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@futuremrskline: Thanks for re-booting this book club, and for the "food for thought". Let me think about your questions more.
I thought Dorian was empty even before he was painted.
There are so many quotable parts. Here's one.
"every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter." (p. 10)
Honestly, I read Oscar Wilde and sometimes feel like throwing the book at the wall. I remember reading The Importance of Being Ernest. I sometimes think OW is a bit too cheeky for his own good. Like when one is reading his novel/plays, it's like he's trying to show off or something. I didn't like any of the characters. Even Basic. Dorian was just an empty vessel and oh, was he bad. I don't blame Lord Henry for 'corrupting' Dorian. As I said, Dorian was an empty vessel who just allowed himself to be corrupted.
Let me see, I don't know that I had a favorite part of the book. I wish I knew what it was that Dorian had over the guy who helped him dispose of Basil's body. He ended up commiting suicide but why? That question was never answered. Also, the profilgracy that Dorian was said to partake in was quite immense. I just wish that it wasn't comprised into a dense 10 pages or so. Wilde was a bit long winded on that!
I'll join in :)
The most fascinating thing about the book to me is that is how it critiques art/representation. Wilde once said "read beneath the symbol at your peril." Essentially, that is the crux of his argument inthe book. Dorian Gray is "empty" as kaylee26 noticed, because Wilde wanted to show that his representation wasnt the essential him. Does that make sense? When we read books, or meet people, we always try to get at a "kernel" of authenticity in that person/ the book's characters. But Wilde seems to be saying that there is no kernel of authenticity, and to mistake art/representation for the real person is to invite disaster (which is why Sybil kills herself when she attempts to be authentic, and why DG dies in the end).
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Hey fellow-book clubbers! RunningElley asked me to start up the book discussion, so here goes:
I had read this book before, and loved it just as much (if not more) than I did the first time I read it. I wrote down a number of quotes that I found interesting/thought provoking as I read. Hopefully they will help spark some discussion.
1) First, Oscar Wilde opens the book discussing art, but this part stuck out to me, "There is no such thing as moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all...Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art...All art is quite useless. (preface)" This got me thinking about the purpose of art, and particularly about book burnings throughout history. What are your thoughts on Wilde's take on art?
2) I found the repeated use of capitalization is describing things such as Soul and Desire interesting. I saw this as Wilde portraying them as beings or characters. Do you agree, disagree, or am I over thinking it?
3) I found myself pondering Lord Henry's theories as I read, such as...."As it was, we always misunderstood ourselves, and really understand others. (page 68).
4) My favorite part of the book was the discussion between Lord Henry and Lady Narborough (Duchess), and the ensuing banter:
(Page 218) Lord Henry: "...we can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible."
Duchess: "Even when one has been wounded by it, Harry?"
Lord Henry: "Especially when one has been wounded by it."
5) Finally, near the close of the book (page 237), this stuck Hamlet quote and statement by Lord Henry stuck out to me:
Hamlet: "Like the painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart."
Lord Henry: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?"
What was your favorite part of the novel? Where there any notable quotes or theories that intrigued you?