The Central Theme of "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

      In "The Picture of Dorian Gray" the central theme is beauty and selfishness. Being lead to believe that youth and beauty are of the highest importance can be a very dangerous thing. Lord Henry told Dorian, "'you have the most marvelous youth, and youth is the only thing worth having'"(32). After telling him this, he also tells him that youth and beauty will fade. Because of Dorian's fear of losing his beauty, he makes a wish that would forever change him. Throughout his life he is faced with temptations that force him to choose between right or wrong. As he falls deeper in sin, he begins to realize the impact of the mistake he had made as it shows on the face of his portrait. His life becomes so filled with sin that he could no longer even stand to look at himself. He decided to try to begin again only to find that there was no turning back. His selfish ways had ruined his life.