Is it me? Am I the problem? Another classic read that I found just alright. The premise was completely interesting, don’t get me wrong. I liked the idea of a Faustian bargain with the devil to retain youth in exchange for a painting to reflect my decaying moral and mental state.

There were so many things I found interesting and yet none of them are positive other than I enjoyed the flowery prose. I think the indulgence of it suited the kind of character Dorian was. I feel like, without the context, this seems to be less of a queer masterpiece and more of a warning about predatory men, which makes sense considering that Wilde was one. Maybe it’s because I didn’t seek out the uncensored version, but Dorian Gray felt more like a story of obsession and possession than one of love between Basil and Dorian. Basil treats Dorian as an object, not even taking the time to speak to him while painting but was jealous when he had to share Dorian with Henry. I understand the descent into hedonism and how it reflects the themes of morality and societal influence, but I fear the obsession of Henry and Basil with boyhood innocence, aesthetics and wittiness just felt like evidence of Wildes pedophilic tendencies more than his homosexual ones. 

That’s not even to begin broaching the treatment of women and the themes of gender roles throughout the book, especially as Dorian and Henry demean women consistently while Dorian also takes up womanly hobbies such as embroidery or jewelry. I can see why this is important to many people but it wasn’t clear or special to me to pedastalize this as a queer work of art, even within context.