The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s classic story of a young man whose beauty prompts a painter to paint a life-like portrait of him. However, all is not what it seems...Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age andfade. A must-read for children and adults alike! The novel is a social satire as well as a key explorer of Victorian norms. We are made to observe human emotions like love, jealousy, hate and the forces of evil and good. Oscar Wilde propagates his ‘art for art’s sake’ theory, even as he weaves a narrative around a beautiful young man (Dorian Gray) and his friends (Lord Henry and Basil).The book is a classic in the true sense of the word, as it appeals to the universal instincts of Man.

舞台はロンドンのサロンと阿片窟。美貌の青年モデル、ドリアンは快楽主義者ヘンリー卿の感化で背徳の生活を享楽するが、彼の重ねる罪悪はすべてその肖像に現われ、いつしか醜い姿に変り果て、慚愧と焦燥に耐えかねた彼は自分の肖像にナイフを突き刺す……。快楽主義を実践し、堕落と悪行の末に破滅する美青年とその画像との二重生活が奏でる耽美と異端の一大交響楽。