HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.'How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrid, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young… If it was only
Since its first publication in 1890, Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, has remained the subject of critical controversy. Acclaimed by some as an instructive moral tale, it has been
On its first publication The Picture of Dorian Gray was regarded as dangerously modern in its depiction of fin-de-siècle decadence. In this updated version of the Faust story, the tempter is Lord Henr
The Picture of Dorian Gray was a succes de scandale. Early readers were shocked by its hints at unspeakable sins and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895.Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray makes a Faustian bargain to sell his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty. Under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, where he is able to indulge his desires while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only Dorian's picture bears the traces of his decadence.A knowing account of a secret life and an analysis of the darker side of late Victorian society. The Picture of Dorian Gray offers a disturbing portrait of an individual coming face to face with the reality of his soul.@MajorLeagueAesthole Sadly my beauty will one day cease. Perhaps I could preserve it by having the doc pull and staple the skin of my face? No. A silly thought. People seem put off by my self-absorption. But I can
本書緣起於1980年代在美國爆發的愛滋病恐慌，以及繼發的恐同氛圍和用以壓迫同志的闇櫃知識論。全書兼備文學理論、文本分析與文化研究，結合解構主義、女性主義與同志研究，從既有的性學、性別與性相研究成果中另闢蹊徑，探討十九世紀末與二十世紀初歐美男性經典作品中的同性戀主題。作者由釐清性相定義及性別界說入手。性別研究常以本質論與建構論定義同性戀，賽菊克則以少數化和普遍化取而代之，前者將同性戀視為少數族群，後者則認為同性戀和異性戀都是普遍現象，不過她主張兩種觀點的界線模糊，因此常被主流論述任意移動，以壓制同志。在性別定義方面，她認為同志只愛同性的性別分離主義，以及以性別倒錯為核心的性別過渡模式並非截然分明，而且和少數化和普遍化同性戀定義模式一樣，都並存於同一時期，共構多元的闇櫃知識論，這點和傅科的性相歷史研究相異。作者以前述理論架構，細讀梅爾維爾的《比利．巴德》、王爾德的《格雷的畫像》、亨利．詹姆斯的〈叢林中的野獸〉(“The Beast in the Jungle”)、薩克萊的小說、普魯斯特的《追憶似水年華》、以及尼采的著作，藉以映照當代美國恐同文化對同志的壓迫。其深度與廣度獲得學界肯定，許之為酷兒研究開山之作。好評推薦一部心與靈的非凡之作。—《國族》(The Nation)開拓新局，成果斐然。賽菊克鎖定男性性相此一禁忌領域，所揭露的結構令人驚訝。—《波士頓環球報》(The Boston Globe)出色的文學批評、文化研究與政治分析之作，以及同志研究發展的里程碑。—《女性書評》(Women’s Review of Books)對梅爾維爾的《比利．巴德》、王爾德的《格雷的畫像》、普魯斯特、尼采、亨利．詹姆斯，以及薩克萊作品的細讀中，充滿敏銳的觀察，將對同性關係根深柢固的恐懼連結到當代對同志的羞辱。—《出版者週刊》(Publishers Weekly)
