The Picture of Dorian Gray by O. Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel written by Oscar Wilde in the 1890s, in which art, youth, and beauty are mixed together to develop the sense of the story.
Dorian was a young and beautiful man who captured the artistic imagination of Basil Hallward, a well-known artist. He depicted Dorian as he truly was, but he was disappointed by the painting because it revealed how much he felt about beauty and youth. His friend, Lord Henry Wotton, a famous wit, disagreed with him, saying that the portrait was Basil´s masterpiece. Dorian met Lord Henry at Basil´s studio and got strongly influenced by Lord Henry´s world view in which youth, beauty and pleasures were the main characteristics. Then, Dorian cursed the portrait, because it would remind him of his youth and beauty, and promised his soul if only the painting allowed him to stay young for ever.
Under lord Henry influence, Dorian started a life dedicated to the pursuits of pleasure. He fell in love with a young actress, whom he adored her acting. But, having she found and tasted real love ,she could not pretend to love on stage anymore, giving up acting. Soon after this, Dorian broke his engagement with her and returned home, where he noticed that his face on the portrait had changed. He was afraid that the curse could take place an decided to reconcile with the girl. However, this was impossible for Lord henry Told him that she had killed herself. Dorian hid the portrait in an upper room of his house, where no one could see his transformation, and started to live a life even worse; a life of sin and corruption, with new sensations and experiences, so far away from morality. Over the next eighteen years, he lived this luxurious life, and he remained young and beautiful. On the other hand, the figure on the portrait was wizened and hideous.
Dorian tried to mend his life and all the sins he had committed by destroying the painting, so he picked up a knife and plunged it into the portrait. His servants heard a cry coming from the upper room of the house and found his body stabbed in the heart. He was and old man, horrible and disfigured. Besides him was the portrait, reverted to its original form, in which Dorian was a beautiful young man.

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