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Summary: The Preface
The Preface is a series of epigrams, or concise, witty sayings, that express the major points of Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy. In short, the epigrams praise beauty and repudiate the notion that art serves a moral purpose.
Chapter 1
o The novel begins London, home of Basil Hallward, a well-known artist.
o Basil discusses his latest portrait Lord Henry Wotton.
o Lord Henry admires the painting
o He insists that the painter exhibit it. Basil, however, refuses, claiming that he cannot show the work in public because he has put too much of himself into it.
o Dorian has become, however, an object of fascination and obsession for Basil.
o The butler announces that Dorian Gray has arrived, and Lord Henry insists on meeting him. Basil reluctantly agrees but begs his friend not to try to influence the young man.
Chapter 2
o Dorian Gray proves to be every bit as a handsome as his portrait.
o Basil introduces him to Lord Henry, and Dorian begs Lord Henry to stay and talk to him while he sits for Basil. Basil warns Dorian that Lord Henry is a bad influence, and Dorian seems intrigued by this idea.
o Lord Henry escorts Dorian into the garden, where he praises Dorian’s youth and beauty and warns him how surely and quickly those qualities will fade. He urges Dorian to live life to its fullest.
o Lord Henry says to Basil —“the finest portrait of modern times,”—but looking at it makes Dorian unhappy. Remembering Lord Henry’s warning about the advance of age, he reflects that his portrait will remain young even as he himself grows old and wrinkled. He curses this fate and pledges his soul “[i]f it were only the other way.” Basil tries to comfort the young man, but Dorian pushes him away.
o Declaring that he will not allow the painting to ruin their friendship, Basil makes a move to destroy it. Dorian stops him, saying that he loves the painting, and a relieved Basil promises to give it to him as a gift.
o Dorian says he will go to the theatre with Lord Henry later that evening.
Chapter 3
o Lord Henry visits his uncle, Lord Fermor, old nobleman and asks about Dorian Gray’s past, the old man tells him that Dorian comes from an unhappy family with a dark, tangled history.
o Dorian’s mother, a noblewoman, eloped with a poor soldier; the woman’s father, arranged to have his daughter’s husband killed just before Dorian was born. The grieving widow died soon.
o Shortly thereafter, Lord Henry goes to dine at the home of his aunt, Lady Agatha, where several of London’s elite upper class—Dorian included—have gathered. He insists that one’s life should be spent appreciating beauty and seeking out pleasure rather than searching for ways to alleviate pain and tragedy.
o Dorian Gray is particularly fascinated, so much so that he leaves with Lord Henry and abandons his earlier plans to visit Basil.
Chapter 4
o One month later, while waiting in Lord Henry’s home for his host to arrive, Dorian discusses music with Lord Henry’s wife, Victoria.
o When Lord Henry arrives, Dorian rushes to him, eager to share the news that he has fallen in love with Sibyl Vane, an actress
o Sibyl refers to Dorian as “Prince Charming.”
o Dorian to see Sibyl Vane play the lead in Romeo and Juliet the following night.
o Basil is to join them, and Dorian remarks that Basil sent him his portrait, framed, a few days earlier.
o After Dorian leaves, Lord Henry muses on his influence over the young man, reflecting on how fascinating the psychology of another human being can be.
o He then dresses and goes out to dinner. He comes home late that night and finds a telegram from Dorian waiting for him. It states that he is engaged to be married to Sibyl Vane.
Chapter 5
o At the Vane household, Sibyl Vane is deliriously happy over her romance with Dorian Gray.
o Mrs. Vane, her mother, is less enthusiastic, and she alternately worries over Dorian’s intentions and hopes that her daughter will benefit from his obvious wealth.
o Sibyl’s brother, James, is also rather cautious regarding the match. He warns his mother that she must watch over Sibyl.
o James takes Sibyl on a walk. Rather than discuss her Prince Charming, Sibyl chatters on about the adventures James is certain to find in Australia. She imagines him discovering gold but then, thinking this life too dangerous, states that he will be better off as a quiet sheep farmer.
o James cannot shake the feeling that he is leaving his sister at an inopportune time. He doubts both Dorian’s intentions and his mother’s ability to protect Sibyl from them.
o Sibyl sees Dorian pass in an open carriage. She points him out, but he is gone before James sees him. James swears fiercely that if Dorian ever wrongs her, he will track down her “Prince Charming” and kill him.
o Later that night, James confronts his mother, asking her whether she was ever married to his father. Mrs. Vane answers no, and James begs her not to let Sibyl meet the same fate.
o Before departing, James again pledges to kill Dorian should Sibyl ever come to harm by him.
Chapter 6
o That evening over dinner, Lord Henry announces to Basil Dorian’s plan to marry Sibyl. Basil expresses concern that Dorian has decided to marry so far beneath his social position.
o Dorian enters, and he relates the story of his engagement, which was precipitated by his seeing Sibyl play the Shakespearean heroine Rosalind (in As You Like It).
o Dorian, in a state of tremendous excitement, remarks that his love for Sibyl and his desire to live only for her have shown him the falsehood of all of Lord Henry’s seductive theories about the virtues of selfishness.
o The three men make their way to a theater in the slums where Sibyl Vane is to perform that night.
Chapter 7
o The theater is crowded when the men arrive. Dorian continues to wax eloquent about Sibyl’s beauty, and Basil assures Dorian that he will support the marriage wholeheartedly since Dorian is so obviously in love.
o When the play begins, however, Sibyl is terrible, and her acting only worsens as the evening wears on. Unable to understand the change that has come over his beloved, Dorian is heartbroken.
o Basil and Lord Henry leave him, and he makes his way backstage to find Sibyl, who is quite happy despite her dreadful performance. She explains that before she met Dorian and experienced true love, she was able to inhabit other characters and feel their emotions easily, which made possible her success as an actress. Now, however, these pretend emotions no longer interest her, since they pale in relation to her real feelings for Dorian.
o Dorian, horrified by this decision, realizes that he was in love not with her but with her acting. He spurns her cruelly and tells her that he wishes never to see her again.
o After a night spent wandering the streets of London, Dorian returns to his home. There, he looks at Basil’s portrait of him and notices the painting has changed—a faint sneer has appeared at the corner of his likeness’s mouth. He is astonished. Remembering his wish that the painting would bear the burden and marks of age and lifestyle for him, Dorian is suddenly overcome with shame about his behaviour toward Sibyl. He pulls a screen in front of the portrait and goes to bed, resolving to make amends with Sibyl in the morning.
Chapter 8
o Dorian does not awake until well after noon the next day.
o When he gets up, he goes to check the painting. In the light, the change is unmistakable; the face in the portrait has become crueler.
o Lord Henry arrives with terrible news: Sibyl committed suicide the previous night.
o Lord Henry urges Dorian not to wallow in guilt but, rather, to regard Sibyl’s suicide as a perfect artistic representation of undying love and appreciate it as such.
o Dorian agrees to go to the opera with him that very night. When Lord Henry is gone, Dorian reflects that this incident is a turning point in his existence, and he resolves to accept a life of “[e]ternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joy and wilder sins,” in which his portrait, rather than his own body, will bear the marks of age and experience.
Chapter 9
o The next day, Basil comes to offer his condolences to Dorian, but Dorian dismisses the memory of Sibyl lightly and easily.
o Horrified at the change in Dorian, Basil blames Lord Henry for Dorian’s heartless attitude.
o Dorian asks Basil to do a drawing of Sibyl so that he has something by which to remember her. Basil agrees and begs Dorian to return to his studio for a sitting.
o When Dorian refuses, Basil asks if he is displeased with his portrait, which Basil means to show at an exhibition. When Basil goes to remove the screen with which Dorian has covered the painting, Dorian’s loses his cool.
o Remembering Basil’s original refusal to show the painting, Dorian asks why he has changed his mind. Basil confesses that he was worried that the painting would reveal his obsession with Dorian.
o Dorian decides to hide his portrait.
Chapter 10
o Once Basil is gone, Dorian orders his servant, Victor, to go to a nearby frame-maker and bring back two men.
o He then calls his housekeeper, Mrs. Leaf, whom he asks for the key to the schoolroom, which sits at the top of the house and has been unused for nearly five years.
o Dorian covers the portrait with an ornate satin coverlet
o The men from the frame-maker’s arrive, and Dorian employs them to carry the painting to the schoolroom where no one can actually see his deterioration,
o Dorian then returns to his study and settles down to read a book that Lord Henry has sent him. This yellow book is accompanied by a newspaper account of Sibyl’s death.
o Horrified by the ugliness of the report, Dorian turns to the book, which traces the life of a young Parisian who devotes his life to “all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every century except his own.” After reading a few pages, Dorian becomes entranced.
o He finds the work to be “a poisonous book,” one that confuses the boundaries between vice and virtue. When Dorian meets Lord Henry for dinner later that evening, he pronounces the work fascinating.
Chapter 11
o Under the influence of the “yellow book,” Dorian’s character begins to change. He orders nearly a dozen copies of the first edition and has them bound in different colors to suit his shifting moods.
o Years pass. Dorian remains young and beautiful.
o People create stories because of their suspicion.
o Dorian delights in the ever-widening gulf between the beauty of his body and the corruption of his soul.
o He reflects that too much of human experience has been sacrificed to “asceticism” and pledges to live a life devoted to discovering “the true nature of the senses.”
o Intellectually curious, Dorian keeps up on the theories of the day—from mysticism to antinomianism to Darwinism. He devotes himself to the study of beautiful things: perfumes and their psychological effects, music, jewellery, embroideries, and tapestries.
o Dorian continues to watch the painted image of himself age and deteriorate. Sometimes the sight of the portrait fills him with horror, while other times he reflects joyfully on the burdens that his body has been spared.
o Fears that someone will break into his house and steal the painting.
Chapter 12
o On the eve of his thirty-eighth birthday, Dorian runs into Basil on a fog-covered street. He tries to pass him unrecognized, but Basil calls out to him and accompanies him home.
o Basil mentions that he is about to leave for a six-month stay in Paris but felt it necessary to stop by and warn Dorian that terrible rumours are being spread about his conduct.
o Basil reminds Dorian that there are no such things as “secret vices”: sin, he claims, “writes itself across a man’s face.”
o He demands to know why so many of Dorian’s friendships have ended disastrously. We learn that one boy committed suicide, and others had their careers or reputations ruined.
o Basil urges Dorian to use his sway for good rather than evil. He adds that he wonders if he knows Dorian at all and wishes to see his soul. Dorian laughs bitterly and says that the artist shall have his wish.
o He begs Dorian to deny the terrible charges that have been made against him. Smiling, Dorian offers to show Basil the diary of his life, which he is certain will answer all of Basil’s questions.
Chapter 13
o Dorian leads Basil to the room in which he keeps the painting locked. Inside, Dorian lights a candle and tears the curtain back to reveal the portrait.
o The painting has become hideous, a “foul parody” of its former beauty.
o When Basil asks how such a thing is possible, Dorian reminds him of the day he met Lord Henry when he pledged his soul for eternal, unblemished youth.
o Basil curses the painting as “an awful lesson,” believing he worshipped the youth too much and is now being punished for it.
o He begs Dorian to kneel and pray for forgiveness, but Dorian claims it is too late.
o Glancing at his picture, Dorian feels hatred welling up within him. He seizes a knife and stabs Basil repeatedly.
o He locks the room and returns to the library. Dorian hides Basil’s belongings in a secret compartment in the wall, then slips quietly out to the street. After a few moments, he returns, waking his servant and thus creating the impression that he has been out all night. The servant reports that Basil has been to visit, and Dorian says he is sorry to have missed him.
Chapter 14
o The next morning, Dorian wakes from a restful sleep.
o Once the events of the previous night sink in, he feels the return of his hatred for Basil.
o He sends for Alan Campbell, while waiting for Campbell to arrive, Dorian passes the time with a book of poems and reflects on his once intimate relationship with the scientist: the two were, at one point, inseparable.
o Campbell has come reluctantly, having been summoned on a matter of life and death.
o Dorian confesses that there is a dead man locked upstairs.
o He asks Campbell to use his knowledge of chemistry to destroy the body. Campbell refuses. Dorian admits that he murdered the man, and Campbell reiterates that he has no interest in becoming involved.
o Dorian blackmails Campbell, threatening to reveal a secret that would bring great disgrace on him. With no alternative, Campbell agrees to dispose of the body and sends a servant to his home for the necessary equipment.
o Dorian goes upstairs to cover the portrait and notices that one of the hands on the painting is dripping with red, “as though the canvas had sweated blood.” Campbell works until evening, then leaves. When Dorian returns to the room, the body is gone, and the odour of nitric acid fills the room.
Chapter 15
o That evening, Dorian goes to a dinner party, at which he flirts with bored noblewomen.
o Lady Narborough, the hostess, discusses the sad life of her daughter, who lives in a region of the countryside that has not witnessed a scandal since the time of Queen Elizabeth. Dorian finds the party tedious and brightens only when he learns Lord Henry will be in attendance.
o During dinner, after Lord Henry has arrived, Dorian finds it impossible to eat. Lord Henry asks him what is the matter. Lady Narborough suggests that Dorian is in love, though Dorian assures her that she is wrong. The party-goers talk wittily about marriage, and the ladies then leave the gentlemen to their “politics and scandal.”
o Lord Henry and Dorian discuss a party to be held at Dorian’s country estate. Lord Henry then casually asks about Dorian’s whereabouts the night before; Dorian’s calm facade cracks a bit and he snaps out a strange, defensive response. Rather than join the women upstairs, Dorian decides to go home early.
o Once Dorian arrives home, he retrieves Basil’s belongings from the wall compartment and burns them.
o He draws out a canister of opium. At midnight, he dresses in common clothes and hires a coach to bring him to a London neighbourhood where the city’s opium dens prosper.
Chapter 16
o As the coach heads toward the opium dens,he decides that if he cannot be forgiven for his sins, he can at least forget them; herein lies the appeal of the opium dens and the oblivion they promise.
o He enters a squalid den and finds a youth named Adrian Singleton, whom rumour says Dorian corrupted.
o As Dorian prepares to leave, a woman addresses him as “the devil’s bargain” and “Prince Charming.”
o At these words, a sailor leaps to his feet and follows Dorian to the street.
o As he walks along, Dorian wonders whether he should feel guilty for the impact he has had on Adrian Singleton’s life. His meditation is cut short, however, when he is seized from behind and held at gunpoint.
o Facing him is James Vane, Sibyl’s brother, who has been tracking Dorian for years.
o James does not know Dorian’s name, but the reference to “Prince Charming” makes him decide that it must be the man who wronged his sister.
o Dorian points out, however, that the man James seeks was in love with Sibyl eighteen years ago; since he, Dorian, has the face of a twenty-year-old man, he cannot possibly be the man who wronged Sibyl.
o James releases him and makes his way back to the opium den.
o The old woman tells James that Dorian has been coming there for eighteen years and that his face has never aged a day in all that time. Furious at having let his prey escape, James resolves to hunt him down again.
Chapter 17
o A week later, Dorian entertains guests at his estate at Selby. He talks with Lord Henry, the Duchess of Monmouth, and her husband; they discuss the nature and importance of beauty.
o The duchess criticizes Lord Henry for placing too great a value on beauty. The conversation turns to love;
o Lord Henry maintains that love, like life, depends upon repeating a great experience over and over again.
o Soon, they hear a groan from the other end of the conservatory. They rush to find that Dorian has fallen in a swoon. At dinner, Dorian feels occasional chills of terror as he recalls that, before fainting, he saw the face of James Vane pressed against the conservatory window.
Chapter 18
o The following day, Dorian does not leave the house.
o The thought of falling prey to James Vane dominates him:
o He begins to wonder, though, if this apparition is a figment of his imagination.
o On the third day after the incident, Dorian ventures out. He strolls along the grounds of his estate and feels reinvigorated.
o He has breakfast with the duchess and then joins a shooting party in the park. While strolling along with the hunters, Dorian is captivated by the graceful movement of a hare and begs his companions not to shoot it. Dorian’s companion laughs at Dorian’s silliness and shoots at the hare.
o The gunshot is followed by the cry of a man in agony. Several men thrash their way into the bushes to discover that a man has been shot. Having taken “the whole charge of shot in his chest,” the man has died instantly.
o Dorian shares his worry with Lord Henry that this episode is a “bad omen.”
o Attempting to lighten the mood, Lord Henry teases Dorian about his relationship with the duchess.
o Dorian assures Henry that there is no scandal to be had and utters, quite pathetically, “I wish I could love.”
o He entertains the idea of sailing away on a yacht, where he will be safe. When the gentlemen come upon the duchess, Dorian leaves Lord Henry to talk to her and retires to his room.
o Dorian inquires about the man who was shot, assuming him to have been a servant, and offers to make provisions for the man’s family. The head keeper reports that the man’s identity remains a mystery. As soon as he learns that the man is an anonymous sailor, Dorian demands to see him. He rides to a farm where the body is being kept and identifies it as that of James Vane. He rides home with tears in his eyes, feeling safe.
Chapter 19
o Several weeks have passed, it seems, and Dorian visits Lord Henry. Dorian claims that he wants to reform himself and be virtuous.
o As evidence of his newfound resolve, Dorian describes a recent trip to the country during which he passed up an opportunity to seduce and defile an innkeeper’s innocent daughter.
o Lord Henry dismisses Dorian’s intentions to reform, and he turns the conversation to other subjects—Alan Campbell’s recent suicide and the continued mystery of Basil Hallward’s disappearance.
o Dorian asks if Lord Henry has ever considered that Basil might have been murdered. Lord Henry dismisses the idea, noting that Basil lacked enemies. Dorian then asks: “What would you say, Harry, if I told you that I had murdered Basil?” Lord Henry laughs and responds that murder is too vulgar for a man like Dorian.
o Lord Henry then asks Dorian, “‘[W]hat does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose’—how does the quotation run?—‘his own soul’?” Dorian starts nervously; cuts him short, insisting that the soul is very real.
o Lord Henry laughs at the suggestion, wondering aloud how Dorian has managed to remain so young after all these years.
o Dorian somberly asks his friend not to loan anyone else the “yellow book,” which has had such a corrupting effect upon his own character.
Chapter 20
o That night, Dorian goes to the locked room to look at his portrait. He hopes his decision to amend his life will have changed the painting, but when Dorian looks at his portrait, he sees there is no change.
o He realizes his pitiful attempt to be good was no more than hypocrisy, an attempt to minimize the seriousness of his crimes that falls far short of atonement. Furious, he seizes a knife—the same weapon with which he killed Basil—and drives it into the portrait in an attempt to destroy it.
o From below, Dorian’s servants hear a cry and a clatter. Breaking into the room, they see the portrait, unharmed, showing Dorian Gray as a beautiful young man. On the floor is the body of an old man, horribly wrinkled and disfigured, with a knife plunged into his heart. It is not until the servants examine the rings on the old man’s hands that they identify him as Dorian Gray.
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