(Spoilers ahead)
Basic overview
Dorian Gray is the main character and namesake of the 1890 book by Oscar Wilde. He starts out as a innocent, kind young man who doesn't understand the world. We see his personality and nature change whenever he meets Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian becomes vain and self adsorbed.
Dorians backstory
Dorians mother, Lady Margaret Deveruex, was described as an aristocrat who eloped with a poor soldier, to the disappointment of her father, Dorians grandfather. Dorians grandfather was a wicked man, who hired someone to duel the poor soldier causing him to die. This left his mother extremely depressed, who later died of heartbreak. This left Dorian to be raised by the same heartless man who killed his father, and by proxy, his mom as well. We see that this added a layer of soft of mystery to his character, as this is not really expanded on.
Descriptions of Dorian
Dorian is the perfect example of one of the most beautiful fictional men. Dorian is described as being blonde with blue eyes. He must've been beautiful, because he encapsulated the painter Basil Hallward into almost begging him to painting him. He was the definition of male youth and beauty. Another part of his beauty was his innocence, and something I think people were attracted too, especially Basil. Basil is seen wanting to protect Dorian from Henry Wotton, knowing he'd be a bad influence on him.
His downfall
Dorian caused his fiancée, Sybil Vane, to die by her own hand because of his cruelty. This causes Dorians portraits mouth to seem cruel. His vainness and narcissism cause him to lose his lover, his friends, and eventually leads him to murdering Basil Hallward in cold blood. This action causes him to go insane with guilt, enlisting his friend Alan to help him destroy Basils body, causing him to leave Dorian as well. Because of his guilt, he took the same knife he used to kill Basil to slash his portrait, making him age a hundred times faster than normal, making him a husk of his formal self. The only thing that was recognizable to the people who him found were the rings on his hand.
His nature
Dorians nature in the beginning is that of a child, honestly. He doesn't really realize how truly beautiful he is, ignoring the compliments Basil Hallward gives him. Its only when he sees his portrait, does he realize how gorgeous he is. Henry makes comments to Dorian about how youth is the only thing that is worth in this world, and he takes that to heart. The entirety of the story is set off by Henry Wotton. If he kept his attempts at being philosophical to himself, Dorian would've continued being innocent.
In conclusion?
Dorian wasn't the villain. He was just influenced by someone who was. He was young, and taken advantage of.
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