Laura Occasionally Blogs

You may not believe it, but I have actually never read The Picture of Dorian Gray. Until now.

I hope not having finished my Crime and Punishment recaps doesn't mean I can't start recapping something else.

The Preface This is basically a list of Oscar Wilde type aphorisms about the nature of art, like about how great Beauty is and how lame people who don't understand about Beauty are, and how books aren't moral or immoral but well or badly written. I'm not sure why he lists them here instead of just putting them into Lord Henry's mouth at some point. Did he just have a list of clever things he wanted to include and these ones never made it into dialogue?

Chapter 1 Basil Hallward, an artist, is showing his great nearly-finished portrait of an incredibly beautiful young man to his clever idle rich friend Lord Henry Wotton. We get the first of many descriptions of the almost comical perfection of the subject (oh, you know it's Dorian Gray)'s beauty. Golden curls, lips like the petals of a rose etc. ( Well this isn't gay or anything. )

By Anna's special request.

5.4
At Sonia's apartment, Sonia tries to thank Raskolnikov for helping her, and he peevishly says what if he hadn't been there (conveniently forgetting that if it hadn't been for him, Luzhin wouldn't have had any reason to go after Sonia to begin with). He tries to get her to say that Luzhin is less worthy of life than her loved ones, and that, given the choice, she would rather he died than they did. ( You know, just hypothetically. )

5.5
Andrey has come to find them both because Katerina Ivanovna has gone crazy. (In the last half hour or so.) She is talking about making the children go out and put on a show for money in the street. The horror... the horror! Sonia rushes out with Andrey, and Raskolnikov goes home and broods. ( Heaven forbid he actually go and help anyone with anything. ) Pssst, Raskolnikov! I think the book wants you to turn yourself in!

Dorian is looking at some of Basil's piano music when they come in, and he immediately starts bitching, until he sees that Basil is accompanied by a Handsome Stranger. Then he becomes all coy charm and "Who's your friend?" I'm not saying I'd like this book would be better if it were straight (I mean, you know me), I'm just saying Wilde wouldn't even have to overcome his misogyny to cast Dorian as a girl. He's beautiful, emotional, and capricious. His only accomplishment is playing piano. I mean, really.

There's some protracted arguing about whether or not Lord Henry will stay and talk to Dorian during the painting session, with Dorian's position being OH YOU MUST STAY BEING PAINTED IS SO BORING, and Basil's position being DUDE, SOCK ON THE DOOR, and Lord Henry's changing by the moment to annoy them both. ( Guess who wins? )

Lord Henry Has Been Reading the Quotable Oscar Wilde: Chapter 2

• "It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances."
  
• "The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer."
  
• "I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex."
  
• "Young men want to be faithful, and are not; old men want to be faithless, and cannot."