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Schule > Englisch > Summary "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

SUMMARY

of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Basil Hallward paints a picture of his pure and beautiful friend Dorian Gray. It is the best portrait Basil has ever drawn. While posing for it, Dorian met Lord Henry, another friend of Basil’s, who has a bad influence on him. He tells to be vain and to enjoy his life before his beauty declines. So he wishes the picture to get old instead of himself, and he would give away his soul for it. Very soon, he shares Henry’s paradoxical conceptions and philosophies and adopts his hedonistic and decadent lifestyle.
Then, Dorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane, a young and beautiful actress. The night he brings his friends to the theater to introduce them to her, she acts quite badly. She actually reveals her own character but he actually loved the roles she played. Therefore he leaves her in a very cruel way although they were engaged. She cannot handle that and commits suicide. By that time he realizes that his portrait has altered and shows all his bad sides. Hence he decides to lock it in a room.
One night he sees Basil again and shows him the picture. Basil cannot believe what happened but Dorian accuses him of being responsible for his whimsical life and kills him. Afterwards he forces a friend to decompose the dead body with acid.
He continues his life of drug abuse while causing scandals with married woman, until he meets Sibyl’s brother accidentally. He wants to take vengeance of Dorian, whom he reproaches of having destroyed his sister’s life. Nevertheless Dorian succeeds to get away because he still looks very young, to young to be Sibyl’ ex-fiancé.
After a while Sibyl’s brother dies. Thus Dorian looses his last enemy. So he decides to regain his life by tearing his picture with a knife.. But the result is other then expected. By destroying the picture he kills himself and his portrait becomes pure again.

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