil’s age is unknown but he and Henry are simoultaneously called “young”, so he is probably between the two in age.)
This speech of Wilde’s, pretty much, sums up the relationship of Dorian with the combination of Basil and Henry. In the first chapters, Dorian does have “all the joy, hope, and glamour of life before him”. References to some of the same men not only continue to show parallels between these passages but make it absolutely undebatable that Wilde was saying Basil was gay. The similar use of the words “noble” and “intellectual”, all of it.
Dorian Gray is arguing on behalf of homosexuality.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicide, and Drug use
Minor: Sexism
gentleprocrastination's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Classism, Death, Murder, Body horror, and Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Antisemitism, and Suicide
Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking
berufsgrantler's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh, this book... Another entry in the category "Very good, but don't read it!". Shocking how someone so young and naive can be led to throw his whole code of ethics over board, while having no hope of pulling his neck out of the hangmans noose; allthe more when one is in fear of endling like that and being forced to betray ones own principles, by eliminating all choice to do better. For all the people suffering from mid- or quarterlife crisis, this should be an especially hard read.
And alas Lord Henry, he's just such a charming bastard, one could say he's the quintessence of the cur ;)
DEUTSCH:
Hach, dieses Buch... Wiedermal ein Fall für die Kategorie "Sehr gut, aber lies es nicht!". Schockierend wie jemand so junges und naives so moralisch verfallen kann und sich nicht aus der Schlinge zu winden mag, die sich langsam zuzieht; umso mehr wenn man selbst Angst hat schließlich so zu Enden und man doch irgendwann seine moralischen Prinzipien verraten muss, weil einem die Wahl genommen wurde. Besonders harte Lektüre für die Mid- und Quarterlife-Crisis.
Ach und Lord Henry, dieser schmierig, gewitzte Bastard, man könnte fast meinen er sei des Pudels Kern ;)
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Blood
Minor: Addiction and Sexism
adrionmacaron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Misogyny, Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Drug abuse, and Racial slurs
izzydelaya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Blood and Death
Minor: Classism and Misogyny
mickymouse_007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
okay maybe not. I have a lot to say but i just dont know how to say it.
I hated Dorian Gray from the middle of the book to the last page with my everything and that's something i am proud of. However, i still pitied him. It must be horrid to see your soul but thats definitely no excuse for his behavour. like how do you excuse murder?
on that point, i did not see basil's murder or the end coming up. so glad no one ruined for me.
chapter 11 was lengthy but beautifully written. the book is a work of art.
I don't know how i feel about lord henry. i dont hate him.. i just dont like him i guess
loved the book. definitely recommend it (especially you are a highschool english student because there is so many beautiful phrases you can take inspiration from)
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
grace_cr1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence
brnineworms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Picture of Dorian Gray is good. I wasn’t blown away by it, but the premise is solid and I was pleasantly surprised by how audaciously queer it is. I can see why it’s considered a classic. Definitely worth a read.
Graphic: Classism, Death, Murder, Blood, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Antisemitism, Bullying, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexism, Alcohol, and Suicide
Minor: Colonisation, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Xenophobia