Do we like them?

Do we like Dorian Gray?

A character from The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

Our score: 1 out of 10. No. He begins as an innocent, but he trades his conscience for youth and pleasure, and he leaves a trail of ruined people behind him.

Dorian Gray is a beautiful, wealthy young man in Victorian London. The painter Basil Hallward is captivated by him and paints his portrait. Dorian sees how lovely he looks in it and fears that he will lose his looks as he ages. He wishes that the painting could grow old instead of him.

The wish comes under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton, a witty aristocrat who preaches pleasure and beauty above all else. Dorian takes his ideas to heart and drifts into a life of indulgence. He never has to face the cost, because the portrait takes on the marks of his actions. As the book goes on, the painting becomes the record of his character.

We score him low because, once he decides that nothing can touch him, he is vain, selfish and cold. He drops people the moment they bore or inconvenience him, and he lets others carry the consequences. He sometimes wishes he were better, but he does not change.

He cruelly rejects the actress Sibyl Vane, and she dies. He later murders Basil, who is the one person who tried to save him. He tries to escape the guilt and finally turns on the portrait itself, which destroys him.