# Dorian Gray is... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046 "2010-03-19T18:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/21 "2010-03-19T22:23:43Z")
I thought it was a trick question (like “Dorian Gray” is a Benjamin Moore Paint color\*, “Dorien Grey” is the character or something like that). But yes, I would have gotten that and I wasn’t even an English major. \*That would be kind of cool, though. Paint your your home a certain color and never age, so long as you were willing to live with the walls peeling, bubbling, and crackling. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/22 "2010-03-20T15:07:25Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I’ll ask this here. Wasn’t he gay? I didn’t finish the book, but from what I read I thought he was gay. I do know the ending of the book. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie has him as a lady’s man. I got the impression Dorian might have swung both ways; he was an opium addict and led several of his friends into the same vice, and we all know what those junkies will do for a fix, wink wink nudge nudge knowwhadimean? But at least one girl early in his career killed herself because of him, too. ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/23 "2010-03-20T16:12:36Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I wrote a novel. I had a quick little exchange between the main character and another character she hadn’t seen in some time, where he told her she didn’t age, she laughed and said no but she had a photo in a closet she was afraid to look at, and he didn’t get it. I liked that, but what do I know. Was the book published? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/24 "2010-03-20T16:37:23Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > I got the impression Dorian might have swung both ways; he was an opium addict and led several of his friends into the same vice, and we all know what those junkies will do for a fix, wink wink nudge nudge knowwhadimean? But at least one girl early in his career killed herself because of him, too. And he was trying to go straight (wink wink, nudge nudge) at the end, giving up the hedonist lifestyle to settle down with a good woman, but things didn’t quite work out… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/25 "2010-03-20T17:22:18Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I wrote a novel. I had a quick little exchange between the main character and another character she hadn’t seen in some time, where he told her she didn’t age, she laughed and said no but she had a photo in a closet she was afraid to look at, and he didn’t get it. Would it have been more obvious if you’d said “picture” or “portrait” or “painting” rather than “photo”? > [@Gagundathar](#): > > Gary Larson had a wonderful take on this as ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray and his Dog’. Yeah, you can’t be _that_ obscure if you get alluded to in The Far Side (and [elsewhere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorian_Gray#Adaptations_and_allusions)). ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/26 "2010-03-20T22:54:01Z")
> [@halfliquid](#): > > I liked that, but what do I know. > > Was the book published? Yes. But without that exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/27 "2010-03-20T23:44:53Z")
I expected this to be a poll listing celebrities and asking who’s aged the best! I would expect any reasonably well-educated native English speaking person to have heard of Dorian Gray and his mysterious lack of aging. > [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I’ll ask this here. Wasn’t he gay? I didn’t finish the book, but from what I read I thought he was gay. I do know the ending of the book. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie has him as a lady’s man. You may be confusing Dorian Gray with his creator, or with one of the other characters in the book. Both the artist Basil Hallward and his friend Lord Henry express more admiration for Dorian’s looks than one might expect from heterosexual men. Dorian is involved with the actress Sibyl Vane for a good part of the book, and is interested in other women as well. As **Marlitharn** says, it’s possible to read between the lines and conclude that Dorian was up for anything, but he can’t have been gay. Bisexual, maybe, but he did like the ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/28 "2010-03-21T00:09:30Z")
I’ll have to go with he’s bisexual then. Like I said I didn’t read he whole book, so I didn’t know if he eventually dropped the women all together. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/29 "2010-03-21T00:37:31Z")
The first time I heard of Dorian Gray was in a Phyllis Diller comedy routine (that I heard on a record). She was talking about riding on a cheap airline (this was in the 60’s) and about how old the stewardess was: "You’ve heard of those little crow’s feet? This broad had mastodon tracks! She looked like she had been carried out of Shangri-La. At least twice. By Dorian Gray." How many stand-up comics have two literary references in one quick comedy bit? Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/30 "2010-03-21T00:58:34Z")
Phyllis Diller never wasted a sentence. Everyone had comedic content. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/31 "2010-03-21T01:57:58Z")
It was a great performance by Hurd Hatfield in the film. And the film also illustrates how pretty Angela Lansbury was (a far cry from the old bat in Murder She Wrote). ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/32 "2010-03-21T07:13:59Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Yes. But without that exchange. Would you reveal the book, if possible? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/33 "2010-03-21T07:37:06Z")
I suppose this is another sign I’m growing old, because I’m honestly surprised at the notion someone would actually have to google Dorian Gray. Incidentally, _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ is often mistitled _The Portrait of Dorian Gray_. It was Oscar Wilde’s only published novel. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/34 "2010-03-21T07:56:04Z")
I have tried so hard, so many times to read that damn book. I like the idea of Dorian Gray. But, the book is just booooooring. ---
**Author:** ![Eleasarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/779978/32.png) [@Eleasarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleasarian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/35 "2010-03-21T18:05:07Z")
I feel the same way about Lord of the Rings. I _tried_, many times. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/36 "2010-03-21T21:30:37Z")
I read the book in high school. 47 years ago. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/37 "2010-03-21T22:50:04Z")
I don’t think Lord Henry would like me, I’m a person with principles. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/38 "2010-03-21T23:16:57Z")
Some kind of cologne, or maybe a sexual act. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/39 "2010-03-21T23:18:16Z")
Oooh, how embarrassing. I thought we were supposed to post our guess without looking at the poll options. At least I guessed the poll correctly. ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046/40 "2010-03-22T13:47:23Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I read the book in high school. 47 years ago. :eek: Weren’t those stone tablets heavy to carry around? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorian-gray-is/533046.md?page=3)