Il ritratto di Dorian Gray

Di Oscar Wilde

Introduzione di Masolino D’Amico
Con un profilo di Oscar Wilde scritto da James Joyce
Edizione integrale

Il sogno di possedere un ritratto che invecchi al suo posto, assumendo i segni che il tempo dovrebbe tracciare sul suo volto angelico, diviene per Dorian Gray una paradossale, terribile realtà. Ma non saranno tanto le tracce del tempo che passa a fermarsi sul dipinto di quel bellissimo giovane, quanto le nefandezze di cui la sua anima si è macchiata. Un’anima giunta al culmine della dissolutezza, corrotta e degradata, trascinata nell’abisso della turpitudine e del vizio dal cinismo e dalla sfrenata avidità di piaceri di ogni sorta. Dalla sua sfida diabolica alla giovinezza eterna, Dorian uscirà sconfitto, schiavo di un ideale, assurdo desiderio di far coincidere l’arte con la vita. Il ritratto di Dorian Gray è considerato il romanzo simbolo del decadentismo e dell’estetismo.

«Nel centro della stanza, appeso a un cavalletto verticale, era il ritratto in piedi di un giovane di una straordinaria bellezza fisica; e davanti, a una certa distanza, era seduto l’artista stesso, Basil Hallward, la cui subitanea scomparsa, qualche anno fa, suscitò tanto scalpore al momento in cui avvenne e fece nascere tante strane congetture.»


Oscar Wilde

nacque a Dublino nel 1854. Poeta, romanziere, commediografo, è il più importante scrittore dell’epoca vittoriana. Nel 1895, al culmine della sua fama, venne condannato per omosessualità a due anni di carcere duro. Morì nel 1900. Di Wilde la Newton Compton ha pubblicato: Poesie e Ballata dal carcere di Reading; L’importanza di chiamarsi Ernesto - Il ventaglio di Lady Windermere - Una donna senza importanza - Un marito ideale; De Profundis - Due lettere al «Daily Chronicle»; Il ritratto di Dorian Gray; Il manuale del perfetto impertinente, Aforismi e il volume unico Tutte le opere.

• Lingua: Italiano
• Editore: Newton Compton Editori
• Data di uscita: 16 dic 2013
• ISBN: 9788854128354

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 and died on the 30th November 1900. He was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.

Anteprima del libro

Capitolo primo

Lo studio era pieno dell'odore intenso delle rose, e quando la brezza estiva passava tra gli alberi del giardino, penetrava dalla porta aperta il profumo pesante del glicine o la fragranza più delicata del biancospino.

Dall'angolo del divano di cuscini persiani sul quale stava disteso, fumando, com'era suo costume, innumerevoli sigarette, Lord Henry Wotton poteva appena scorgere lo splendore dei fiori di citiso, che hanno la dolcezza e il colore del miele. I ramoscelli gracili sembravano quasi incapaci di reggere il peso di tanta fiammeggiante bellezza. Le ombre fantastiche degli uccelli in volo penetravano di quando in quando attraverso le lunghe cortine di seta cruda, le quali, spiegate davanti all'ampia finestra, producevano quasi un momentaneo effetto giapponese e facevano pensare a quei pallidi pittori di Tokyo, dalla faccia di giada, che, impiegando come strumento un'arte che è necessariamente statica, tentano di darci il senso della rapidità e del moto. Il ronzio ostinato delle api che si facevano strada attraverso l'erba lunga, non rasa, o roteavano con insistenza monotona attorno ai corni dorati e polverosi del caprifoglio rampicante, sembrava rendere il silenzio ancora più opprimente. Il rombo confuso di Londra pareva il bordone di un organo lontano.

Nel centro della stanza, appeso a un cavalletto verticale, era il ritratto in piedi di un giovane di una straordinaria bellezza fisica; e davanti, a una certa distanza, era seduto l'artista stesso, Basil Hallward, la cui subitanea scomparsa, qualche anno fa, suscitò tanto scalpore al momento in cui avvenne e fece nascere tante strane congetture.

Mentre il pittore riguardava la forma graziosa e attraente ch'egli aveva tanto abilmente riflessa nell'arte sua, passava e sembrava indugiare sul suo viso un sorriso di piacere. Improvvisamente però si alzò in piedi e, chiudendo gli occhi, si pose le dita sulle palpebre, quasi volesse imprigionare nel proprio cervello qualche sogno strano dal quale temesse di esser destato.

«È la tua opera migliore, Basil, quello che hai fatto di meglio», disse languidamente Lord Henry. «Devi mandarla senz'altro al Grosvenor l'anno venturo. L'Accademia è troppo grande e troppo volgare. Tutte le volte che ci sono andato c'era tanta gente che non ho potuto vedere i quadri, ciò che era terribile, oppure c'erano tanti quadri che non ho potuto veder la gente, ciò che era anche peggio. Il Grosvenor è davvero l'unico posto.» «Non credo che lo manderò in nessun posto», rispose lui, piegando la testa all'indietro, in quella sua strana maniera che a Oxford faceva sempre ridere i suoi amici. «No, non lo manderò in nessun posto.» Lord Henry inarcò le ciglia e lo guardò stupefatto attraverso i sottili anelli di fumo che salivano dalla sua grossa sigaretta oppiata. «Non lo manderai in nessun posto? E perché? E perché, mio caro? Hai qualche motivo? Che tipi curiosi siete voialtri pittori! Fate tutto il possibile per conquistarvi la fama e appena l'avete conquistata sembra che vogliate gettarla via. È sciocco, perché a questo mondo c'è una sola cosa peggiore che il far parlar di sé, ed è il non far parlar di sé. Un ritratto come questo ti collocherebbe molto al disopra di tutti i giovani in Inghilterra e ingelosirebbe terribilmente i vecchi, se pure i vecchi son capaci di un'emozione qualsiasi.» «So che riderai di me», rispose l'altro, «ma davvero non posso esporlo. Ci ho messo dentro troppo di me stesso.» Lord Henry si allungò sul divano,

Recensioni su Il ritratto di Dorian Gray

[tomdonaghey · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1891) by Oscar Wilde. A classic tale of selling your soul, in this case for vanity’s sake. Dorian Gray will always look young even as his sins are transferred to the once beautiful portrait. But, as always, the price must be paid.A morality tale of the first order.

[thathikermeg · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Big fan, reread this for a project. Wish Wilde’s publisher hadn’t rushed the added chapters to this version, however.Later edit: Boy, I really didn't feel like writing much when I put that one up. Ok, this is a 4.5 star rating. I adore Wilde's prose, no matter how much my peers might criticize his aesthetic style. I know it's hypocritical to the "message" of the story (subject of the paper mentioned earlier) but I don't really care, it's indulgent and lovely and beautiful. I don't have the skills required to describe it as nicely as he could. Ah, what a guy.

[morgandax · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I read every tidbit of information in this version of the book, including the chronology and all the appendices.
It's interesting that such a short (so much so that it is not even technically a novel) book with measures taken to thwart certain interpretations, would wind up so controversial, and lead to the jailing of the author.

I found the plot interesting, and the writing a bit tiresome at times. Though that is likely more due to the period it was written, and less the quality of writing. The dialogue was surprisingly interesting though, despite the antiquity of the story. I truly enjoyed all the notes and history delivered bout both the story and author, giving it that much more depth and interest.

[lydia1879 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I'll just say that I read this edition, because there are so many editions it would take me forever to find mine. It was an old, ratty paperback that I borrowed from someone else so, needless to say, I don't think I'll ever locate it.

I really liked this book. It was scathing, witty, dry and had some of the humour that Wilde is so well-known for. The language is quite antiquated and really took me quite some time to get used to. But I took my time with it and really enjoyed it in the end. I think the dialogue took the longest to get used to, because he wasn't always clear with who said what.

I liked all the characters and thought that the narrative was really well-constructed. I thought it was a really engrossing, short story and found it really readable.

It was quite thrilling in the end and I look forward to reading more of Wilde's work.

[nx74defiant · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Very familiar story

[sumisbooks · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Oscar Wilde takes us back to a time in England where high society was the grain of life, women were nothing but idol play things and men mostly lusted after each other rather than the embrace of a woman. As much as people like to see Dorian Gray as the villain in this novel, I very much feel he is rather the victim. I feel that if it wasn't for his acquaintance turned friend Lord Henry, that this may have very well been a happy tale. It was Lord Henry's influence that turned a painter's admiration into lust, women into meaningless objects and the leader in Gray's downfall. Although some of the story was interesting/entertaining, there was a great portion of it that was not. Wilde's writing is very drull to say the least. However this is coming from an American point of view. I'm sure someone from Brittain who enjoys all the high society chit chat would have found the tale much more captivating. All-in-all I would say this is an okay read given the classic that it is but I wouldn't recommend it unless I knew someone extremely into the classics or British history.

[curlupandread · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I was really surprised by this book. It was better than I thought it would be I really enjoyed it.

[brakketh-1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Wonderful story of corruption of youth and brilliantly written.

[ldvoorberg · Valutazione: 2 su 5 stelle]

I can say I've read the book and will now understand other literary references to it, but I don't think I enjoyed this book. I suspect that most of the discourse and style is suited to a different time and culture that I do not relate to. The overall story and concept are intriguing and timeless, but if someone were to "re-write" this story in a modern context, I think I'd find that more accessible.

[thereadingmermaid · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Oscar Wilde takes us back to a time in England where high society was the grain of life, women were nothing but idol play things and men mostly lusted after each other rather than the embrace of a woman. As much as people like to see Dorian Gray as the villain in this novel, I very much feel he is rather the victim. I feel that if it wasn't for his acquaintance turned friend Lord Henry, that this may have very well been a happy tale. It was Lord Henry's influence that turned a painter's admiration into lust, women into meaningless objects and the leader in Gray's downfall. Although some of the story was interesting/entertaining, there was a great portion of it that was not. Wilde's writing is very drull to say the least. However this is coming from an American point of view. I'm sure someone from Brittain who enjoys all the high society chit chat would have found the tale much more captivating. All-in-all I would say this is an okay read given the classic that it is but I wouldn't recommend it unless I knew someone extremely into the classics or British history.

[stahl2ricco · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

"If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that - for that- I would give everything!"Careful what you wish for! I really enjoyed the story of Dorian and his self portrait! Especially the ending! Sorta creepy, in a non-horror story type of way! But good!However, all the stuff around that story, I didn't enjoy much. Lots of brooding characters opining and philosophizing about all manner of topics that just didn't interest me. One chapter about Dorian going through hobbies nearly knocked me over from boredom. Very tedious to muddle through all of that to get back to, well, the picture of Dorian Gray! There's one hell of a short story in here!p.s. - the edition I read was sooooo cool! I'd love to get more of these for my collection!!!

[jennysbookbag.com · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I love Oscar Wilde!

[bookomaniac-1 · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Prachtige sfeerschepping, sterk thrillerachtig, vol spitse oneliners en cynische filosofietjes.

[ahooper04 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Amazing read!

[pamici_2 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

It's a classic for a reason - good book. This is my first introduction to Oscar Wilde, but I have many more on the reading list, plus biographies, which I'm looking forward to!

[amzzz_1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

I was pleasantly surprised at how compelling I found this narrative, despite its age.

[snash_44 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

A parable denouncing hedonism, vanity, and youth worship. It's a thickly drawn portrait with a rather obvious device to present the perils of hedonistic flippancy. It's short and worth reading for its impact on literature, art and society.

[razinha-1 · Valutazione: 2 su 5 stelle]

So ... we've got a thin, blunt treatise on the perils of hedonism, vanity and retention of youth at any cost, featuring a foppish, mindless, incredibly shallow, turning-in-an-instant character meant to evoke empathic pity for a naive youth swayed to corruption by an older influence. But that fails, because Gray's youth can only be held up so long as a shield. Unless his mind and character remain as unchanged as his appearance, external influences are no excuse for lack of responsibility for one's actions.

The characters are thickly drawn superficial caricatures - over the top cardboard cutouts. I don't know if that was the norm or if that was Wilde's method - I admit unfamiliarity with Wilde plays and themes and I also admit no desire to find out. Bad on me? No...too many other interests and not enough time for no value added.

I understand that this book may be a commentary on the notions of Victorian culture with respect to art (that is, art has to have meaning, whereas Wilde implies beauty may have no underlying meaning). Okay. Most of the themes of this book are tired and dated, but I suppose the value of the read is the historical glimpse into how literature was required to be written at the time.

At any rate, I now remember why I don't remember much about this story - there wasn't much to remember.

Let the haters converge.

[siri51 · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

All very gothic.

[lisat131 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

~~~


No review, just a comment and some quotes:

Not simply about undying youth and beauty, but more accurately about sin and temptation and the opportunity to explore those temptations thoroughly. To the point of ruin.

”There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral…” - Lord Henry

”And Beauty is a form of Genius,--is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation.” - Lord Henry

”I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me. Why should it keep what I must lose?” - Dorian Gray

Why should he watch the hideous corruption of his soul? - Dorian Gray

”It is quite true I have worshipped you with far more romance of feeling than a man should ever give to a friend. Somehow I have never loved a woman.” – Basil Hallward

“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.” - Lord Henry

[renrav · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

I couldn't connect with it but I felt it was well written.

[lord_boris-1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

"How sad it is!" murmured Dorian Gray, with his eyes still fixed upon his own portrait. "How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June.... If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that—for that—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!"

And so it begins, the descent of Dorian Gray. A gothic horror that deals in manipulation, class, the adoration of youth and the price of sin. To name but a few of the themes that prevail in this book. For me the book really takes off in the second half and is worth persevering because the first half, although not dull may be considered slow by some. The description of Dorians trip to the opium den is a particularly vivid metaphor for his downward spiral into sin.

[mrslee_1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

A young egotistic man whispers a prayer and gets exactly what he asked for.How does one even begin to review this book? I disagreed vehemently with just about everything it proposed, and yet because of the writing, I continued to listen. Lord Henry. What are we to do with him? I've heard it proposed that he is meant to be Satan tempting Dorian, and there is an element of that, but to me he seemed more of a man who likes to hear himself talk and shock others, but doesn't really believe what he is saying. Dorian is loathsome. Innocent my foot. He latches on to the things Lord Henry says because it is in his nature already. Best described as a sociopath in my opinion. A sociopath who develops into a psychopath as easily as he puts on his gloves, and he wears well fitting gloves.What I would really like to know, is how much of Oscar Wilde's beliefs are in this book. Or, did he write it to show the absurdity of the ideas propounded? The misogyny and cynicism within are breathtaking. Were they his? He had a difficult time of it being who he was in the time he lived; did he develop these views to survive? Now I think I must go read a biography of Oscar Wilde.

[miguelnunonave · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

I love books where the characters go through wide personality evolutions and where much is left to the reader's imagination. A classic tale of beauty and evil. A haunting book, one that leaves an enduring impression.

[bleached_1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

A terrifying and cautionary tale about succumbing to vanity and someone else's influence. Even as Dorian, the anti hero, watches himself twist and decay into a moral-less, loathsome beast he still refuses to really take responsibility for his own actions and blames the only person who was truly honest and a real friend...of whom he also murdered. Dorian also distracts himself from taking a real look at his friendship with the despicable Lord Henry who is the true instigator of Dorian's demise.Wilde cautions us through his only novel to mind our own morals and virtues and not base them on other's opinions because they can lead us down dark paths until we are unrecognizable to ourselves. He also reminds us that beauty isn't everything, youth isn't always worth clinging to, and other important lessons.

[kinsey_m · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I really loved the writing, the conversations, especially in the first part of the book. Also, I was quite surpised that the painter was so very obviously in love with Dorian, considering the period in which the book was written. I'm very interested in narcissism, and I found this to be an excellent book in the subject, showing how deeply insecure and incapable of empathy the narcissist is.

[schmerguls · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

I finished reading this on July 24, 1965, and said of it: Victorian, over-done, decadent--it is deficient as a book. But it seems like what Oscar Wilde would write. The central device is strictly deus ex machina--the picture changes, Gray does not--the picture reverts to original, Gray suddenly, in death, shows the excesses of the evil he has done. The evil is lavishly trundled out, but described hardly at all. Today, the same book would wallow in vivid descriptions of the evils: and they probably would not sound so evil!

[lhlogan1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Spectacularly creepy read and creepy movie. Just enough suspense to keep you begging for more.

[benjamin.duffy · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Such, such a strange and interesting book. Yet I can't give it more than three stars.

The easiest way to look at The Picture of Dorian Gray, to me, is to break it into three acts.

For the first few chapters, I was completely captivated. The three main characters (Basil, Henry, and Dorian) are laid out quickly, succinctly, and beautifully (and all three are shining literary archetypes), the MacGuffin is introduced (though it doesn't commence Guffination until well into Act II), and the exposition is lush and gorgeous and decadent. In addition, the dialogue is witty, pithy, scathing, and eminently quotable: literally 75% of the conversation in the book is pure epigrams. It eventually gets a little tiresome, but in the first third of the book, you feel as though you're sitting in a room with the coolest kids in the world - especially Henry, whose pronouncements in favor of amoral pursuit of pleasure must have been shocking to Victorian-era readers, at least so bluntly put.

This section of the book is also double triple gay. It's the gayest thing that ever gayed it up in Gaytown. This was the first Oscar Wilde I'd read, and while I was certainly aware that he himself was homosexual, I was surprised nonetheless. I found myself repeatedly muttering out loud, as I read the first third of the book: Wow, this is all really rather gay...HOLY COW these dudes are gay...god dammit, get a room, guys...YES I get that he's beautiful...OMG you dudes are so gay...not that there's anything WRONG with that...REALLY? His lush red lips again? OK fine... Yes, I made quite a scene, reading my Kindle on the commuter train in downtown Salt Lake City and mumbling over my gay little book.

Suffice it to say, amid the handsome men throwing themselves onto couches in louche, careless manner, crushing daisies in their graceful hands, etc., the homoerotic subtext was so overwhelming that I was actually slightly surprised that it never jumped from subtext to just plain text.

Nonetheless, if the book had continued in the vein of Act I, it would have been a fantastic read. The problem, however, was Act II. Near as I can tell, Act II's purpose is to convey, as quickly as possible (and the book is a fairly short one) that Dorian Gray experiences every sensual pleasure that the world has to offer, and becomes more and more debauched and decadent, all the while showing no outward signs of moral decay or physical aging. Honestly, the whole thing feels rushed. There are large stretches in the middle of the book where Wilde rattles off interminable lists of things that Dorian experiences: first he's into beautiful smells; then it's exotic music; then it's precious gemstones; and then luxurious fabrics, and on and on. In each case, the author lists multiple examples, with descriptors, and it all flies by in a blur. It's tedious. What shoulda coulda come off like a montage scene in an 80s movie comes off instead like a particularly dry chapter from the Book of Numbers or perhaps like Bubba reciting the 1001 culinary uses for shrimp in Forrest Gump. At any rate, the middle sections of the book are a drag. You can get what Wilde is going for, but it lacks the poignancy and impact of the first act.

Act III picks up the pace again, and surprisingly (to this reader at least), becomes a pretty standard late-19th-century morality play. For as much as the book is neck deep in Henry's amoral aphorisms and shockingly debauched philosophizing, the actual resolution of the story contradicts pretty much everything he preaches. The titular character suffers for, and regrets, his wanton ways, and he comes to a miserable end. The End.

Worthwhile read, but fails to fulfill the promise of the first two or three chapters.

[bookwoman247 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Almost everyone is familiar with the basic outline of this story about a vain young man whose debauched, decadent, corrupt lifestyle never ages him, while his portrait ages hideously, bearing all the marks of his increasingly depraved behavior.This book has been added to my list of all-time favorites! The story was so layered and multi-faceted, and the satire so stinging. I am in awe of the innate talent and the craftsmanship of the author. Where has Oscar Wilde been all my life!