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jugi's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
agwood32's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wow.
sachacharlotte's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.25
sarah_emmer's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
5.0
All the characters in this book assume wrongly some kind of positive correlation between a person's looks and his characters - as if we are born pure and beautiful; each immoral act committed by a person leaves imprinted a Cain's mark on his or her face. I don't know whether writer suffered from this kind of lookism - for Dorin's painting actually got uglier and uglier with each wicked act done by him, or maybe Wilde was criticising prejudice - for Dorin did remain to look handsome despite all wrongs he did.
Now things like principles, conscience, soul, morality etc great interest me - for I have none of my own. I often wonder what people mean conscience - remember reading somewhere it is the feeling that someone is watching or it is just 'sentimentalization of herd morality. as Eurus Holmes would have put it. Wilde seems to suggest it is the sight of one's own soul (used to mean 'a sort of map showing imprints of one's moral and immoral actions'; for lack of better word) - the portrait is supposed to be picture of Dorin Grey's soul; Grey is uncomfortable by the mere sight or idea of it and thus calls it his (oh! so very bad) conscience. It is thus people with bad conscience live - too conscious of their evil. Unlike most literary tragic characters who end miserably after choosing the path of folly and whose worlds break down to punish them; Grey was repeatedly saved from his punishment - he just couldn't live any longer with conscious of his own inner ugliness. He did try making amends- only it was too late - "Had it been merely vanity that had made him do his one good deed? Or the desire for a new sensation, as Lord Henry had hinted, with his mocking laugh? Or that passion to act a part that sometimes makes us do things finer than we are ourselves? Or, perhaps, all these?"
Now things like principles, conscience, soul, morality etc great interest me - for I have none of my own. I often wonder what people mean conscience - remember reading somewhere it is the feeling that someone is watching or it is just 'sentimentalization of herd morality. as Eurus Holmes would have put it. Wilde seems to suggest it is the sight of one's own soul (used to mean 'a sort of map showing imprints of one's moral and immoral actions'; for lack of better word) - the portrait is supposed to be picture of Dorin Grey's soul; Grey is uncomfortable by the mere sight or idea of it and thus calls it his (oh! so very bad) conscience. It is thus people with bad conscience live - too conscious of their evil. Unlike most literary tragic characters who end miserably after choosing the path of folly and whose worlds break down to punish them; Grey was repeatedly saved from his punishment - he just couldn't live any longer with conscious of his own inner ugliness. He did try making amends- only it was too late - "Had it been merely vanity that had made him do his one good deed? Or the desire for a new sensation, as Lord Henry had hinted, with his mocking laugh? Or that passion to act a part that sometimes makes us do things finer than we are ourselves? Or, perhaps, all these?"
dreamerbydesign's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
creana's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
dealberts01's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
unlikely_bookish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25