The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

Being a big fan of Oscar Wilde's works,it pains me that he has written just one Novel and a handful of plays.He is undoubtedly one of the biggest underachievers in the Literary World.
Come on,how many Literary giants have coined as many Famous witty quotes as Wilde did?I doubt if any of the modern Best-selling authors can at-best boast of having half-a-dozen famous quotes to their credit.So many of the funny quotes I receive in the form of 'Chain SMSes' bear the name of Oscar Wilde.(At-least 50% of them.)
Imagine the kind of Treasure trove of quotes,he would have given us,had he written more Novels or plays.
Anyway,this Short novel is excellent,extremely complex and quite thoughtful too,with a bit of fantasy added in too.The theme of this novel can be interpreted in different ways.Anyway,here I'll post here what I felt about the Novel.
    Dorian Gray is a handsome young man,whose soul has not been attacked by the Evil forces.It's this purity which makes him a favorite of Basil Hallward,an artist.The artist considers him as an inspiring force,which brings out the best in him as an artist.Every work of his was influenced by Dorian's features.And then there is Henry Wotton,who appears to be a theorist,who's found in Dorian Gray,a model for experimenting his theories;viewing him as an innocent person,who can be easily influenced.Unfortunately,his theories are hedonist,which refuses to conform to any form of Morality or Ethics.Dorian Gray falls prey to Wotton's charm and gets influenced by everything he says.He even begins to follow his theories.And what would perhaps remain of Dorian Gray is only the pure Youthful face and not the purity of the soul.
One fine day,Basil completes the portrait of Dorian Gray;and when Dorian looks at it,he's worried that the face in his portrait will continue to look young,while he would grow old and lose the charm.He wishes that the opposite happen!As the pages move,we realise that his wish has been fulfilled.With this obsession for materialistic pleasures and outward appearance;the obvious loser is the inner soul.Influenced by Wotton,he would turn out to be more and more bad,a man who wold use his charm to wreck others' lives,his ageless charm will attract Womenfolk from all sections,only to get their names spoiled due to the affairs.As he becomes more and more notorious,every aspect of this gets reflected in his Portrait,which has now become an image of his conscience.
The Novel,in my opinion,advocates people to follow a minimum set of ethics and Morality.It rather explains, to what extent a man can go,in committing evil,when he lacks ethics,or forgets the Moral values.It gives a picture of how man will be when he detaches from the sensitive Human feelings,but gets attached to the Materialistic aspect of Life.
It also provides an argument for the case of how Evil force can influence a man,more easier than noble thoughts.(Considering how Wutton succeeded with ease,while Basil's pleas fell on deaf ears.)
And,as usual,there are hell number of witty quotes in this 180+ pages work,including some,which aren't meant to be taken seriously too.