Day 6
Hey!
What would your life be like if all you lived for was the pursuit of pleasure, youth and beauty? How far would those pursuits take you? Today's pick addresses those questions.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
Dorian Gray, a handsome young man, has his portrait made, yet when he sees the finished product, he expresses his desire for more.
"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!"
As this classic story unfolds, the portrait begins to alter as Dorian uses his influence upon others to satisfy his own needs of pleasure, but Dorian himself remains unchanged.
" the passion for sin, or for what the world calls sin so dominates a nature that every fibre of the body, as every cell of the brain, seems to be instinct with fearful impulses. Men and women at such moments lose the freedom of their will... For all sins...are sins of disobedience."
A nice companion book to The Picture of Dorian Gray is Sense and Sensuality by Ravi Zacharias which is a discussion between Jesus, Oscar Wilde and Blaise Pascal at Oscar's death bed.
A great book for a book club --- So many topics to discuss : )
Happy Reading!
Mimi
" What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? "
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? "
Matthew 16:26 NIV Bible
I love Dorian Gray! So haunting and bizarre.
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon!
DeleteI agree! Have you seen the movie? The one I saw was in black and white and real old but it was true to the book.