El retrato de Dorian Gray

Lord Henry Wotton gazes at "the full-length portrait of a young man of extraordinary beauty" that his friend, the painter Basil Hallward, is on the verge of completing. Hallward believes the painting captures "the harmony of body and soul" in a novel way, and upon meeting the model, Lord Henry tells him: "A new hedonism—that is what our century needs. You might be its visible symbol." Yet, upon seeing the finished portrait, young Dorian Gray cannot help but express a sense of anticipated frustration: "If only I could remain young and the portrait grow old! I would give... I would give anything for that!" From this premise, Oscar Wilde—blending the Gothic with the comedy of manners—crafted a novel that, since its publication in book form in 1891, has never ceased to surprise readers and inspire a multitude of interpretations. The protagonist’s dark descent, driven by his desire to hold onto youth and beauty, gives rise to a tormented moral tragedy concerning the power of conscience—yet this is always set against the fierce counterpoint of the "delightful, poisonous, fascinating, and perverse theories" of the "utterly incorrigible" Lord Henry. *The Picture of Dorian Gray* remains one of the most unflinching philosophical reflections on the relationship between art and life.