The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of a young, beautiful man who trades his soul for eternal youth, then descends further and further into a moral abyss — until he discovers there is, after all, a price to pay for his actions.

The book opens with artist Basil Hallward finishing a portrait of a young and beautiful Dorian Gray. Also-present Lord Henry Wotton talks about hedonism, a worldview that suggests only beauty is worth pursuing — because it never lasts. In response, Gray says he’d “give his soul” if only his portrait would age instead of him. Surprisingly, his wish comes true.

As Wotton keeps whispering unethical ideas into Dorian’s ear, he continues to absolve himself every time his moral compass fails. Gray wants to marry actress Sibyl, but when she performs poorly in a play, he claims without her art, she is uninteresting to him. Sybil commits suicide, but with Lord Henry’s guidance, Dorian brushes it off as “an artistic act of love.” And when Gray notices his painting is slowly developing an ugly sneer, he simply hides it in his attic.

The John Wick franchise is about the idea that “consequences rule everything.” Every action former serial killer John commits is followed by a reaction, which forces him to kill even more people in his fight for his freedom.

Similarly, Dorian can run from the consequences of his actions, but he can’t hide from them forever — and neither can we. Sooner or later, the repercussions of our choices will catch up to us. Always think about the long-term effects of your decisions.

For the next 18 years, Dorian abandons all virtue and goes all in on beauty and vice, as Lord Henry suggested. He seduces countless women, attends lavish parties, and tries every drug under the sun, not aging a day through all of it. One night, Basil visits Dorian, asking if all the nasty rumors about his immoral behavior are true. In response, Dorian shows Basil the painting, which has become twisted beyond recognition. Instead of owning up to his mistakes, however, Dorian doubles down on absolving himself — first by blaming Basil, claiming it is all his fault, and then by stabbing him to death. When we are confronted with our worst failures, our first reaction is often denial. We don’t want to believe we have become corrupt, lost sight of what truly matters, or let down someone we love. To protect itself, our psyche points at everyone and everything but us, even when, deep down, we now it’s our fault. We’re all human. It’s normal to not take it well when you hit rock bottom. It is, however, important to eventually realize…