The Picture of Dorian Gray

A young man looks at his portrait and wishes the painted face could grow old in his place. The wish listens. Basil Hallward has put too much of himself into the picture. Lord Henry Wotton puts an intoxicating philosophy into Dorian Gray: beauty is brief, influence is irresistible, and experience should never be refused. Dorian remains young while the hidden canvas begins to register what charm can conceal—cruelty, appetite, fear, and blood. Drawing rooms keep sparkling. The locked room keeps the account. Wilde gives the beautiful man his wish. The horror is watching him learn what it costs.