Publisher's Synopsis
Dorian Gray's portrait is considered one of the latest classics of the gothic horror novel with a strong Faustian theme. It is considered today as "one of the modern classics of Western literature."Basil Hallward is an artist who is strongly impressed by the aesthetic beauty of a young man named Dorian Gray and begins to admire him. Basil paints a portrait of the young man. Chatting in Hallward's garden, Dorian meets a friend of Basil and begins to be captivated by Lord Henry's worldview. Exposing a new type of hedonism, Lord Henry indicates that "the only thing worthwhile in life is beauty, and the satisfaction of the senses." Realizing that one day her beauty will fade, Dorian always wants to be the age of when Basil painted him in the picture. While he maintains the same appearance of the painting forever, the portrayed figure ages by him. His pursuit of pleasure leads him to a series of acts of lust; but the portrait serves as a reminder of the effects of his soul, with each sin the figure is disfiguring and aging.
