Did Dorian do anything wrong?
>>8237296
He did kill that guy.
>>8237296
In the sense 4chan uses the phrase? No.
Actually? Yes.
Of course he did.
>>8237313
But Basil didn't make it "demonic". It was Dorian's fault for "praying" for his and the painting's roles to become reversed. He just chose not to see it like that.
What other essential decadent literature is there besides Dorian Gray, Against Nature, and The Flowers Of Evil?
>>8237338
Swinburne's poetry
>>8237385
I'll look him up, thanks.
>>8237328
>It was Dorian's fault for "praying" for his and the painting's roles to become reversed. He just chose not to see it like that.
Ah yes the Christian thoughtcrime ideology. Hold on I'm having intrusive thoughts EIGHT EIGHT EIGHT
EEEEEIGHT
EIGHT
EIGHT EIGHT
EIGHT
Ah yes, where was I, yes his fault indeed.
>>8237403
Oh, come on. Obviously there was more to the whole ordeal than Dorian just thinking "Hm, wouldn't it be nice if the painting grew old instead of I?". There must have been more going on there. Or maybe not, perhaps mr Wilde just used Dorian's inner monologue as a convenient plot device. Either way, I personally don't believe that the painting was inherently "evil". Dorian, in my opinion, was just being a paranoid, prideful prick when he murdered Basil.
>>8237403
>>8237443
And another thing, nothing forced Dorian to kill Basil anyway. Even if it was Basil's fault that Dorian became immortal, that doesn't justify his being murdered. He didn't force Dorian to live the lifestyle that he did. If he feels the necessity to blame someone other than himself, obviously he should be blaming Lord Henry.
>tfw The Selfie of Dorian Gray
I really liked the first 100 pages, but when it started talking about his rock collections and all his various hobbies it sorta got boring. The end felt pretty alright though
>>8237499
To be fair, that whole part only took up, like, half a chapter. There are other books that are far more tedious in that regard. I think it was necessary for informing the reader what he'd been up to over the past 20 years, aside from debauchery and parties.
Basil is obviously not to blame for the picture, it only became "demonic" once Dorian was affected by Henry, when he wished from the bottom of his heart to become the painting. Throughout the book Basil is a character that adds weight to the side critical of Dorian and Henry. He also did make this people do opium which is wrong, maybe a court wouldn't blame him but it's obvious that Wilde created this behavior as something dark and terrible Dorian is doing, which he also uses to pull poor souls into "his world" of corrupt pleasure.
In a more general look, Dorian's sin was the original wish to become a living painting, which started his gravitation towards Henry - away from life and into his hedonistic/aesthetic world view. I think Wilde meant to make Dorian feel very innocent, even when he fucking murders Basil; Dorian isn't supposed to be an exceptionally horrible person, he's supposed to be a character that slipped into a sinful, problematic way of life - his unfortunate story is a critique of this way, more than it is of him.
