The Picture of Dorian Gray Analysis

The Picture of Dorian Gray vividly depicts the dangers of a life based solely on the pursuit of pleasure. The film centers on a young, innocent looking man named Dorian Gray, whose face can be described as nothing less than cherubic. This man’s face and demeanor convey a sense of naïveté and pure goodness; the portrait painted of him by Basil Hallward especially emphasizes these traits. Upon examining his own image on the canvas, Dorian remarks that he wishes the picture could age and he himself could remain as he is now. Unbeknownst to Dorian, his desire would be realized and his life permanently altered.

Living under the spell of youth and the pursuit of pleasure, Dorian embraces life whole-heartedly. He quickly becomes engaged to a singer by the name of Sybil. This relationship is not fated to a happy ending though; instead, Dorian leaves the woman he once loved to pursue other vanities and amusements of life. Struck with grief, Sybil takes her life and the first of Dorian’s malicious transgressions comes to a close.  With this ominous turn of events, Dorian notices something peculiar: his portrait wears an expression of malice not present before. Worried, Dorian locks the picture away, allowing no one to view the less-than-angelic portrayal of Dorian.

From this point on, Dorian’s life continues on a horrific path as he indulges in dubious acts and unsavory affairs. Perhaps worst among these is the murder of the man who painted the malicious portrait, Basil Hallward. The murder occurs, ironically, in the room where Dorian keeps his childhood memories, a stark contrast to the man Dorian has become. By this point, the portrait reflects all the evil that Dorian has secretly become while his outward façade remains the innocent mask of the young man he once was. Ultimately, driven to madness with the depraved creature he has become, Dorian stabs his portrait in the heart, causing a sudden transformation. All the features of the portrait detailing the foul deeds and malicious acts of this young man are transferred to his own face while the portrait assumes the innocent angelic aura that it began with those many years ago. With this ending, the film suggests that not all facades of innocence should be believed; the souls behind the face may truly be the most evil and malicious known to exist. The face can only reveal so much about the man beneath.

Of the many poignant scenes in the film, a relatively insignificant one is the one which caught my attention. Immediately following the murder of Basil, about ¾ of the way through the movie, Dorian prepares to leave the murder scene and the cache of evidence in the portrait room. Dorian descends the stairs, puts on a pair of crystalline white gloves, and exits. There is no dramatic exchange of dialogue, no grand gesture suggesting Dorian’s inner evil. Simply, it was the adorning of the white gloves that seemed so symbolic and ironic.  After committing such a foul deed, Dorian wears the white gloves on the very hands which were, moments ago, soaked in another man’s blood. This is symbolic of Dorian himself: of his childlike face, free of any impurities, which hides the wretched soul of a truly vile man. Similarly, the gloves cover up the hands that committed the murder, covering up the scandal in a wave of white. It is ironic that he should wear these gloves at this moment when white stands for goodness and purity, and Dorian is anything but these things. This scene ultimately symbolizes Dorian’s entire life of hiding his true evil nature behind a face of purity. For this reason, this scene fully encompasses the message that not all portraits portray the true soul of the subject and that one cannot ever truly escape the evil doings of his or her life; rather, the truth can only be hidden. At some point, all that we are and all that we have done will be written on our faces, as is the case with Dorian Gray as he lies dead on the floor, flaunting the face of the evil, depraved, and truly wicked man he had become.