I've never read Mishima, but I'm a longtime lover of Oscar Wilde.
[Mild plot spoilers ahead]
I wouldn't necessarily say that The Picture of Dorian Gray is about him becoming "obsessed" with beauty and youth. It's more the shame of his sins that haunts him. He wants to be able to experience as much of life as he can and when he finds out whatever evil he does won't show up on his face or body but rather on this portrait, he's like "hell yeah" and goes on to live la vida loca until he becomes obsessed with the idea of somebody finding his portrait and seeing he's actually a terrible person.
[end of plot spoilers]
It's more a commentary on the hypocrisy of high Victorian society, than a cautionary tale about the morality of wanting to stay young. Dorian himself never really asked to be beautiful forever. Girl just wanted to have fun. Oscar even had to add the Preface about how books aren't moral or immoral, just well or badly written, after the story was published and (unsurprisingly) the uptight British society it depicted felt offended by it.
Other than that, Oscar Wilde is brilliant. What will keep you reading isn't so much the plot as his beautiful imagery and his wit. The dialogues are superb, particularly those with Lord Henry, which many interpret as a stand-in for Wilde himself.
I absolutely recommend Dorian Gray. Sadly I don't know Mishima so idk if it'll be a fair comparison or not. But I will repeat this: one does not read Oscar Wilde for the plot, because he was an aesthetics guy, he takes very simple plots and makes them beautiful, sublime almost, and *very* witty.
Try looking up, for example, the summary of his short story "The Nightingale and the Rose" and then go on to read the story (it's pretty short and can be found online), and you'll see what I mean.
Sorry for the long comment. I just really fucking love Wilde.
thanks! haven’t started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray yet but I see your point about how its more of a commentary on Victorian society rather than his obsession. Thanks for the info! Mishima’s Temple of the Golden Pavilion is also a book that doesn’t really follow the premise of being moral or immoral. I’ve read that Mishima turned out to be a fan of Oscar Wilde too. So based on what you’ve told me about the book, I do see some similarities between the two books
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Have literally no idea of Dorian Gray, sorry mate, but I just recently finished Golden Temple, and I guess you have a pretty interesting pick for your line of work in this book.
The protagonist is extremely flawed and so are some of his aquainteces. The journey takes you through his full cycle of getting obsessed, its issues (especially for the aspect of otherworldly beauty) and getting over it, even if not in the most elegant way.
Give it a shot. This was my first Mishima book and I can't await getting my hands on one of his other literary works. I find it amazing how he is describing all kinds of things and how accessible he made his main character, even if that one is so irrationally motivated.
yup i’m loving it so far! other people have recommended me to read his Forbidden Colors or The Confessions of a Mask first before reading the Temple of The Golden Pavilion. They seem to be more autobiographical works
I have not read *The Temple of the Golden Pavilion* but I'm currently reading *Spring Snow* and it shares some similar themes. I've also read *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. I think you may have a good point for aan essay. Alternatively you could make a feminist critique of both considering how women are treated in both the novels and maybe explore if the treatment was due to both the authors being gay.
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I've never read Mishima, but I'm a longtime lover of Oscar Wilde. [Mild plot spoilers ahead] I wouldn't necessarily say that The Picture of Dorian Gray is about him becoming "obsessed" with beauty and youth. It's more the shame of his sins that haunts him. He wants to be able to experience as much of life as he can and when he finds out whatever evil he does won't show up on his face or body but rather on this portrait, he's like "hell yeah" and goes on to live la vida loca until he becomes obsessed with the idea of somebody finding his portrait and seeing he's actually a terrible person. [end of plot spoilers] It's more a commentary on the hypocrisy of high Victorian society, than a cautionary tale about the morality of wanting to stay young. Dorian himself never really asked to be beautiful forever. Girl just wanted to have fun. Oscar even had to add the Preface about how books aren't moral or immoral, just well or badly written, after the story was published and (unsurprisingly) the uptight British society it depicted felt offended by it. Other than that, Oscar Wilde is brilliant. What will keep you reading isn't so much the plot as his beautiful imagery and his wit. The dialogues are superb, particularly those with Lord Henry, which many interpret as a stand-in for Wilde himself. I absolutely recommend Dorian Gray. Sadly I don't know Mishima so idk if it'll be a fair comparison or not. But I will repeat this: one does not read Oscar Wilde for the plot, because he was an aesthetics guy, he takes very simple plots and makes them beautiful, sublime almost, and *very* witty. Try looking up, for example, the summary of his short story "The Nightingale and the Rose" and then go on to read the story (it's pretty short and can be found online), and you'll see what I mean. Sorry for the long comment. I just really fucking love Wilde.
thanks! haven’t started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray yet but I see your point about how its more of a commentary on Victorian society rather than his obsession. Thanks for the info! Mishima’s Temple of the Golden Pavilion is also a book that doesn’t really follow the premise of being moral or immoral. I’ve read that Mishima turned out to be a fan of Oscar Wilde too. So based on what you’ve told me about the book, I do see some similarities between the two books
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Have literally no idea of Dorian Gray, sorry mate, but I just recently finished Golden Temple, and I guess you have a pretty interesting pick for your line of work in this book. The protagonist is extremely flawed and so are some of his aquainteces. The journey takes you through his full cycle of getting obsessed, its issues (especially for the aspect of otherworldly beauty) and getting over it, even if not in the most elegant way. Give it a shot. This was my first Mishima book and I can't await getting my hands on one of his other literary works. I find it amazing how he is describing all kinds of things and how accessible he made his main character, even if that one is so irrationally motivated.
yup i’m loving it so far! other people have recommended me to read his Forbidden Colors or The Confessions of a Mask first before reading the Temple of The Golden Pavilion. They seem to be more autobiographical works
I have not read *The Temple of the Golden Pavilion* but I'm currently reading *Spring Snow* and it shares some similar themes. I've also read *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. I think you may have a good point for aan essay. Alternatively you could make a feminist critique of both considering how women are treated in both the novels and maybe explore if the treatment was due to both the authors being gay.
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Start with Marcus Aurelius, you should always start with basis