Bewitching Horrors or Dorian Gray?

Intriguing differences and influences of Dorian Gray and A Discovery Of Witches

by Sarah Davies

In this third of a series on gothic horror stories, I’m going to confuse you by introducing you to another book called ‘A Discovery of Witches’, but this time a novel and not about the Pendle Witches. I’m pairing it with The Picture of Dorian Gray for a very simple reason that I’ll lay out below

The Picture Of Dorian Gray

The only novel written by Oscar Wilde, it was published in Lippincott’s Magazine in 1890 and as a  novel in 1891. 

In a nutshell

Basil Hallward paints a full-length portrait of his muse, Dorian Gray. He introduces Dorian to his friend Lord Henry Wotton. Henry corrupts Dorian by introducing him to a hedonistic, libertine lifestyle where beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only goals. Henry gives Dorian a French book that becomes his pathway to the life he desires. Dorian wishes he could pursue this lifestyle yet remain forever young and untouched by it, his picture should take the consequences. This happens. Dorian hides the picture away, not wishing to see what his life is doing to him. Dorian subsequently blames Basil for his fate and murders him after letting him see his corrupted painting. He blackmails his friend Alan Campbell to use his chemical knowledge to dispose of the body. Alan later kills himself (just one of the friends Dorian corrupts and destroys along his journey).

Dorian eventually decides to live a good, moral life and believes this will take the corruption and horror away from the painting. When he goes to see the painting again, he realises it’s even worse, his new life is just an excuse for further new experiences to give him sensual pleasure.

Dorian decides that destroying the painting will be his only redemption. He uses the knife with which he killed Basil to stab and slash at the painting. Having heard terrible cries from the room, Dorian’s servants break in and find an ancient and deformed corpse (identified only by the rings on his fingers as Dorian), stabbed through the heart, the picture returned to its former glory.

When the work was published it was greeted with horror, many critics calling for Wilde to be prosecuted for breaking the laws on public morality. Wilde defended himself and his art vigorously, but it is an extremely disturbing book, it paints the upper classes and those aspiring to wealth and position as nothing more than seekers of pleasure, beauty and instant gratification. It seems to sing of the wonders of living life with little care for the consequences. In the end though, Dorian Gray realises that he and his friends have missed the whole point, that life is indeed for living, but that we need to give thought to the consequences of our actions, that what we do will not only leave its mark on us, but on all those we touch. In destroying the painting, and freeing all that depravity, there is a sense that Dorian (and Wilde), knew it had to go somewhere and that it would surely go home to roost.

A Discovery Of Witches

This 2011 novel by Deborah Harkness forms the first part of the All Souls trilogy. It draws heavily on scientific and alchemical sources for reference and also explores the possibility of a number of different sorts of beings living together in the same world.

In a nutshell

Diana is a professor of the history of science at Yale, doing research at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. She is also a witch, but she has suppressed this aspect of her life and has minimal contact with the witch community in the world.

She requests a book known as ‘Ashmole 782’ (a real lost work belonging to the Bodleian has this identifier), and when she touches it she not only has a reaction to it, but it alerts others magical beings to the fact that the book has been found.

Diana begins a relationship with a Matthew Clairmont, a vampire who has also been searching for the book, and together they set out to explore what finding the book and awakening Diana’s powers might mean.

Harkness was interested in exploring peoples’ interest in magic and enchantment and there is much evidence in the book of her wide knowledge of both the history of science and the occult.

The book was well-received by the critic on publication, although some did comment (and I have to agree), that the story is a bit plodding at times.

Personally, I really enjoyed the book, but when I reached the end I didn’t feel the need or the desire to go on to read the other books in the trilogy, I felt this first book had given me enough.

Why pair these books?

The thing which pairs these books for me is both feature the discovery of a book as the driving force behind the rest of the story, for Dorian, it is the book Lord Henry Wotton gifts him, and for Diana it is ‘Ashmole 782’. In both stories, the discovery of the book for the protagonists is the start of their journey of discovery about themselves. For Dorian, this leads to his ultimate destruction, for Diana it leads to the discovery of her true self and her mission to save all the worlds and communities that have been co-existing on the planet.

Again, as with all the books we’ve looked at so far (and the two we’ll look at next time), we’re once again presented with the idea of knowledge and the acquisition of knowledge as power.

Meet Sarah Davies this week's writer

I’m a writer, storyteller, poet and performer. If I’m really honest, my ideal reader/audience is me, I write what I want to read, and am just really grateful when other people enjoy it too.

I’m a reader as well, I make time every day to read something and often have three or four books on the go at a time.

When I’m not doing word-related things, I spend time in my garden, poking around at the crops I hope will grow, or I’m out running (very slowly), around my neighbourhood.

I was thrilled to be able to re-read and then write about gothic fiction, because it really is one of my favourite genres.

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