The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Where does Dorian Gray buy his clothes? At forever 21. 😉
Before there was the Red Pill community, there existed Lord Henry. Before the emergence of the Simp culture, there was sweet Basil.
And before cosmetic surgeries were commonplace, there was Dorian Gray, the most gorgeous man you’d ever seen, and his spellbinding portrait.
And being vain myself, it was easy to identify with Dorian and his arrogance disguised in the cloak of self-love.
Being a feminist, it was easy to despise Henry. There were so many times I rolled my eyes at the personification of male ego and huffed at the obnoxious view of women he held.
And being a hopeless romantic, it was easy to sympathize with sweet, sweet Basil, the naive yet good-natured artist who painted The Picture of Dorian gray.
It says a lot about human psychology that a critically acclaimed novel published a century and a half before I was born is so relevant even today.
Dorian Gray, under the sway of the devil's advocate Henry and despite the concerns of the good angel Basil, takes a walk down the Aristocratic Hedonism treadmill, and (spoiler alert), eventually loses his balance.
Oscar Wilde has written a gothic masterpiece. There are homoerotic undertones that foreshadow the author’s tragic final years. There’s a societal commentary on romance and marriage. There's a look at elitism in art, as well as the finiteness of beauty and the impact of sin on the soul. It's a gripping portrait of a narcissistic personality as well as a cautionary tale about succumbing to temptations.
My copy of the book is highlighted like a color book: The depravity expressed in the flowery phrases was utterly intoxicating for a quotes' whore like me. That's the beauty of literature, the words give a structure to the feelings that seemed inexpressible.
Overall, it's a delectable read, one comparable to the wicked sensations afforded in Victorian literature's fabled opium dens.
You definitely CAN NOT miss this one if you're a literature nerd and/or love the dark academia aesthetic and/or simply a narcissist.