The Picture Of Dorian Gray

You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.
A perfect depiction of fin-de-siècle decadence, Oscar Wilde's only novel highlights the tension between the polished surface and murky depths of Victorian high society.
The picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde's classic story of a young man whose beauty prompts a painter to paint a life-like portrait of him. However, all is not what it seems...Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age andfade.

The novel is a social satire as well as a key Explorer of Victorian norms. We are made to observe human emotions like love, jealousy, hate and the forces of evil and good. Oscar Wilde propagates his 'art for art's sake' theory, even as he weaves a narrative around a beautiful young man (Dorian Gray) and his friends (Lord Henry and Basil). The book is a classic in the true sense of the word, as it appeals to the universal instincts of man.