The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Fantastic prose with cutting dialogue and an insightful portrayal of hypocrisy and decadence. I'm not sure exactly how to write a literary analysis of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It is clearly the fruit of both aesthetic and irrational philosophic movements; there is an eerie elevation of Beauty and existentialist sensation above moral considerations. At the same time, there can be a number of themes to be traced from cover to cover: the debauchery of the wealthy class is contrasted with lower society; the question of whether or not people can actually change; the human capacity for hypocrisy.

What is most peculiar is that the reader doesn't necessarily feel affinity with any of the characters--they are all dreadfully unattractive. The rich consorts of Dorian Gray luxuriously spend their days at clubs, dinner parties, and the theater, while gossiping about the shortcomings and horrid personalities of others. The servants and those of lower economic status are pandering and loathsomely subservient and admiring of Dorian Gray in what can be termed idolatry (in the case of Basil Hallward, this idolatry was named for what it was). Readers are left with a tragedy, which is simultaneously not too tragic since Dorian Gray actually deserved what he got.

The spiritual reflections that can be taken from this tale are easily discernable. But what I found striking was how Dorian Gray embarked on such reckless pursuits of pleasure because he had the insurance that there would not be consequences. This reminds me of how Mark Dever gives the illustration (taken from Jonathan Edwards?): if you entered God's throne room and noticed the throne empty for the taking, with the guarantee of no consequences from taking it, would you take it?