The Wages of Sin is Death

Oscar Wilde filled The Picture of Dorian Grey with many different symbols. However, I believe the main symbol in Dorian Grey was not the picture itself but rather aging portraying sin. I do not mean simply physically aging but instead aging as in growing closer to death. Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death”. In the book every time Dorian commits a wicked deed the painting grows older. Over the span of the book the painting should not have aged as much as it did from just the simple passing of time. When Dorian shows Basil the painting Basil begs him to repent which leads you to believe that if Dorian had repented the painting would have been made young again. Had he asked for forgiveness and the painting changed to its original form it would have been a result of his soul being cleansed not a reverse of time or aging. Also, when Grey is found dead at the end of the story the painting is beautiful once again symbolizing that his soul is no longer in this world but passed on to the afterlife. All of these various instances in story point to a deeper meaning and symbol in the work rather than it simply being about the painting itself.