What if a picture could tell you the truth? It’s not just a picture of your face; it’s a live, breathing representation of your soul. It changes over time, showing the marks of every choice, every regret, and every unspoken fear. Do you think you recognize yourself? Are you proud of what you see? Or would you really want to look away, like Dorian Gray?
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is more than just a dark story about greed and pride. The book is like a mirror that shows us how we really feel about ourselves, how much we want to be liked, and how far we might go to avoid change. The story of Dorian seems eerily current in a world where people choose their own pictures to show others, like on social media and in person. We all make pictures of ourselves, whether it’s through Instagram filters or the stories we tell about ourselves. But how much of it is real? And how much of it is just a well-planned trick?
We are pulled into the world of The Picture of Dorian Gray from the very first chapter. There, art and beauty are worshiped more than anything else. Basil Hallward is an artist who sees Dorian as more than just a topic. He sees him as his masterpiece and the most beautiful and pure person in the world. But while he paints, Lord Henry Wotton‘s voice comes into the scene. He is a man who loves to question morals and change people’s minds. By whispering words like honey and poison into Dorian’s ear, he tempts him with the idea that beauty is all that counts, youth is short, and getting old is to decay.
Up until now, Dorian has lived in happy ignorance, not knowing time or what would happen. But when he looks at the finished picture, he feels a fear he has never felt before. The picture, which is frozen in time, will always be beautiful, but he will wither, wrinkle, and fade. He might feel the sharp pain of death for the first time. That’s when he makes his wish: let this picture show all the marks of time, sin, and pain. Please don’t touch me.
It looks like such a small thing—a thought that will soon pass, a wish that comes from pride. However, Dorian starts his slow fall from this point on. In that fall, there is a question that stays with you after reading the book.
Would we both wish the same thing?
His secret, the thing he can’t face, is the picture of Dorian. He hides the truth in the attic. What about us, though? There are lots of ways that we can choose how people see us now. We choose the best views and get rid of flaws in our own digital portraits by editing, filtering, and collecting them. No longer is the question whether we’d want something like that, it’s whether we already do.
How would your soul look if you had a picture of it? Would it be as clear and bright as the face you show everyone? Or would shadows, lines of worry, and colors of sorrow start to show?
Wait a minute. Close your eyes. Imagine a painting that changes every time you make a choice, feel something, or think something that you don’t say out loud. Does it match how other people see you? Does it fit with how you see yourself? Perhaps there is something hidden there that not even you have admitted?
Write it down before we go any further in the book. Describe your true self. It seems kind, but is there something else going on beneath the surface? Is it still, or does it move around wildly, not sure what shape it has? Would you like this picture to be left out for everyone to see, or would you rather keep it hidden like Dorian?
This is where we start.
We will follow Dorian Gray’s trip over the next few weeks, but more than that, we will follow our own. There is more to The Picture of Dorian Gray than just one imagined character. It’s about all of us—the masks we wear, the decisions we make, the fears we hide, and our search for something more real and lasting than beauty.
It’s not just a book study. It is a shared look at life and books.
So, ask yourself: What are you really like? If you saw a picture of yourself, would you be proud of it, or would you be scared of what the colors might show?
Let’s read. Let’s think. Let’s get bigger.
Vita Dinamica: Dynamic Life 