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''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by the writer Oscar Wilde, first published complete in the July 1890 issue of ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.〔''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' (Penguin Classics) – Introduction〕 The magazine's editor feared the story was indecent, and without Wilde's knowledge, deleted roughly five hundred words before publication. Despite that censorship, ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers, some of whom said that Oscar Wilde merited prosecution for violating the laws guarding the public morality. In response, Wilde aggressively defended his novel and art in correspondence with the British press, although he personally made excisions of some of the most controversial material when revising and lengthening the story for book publication the following year. The longer and revised version of ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' published in book form in 1891 featured an aphoristic preface—a defence of the artist's rights and of art for art's sake—based in part on his press defences of the novel the previous year. The content, style, and presentation of the preface made it famous in its own right, as a literary and artistic manifesto. In April 1891, the publishing firm of Ward, Lock and Company, who had distributed the shorter, more inflammatory, magazine version in England the previous year, published the revised version of ''The Picture of Dorian Gray''.〔(Notes on The Picture of Dorian Gray ) – An overview of the text, sources, influences, themes, and a summary of ''The Picture of Dorian Gray''〕 The only novel written by Wilde, ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' exists in several versions: the 1890 magazine edition (in 13 Chapters), with important material deleted before publication by the magazine's editor, J. M. Stoddart; the "uncensored" version submitted to ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' for publication (also in 13 chapters), with all of Wilde's original material intact, first published in 2011 by Harvard University Press; and the 1891 book edition (in 20 Chapters).〔(Good Reason radio show, "The Censorship of 'Dorian Gray' " )〕 As literature of the 19th century, ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an example of Gothic fiction with strong themes interpreted from the legendary ''Faust''.〔(Ghost and Horror Fiction ) – a website about ghost and horror fiction from the 19th century onwards. (retrieved 30 July 2006)〕 ==Summary== Dorian Gray is the subject of a full-length portrait in oil by Basil Hallward, an artist who is impressed and infatuated by Dorian's beauty; he believes that Dorian’s beauty is responsible for the new mode in his art as a painter. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and he soon is enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied and amoral experiences; all the while his portrait ages and records every soul-corrupting sin.〔(The Picture of Dorian Gray ) (Project Gutenberg 20-chapter version), line 3479 et seq. in plain text (Chapter VII).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Picture of Dorian Gray」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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