Name: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde

How you explore The Picture of Dorian Gray on Literah

The cast, the places, the objects, the plot, and the author’s own words — each one a card in a feed you scroll on your phone. One at a time, at your pace, in any order you like.

Built for your phone. Literah is designed for mobile, so your worlds travel with you. On a laptop it shows a QR code to carry the world to your phone.
A feed, not a wall of text. 28 characters, 15 places, 12 objects and 8 plot beats, each its own card with its own illustration.
The author’s own words. 57 passages of The Picture of Dorian Gray sit in the feed verbatim, exactly as Oscar Wilde wrote them, each with a short reading of what it is doing. The map is ours; the prose is always the book’s.
The same scroll, a better world. The gesture you already give away to feeds, spent on Oscar Wilde instead.

9:41

The Cast

Dorian Gray

Main · London society

A beautiful young man remains outwardly untouched while his portrait keeps the visible record of his life.

Locations

London

city

A polished city where drawing rooms, locked doors, dinner tables, and opium dens are all the same place.

Passage

Can art be judged by virtue, or only by the force of its craft?

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The Author’s Pen

Well Written or Badly Written

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.

The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.

The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass. The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium. No artist desires to prove anything.

Reading

Wilde is picking a fight before his novel even begins. This comes from the preface he added to answer critics who called the book corrupt, and his move is to refuse the whole question: a book can be done well or done badly, and that is the only judgment he will allow. When he drags in Caliban, the brutish creature from Shakespeare's Tempest, he turns the offended reader into the ugly one, furious at a mirror whether it shows his face or hides it. His last claim guards the door: an artist who wanted to prove a point would already have stopped being an artist.

World Index

The Plot

The Studio and the PortraitThe Fatal WishSibyl VaneThe Portrait ChangesThe Years of CorruptionThe Murder of BasilThe Return of James VaneThe Knife and the Portrait

The Cast

Dorian GrayBasil HallwardLord Henry WottonSibyl VaneJames VaneAlan CampbellMrs. VaneAdrian SingletonHetty MertonDuchess of MonmouthLady AgathaLady NarboroughLord FermorLady BrandonMr. HubbardVictor / FrancisUnnamed opium-den womanGeoffrey CloustonMr. IsaacsLady Henry / Victoria WottonMr. Erskine of TreadleyDuchess of HarleySir Thomas BurdonMrs. VandeleurLord FaudelLord KelsoLady Margaret DevereuxDorian’s father

Locations

Basil Hallward’s studioBristol restaurantDorian Gray’s house in Grosvenor SquareGarden outside Basil’s studioLady Agatha’s houseLady Brandon’s gatheringLady Narborough’s houseLocked upstairs room / old schoolroomLondonLord Fermor’s roomsLord Henry’s house in Curzon StreetOpium den and the quaySelby RoyalShabby theatre / Royal Theatre, HolbornVane household

Objects of Note

Alan Campbell’s chemical chestBasil’s painting materials and easelBasil’s portrait of Dorian GrayJames Vane’s pistolJames Vane’s sailor clothingKnife / palette-knifeLord Henry’s cigarettes and cigarette-caseLord Henry’s mirrorNewspaper report of Sibyl Vane’s deathPurple-and-gold hangingSibyl’s stage costumesThe yellow book

Core Concepts

A divided house reveals a divided selfArt and life cannot be safely separatedConsequences return through names, witnesses, and remembered injuriesInfluence works through seduction rather than commandPerformance collapses when reality asks to be seenPublic beauty can conceal hidden corruptionSelf-improvement can become another form of vanityYouth becomes terrifying when beauty is treated as a possession

The Author's Pen

Lord Henry in the StudioThe Portrait and the PainterBasil Will Not Send ItToo Much of MyselfThe First Sight of Dorian GrayDorian Gray as ArtThe Secret of My SoulDon't Spoil HimTired of SittingThe Immorality of InfluenceA New HedonismTired of SittingThe Bargain For YouthThe Two DoriansProper Hands For The BoyDorian's Flush of PleasureDorian in Lord Henry’s LibraryMore Than An IndividualDesire Comes to Meet ItSibyl Loves Prince CharmingJames's Deadly VowA Brilliant MarriageDorian's Sudden EngagementBeauty Over GoodnessUnderstand WhatSick of ShadowsYou Have Killed My LoveAwakening Past NoonThe Wish FulfilledDorian's Plan for GoodnessSibyl Vane Is DeadSibyl's Finest TragedyYou Must Not AskThe Load UpstairsDreams Made RealA Malady of DreamingA New HedonismThe Psychology of PerfumesEcclesiastical VestmentsCharm Protected by WealthThe Alibi of BeautyWhat Has Come Over YouUpstairs for an AnswerHis Own Name In VermilionThe Prayer of RepentanceMorning After the MurderYou Have No ChoiceThe Terrible Pleasure of a Double LifePrince Charming Called OutThe Bloom of BoyhoodHunted By TerrorThe Dead Body RevealedLeaving Hetty UntouchedBeauty as RuinHe Would Destroy ItRecognized By His Rings

Plot point 01

The Studio and the Portrait

A painter finishes the portrait of a beautiful young man he adores, and fears he has put too much of his own soul into it.

Objects of Note

Basil’s portrait of Dorian Gray

It ages and rots in a locked room so that Dorian never has to.

The Cast

Basil Hallward

Main · artist

The painter who creates Dorian’s portrait fears that the canvas has exposed his own soul.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

The cast, locations, objects of note, core concepts, and selected passages in the Author’s Pen - at your own pace.

One of 128 classics in the Literah library

The Picture of Dorian Gray feed, as it appears in your mobile

The plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The story beat by beat, as Literah maps it.

The Studio and the Portrait
The Fatal Wish
Sibyl Vane
The Portrait Changes
The Years of Corruption
The Murder of Basil
The Return of James Vane
The Knife and the Portrait

The author's pen in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The passages themselves, Oscar Wilde's own words, as Literah maps it.

Well Written or Badly Written
Lord Henry in the Studioch. 1
The Portrait and the Painterch. 1
Basil Will Not Send Itch. 1
Too Much of Myselfch. 1
The First Sight of Dorian Graych. 1
Dorian Gray as Artch. 1
The Secret of My Soulch. 1
Don't Spoil Himch. 1
Tired of Sittingch. 2
The Immorality of Influencech. 2
A New Hedonismch. 2
Tired of Sittingch. 2
The Bargain For Youthch. 2
The Two Doriansch. 2
Proper Hands For The Boych. 3
Dorian's Flush of Pleasurech. 3
Dorian in Lord Henry’s Librarych. 4
More Than An Individualch. 4
Desire Comes to Meet Itch. 4

The characters of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Who is who, as Literah maps it.

Dorian Graymajor
Basil Hallwardmajor
Lord Henry Wottonmajor
Sibyl Vanemajor
James Vanemajor
Alan Campbellsupporting
Mrs. Vanesupporting
Adrian Singletonsupporting
Hetty Mertonsupporting
Duchess of Monmouthsupporting
Lady Agathasupporting
Lady Narboroughsupporting
Lord Fermorsupporting
Lady Brandonsupporting
Mr. Hubbardsupporting
Victor / Francissupporting

The locations in The Picture of Dorian Gray

Where it happens, as Literah maps it.

Londoncity
Basil Hallward’s studiostudio
Garden outside Basil’s studiogarden
Dorian Gray’s house in Grosvenor Squarehouse
Locked upstairs room / old schoolroomlocked room
Shabby theatre / Royal Theatre, Holborntheatre
Vane householdhousehold
Lord Henry’s house in Curzon Streethouse
Lord Fermor’s roomsrooms
Lady Agatha’s househouse
Lady Brandon’s gatheringsociety gathering
Bristol restaurantrestaurant
Lady Narborough’s househouse
Opium den and the quayopium den and dockside

The core concepts in The Picture of Dorian Gray

What the book keeps returning to, as Literah maps it.

Public beauty can conceal hidden corruption
Art and life cannot be safely separated
Influence works through seduction rather than command
Youth becomes terrifying when beauty is treated as a possession
Performance collapses when reality asks to be seen
A divided house reveals a divided self
Consequences return through names, witnesses, and remembered injuries
Self-improvement can become another form of vanity

The objects of note in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The things that carry meaning, as Literah maps it.

Basil’s portrait of Dorian Gray
The yellow book
Lord Henry’s mirror
Knife / palette-knife
Purple-and-gold hanging
Newspaper report of Sibyl Vane’s death
James Vane’s pistol
Alan Campbell’s chemical chest
Sibyl’s stage costumes
Lord Henry’s cigarettes and cigarette-case
Basil’s painting materials and easel
James Vane’s sailor clothing

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How you explore The Picture of Dorian Gray on Literah

The plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The author's pen in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The characters of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The locations in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The core concepts in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The objects of note in The Picture of Dorian Gray

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