The most significant work of literary fiction that I'd never read: Dorian Gray

I'm reading, for the first time, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray - which to me is significant because up to now I'd kind of somewhere in my brain logged it as "the most significant work of literary fiction that I'd never read." So now I'm in - and I don't know what took me so long and I do know why it's read by so many, still. I'n not sure how great DG is as a novel, but it's with no doubt great as a vehicle for carrying Wilde's sardonic wit. Very roughly, the story line involved 3 characters who converge at the outset: Lord Henry Wotton, a wealthy and irresponsible dandy (though he's married and has some arch things to say about the marital state, he's obviously a mouthpiece for Wilde); Basil, an artist; and Gray, the subject of the eponymous portrait, a younger and very handsome man whom Lord H swoops up and tries to educate in the ways of Edwardian (1891) London society. Basil gives the portrait to DG, and says he will never exhibit it because it is too beautiful; DG recognizes that over time he will age and look less like the beautiful portrait - and like everyone else I know this means that the portrait will age, not the subject. But as noted we read this for the wit, and right at the top Lord H makes the observation that, I am paraphrasing: It's a terrible think to be noticed, though not as terrible as not being noticed. That's the template for Wilde's witticism: statement, and then undermining or twisting the statement in a self-contained retort. This device works to hilarious effect on stage (vid Importance of Being Earnest), and works OK in a novel, though the formula becomes tiresome and the quips tend to dominate all else - in fact, we'd say they're not credible as conversational elements except that we suspect that Wilde perfectly captures his own repartee in this character. On almost any random page you'll find at least one killer quote. Will keep reading - and wondering: Now, what is the most significant work of fiction that I've never read? Will discuss that in a future post. 



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