RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

OF LAW, PUNJAB

ENGLISH-2

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

by OSCAR WILDE

Submitted by: AYUSH SINGH DAHIYA,

Roll no: 21144, Group no: 22
Submitted To: DR. TANYA MANDER, Asst
Professor of English, RGNUL
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The accomplishment of this project is owed to the constant

support and guidance of people whom I’d like to convey my
sincerest gratitude. Dr. Tanya Mander, our English
professor who enabled me to complete this project, with her
constant encouragement. Her valuable help and guidance
were instrumental in the project and resolving all the
doubts encountered during the making of this project.

The Library staff which aided me in my research for the

project through the usage of the online databases and
journal collections available in the library.

Lastly, I would like to sincerely appreciate my parents

and friends for their constant encouragement and moral
support to enable me to complete this project.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction………………………………………………1-2

• Introduction to the Author…………………………….1

• Historical background of the book…………………..2

II. Plot and Character……………………………………..3-7

• Summary of the Plot………………………………….3-5

• Characters in the story………………………………5-7

III. Setting, Symbols, Motifs and Themes……………8-13

IV. Exposition…………………………………………………14

• Interactions between law and the piece of

literature……………………………………………….…14
V. Criticism……………………………………………………15

VI. Conclusion…………………………………………………16
VII. Bibliography…………………………………………..17-18
I. INTRODUCTION

• About the Author

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, born on October 16

1854, Wilde was a renowned Irish poet, playwriter,
novelist and literary critic. Wilde was regarded as one of
the most famous play writers in London in early 1890s.
His first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian was first
published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, even with a
highly edited version, the book still gained a huge negative
response from critics due to lack of morality. Among his
most famous plays are Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892),
and the comedies A Woman of no Importance (1893), An
Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being
Earnest (1895). These plays were highly acclaimed and
helped Wilde to establish himself among the best
playwriters of his time. Wilde is considered the father of
Aesthetics; he was among the first celebrities that vocally
supported the argument of Aestheticism which is an
artistic expression of “art for art’s sake”.

In 1895 Wilde sued Marquess of Queensberry, father of

Lord Alfred Douglas who was a close friend and a love
interest of Wilde, for criminal libel. Wilde’s case collapsed
and evidence against him surfaced, Wilde was convicted
under Gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts.
Wilde was imprisoned for 2 years from 1895 to 1897.
Wilde died in 1990, his remains rest at Pere Lachaise
Cemetery in Paris.

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• Historical Background of the Book

Oscar Wilde's first and only work, The Picture of Dorian

Gray, is a faustian tale about a man who trades his
soul's purity for eternal youth. It was composed in 1889
and first published in Lippincott's Monthly in July of
that year. This was a condensed version that omitted
the preface as well as chapters 3, 5, and 15-18, which
were eventually added for publication in 1891. The
novel drew a huge amount of backlash when it was first
published, with critics denouncing its homosexual
overtones and apparent endorsement of hedonistic
principles. The preface was composed in reaction to the
first edition's harsh criticism, condemning them for
failing to understand Wilde's belief that art should be
judged solely on its artistic merits, without regard for
morals.

Dorian Gray is a work that provides much more to

both intellectual and artistically sensitive readers,
despite the critical focus on the book's seeming support
of alternate lives. It is largely concerned with
investigating the intricate ties between life, art, beauty,
and sin, as well as portraying a compellingly caustic
portrayal of Victorian-era London high society. It
addresses the significance of art in personal and social
life, but also warning against the perils of unrestrained
vanity and superficiality, notwithstanding Wilde's
claims of artistic amorality.

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II. PLOT AND CHARACTERS

• Summary of the Story

The story opens in Basil Hallward's art studio,

where he and his witty and amoral buddy Lord Henry
Wotton are discussing a recent painting. Henry
believes the painting, a portrait of a stunning young
man, should be on exhibit, but Basil opposes, worried
that his infatuation with the portrait's subject, Dorian
Gray, will be visible in the work. Dorian then comes,
and he is intrigued as Henry discusses his philosophy
of living life to the fullest by giving way to one's
desires. Dorian states that he would offer his soul if
the image grew old and wrinkled while he stayed
young and attractive, while Henry informs out that
beauty and youth are ephemeral. Dorian receives the
picture from Basil.

Henry makes the decision to take on the task of

sculpting Dorian's personality. Dorian tells Henry a
few weeks later that he has found true love with Sibyl
Vane, an actress known for her extraordinary beauty
and acting talent. Henry and Basil accompany him to
a seedy theatre to see Sibyl, but she gives a poor
performance. Sibyl confesses to Dorian that she can
no longer pretend to be in love on stage now that she
realizes what true love is. Dorian is repelled by her
and refuses to have anything to do with her. When he
goes home, he notices that his portrait has a cruel
grimace on its face, and he decides to beg Sibyl's
forgiveness. The very next day, however, Henry arrives
with the news that Sibyl had committed suicide the

3
night before, and he persuades Dorian that he has no
need to be upset.

Dorian has the portrait removed immediately and

stored in his attic. Dorian receives a book from Henry
that he finds both poisonous and interesting (critics
have suggested that it might be Against the Grain by
Joris-Karl Huysmans). Dorian devotes the following 18
years, influenced by the book, pursuing capricious
and sybaritic excess, and he grows progressively
inclined to evil. He returns to the painting on a regular
basis, noting the indications of ageing and decay that
appear, despite the fact that he himself is flawless.

He runs into Basil one evening, who informs him that

there are whispers that he has damaged many
people's lives and reputations. Dorian, on the other
hand, refuses to accept blame. Basil claims that he
has no idea who Dorian is, and Dorian reacts by
taking him to the attic to see the portrait. The artwork
has deteriorated into a terrifying work of art. Dorian
murders Basil when Basil informs him that if this is a
manifestation of his soul, he must repent and seek for
pardon. He uses blackmail to persuade a former
friend, Alan Campbell to dispose of the body.

Dorian walks to an opium den, where he is discovered

by Sibyl's spiteful brother, James, but Dorian's youth
dissuades him from acting. However, Dorian's age is
eventually revealed by another patron of the den. One
of the hunters inadvertently shoots and kills James,
who was hidden in a bush, during a subsequent
hunting expedition at Dorian's rural home.

4
Dorian informs Henry a few weeks later that he has
resolved to become ethical, and that he has recently
decided not to take advantage of a young girl who is
smitten with him. Dorian rushes to see if the image
has improved as a result of his noble deed, but
instead finds that it has taken on a cunning
appearance. He chooses to stab the painting with a
knife in order to destroy it. His servants hear a
scream, when they arrive; they find a despicable old
man dead on the floor with a knife in his chest and a
portrait of the lovely young man he once was.

• Character Sketch
Dorian gray
Dorian Gray is a radiantly handsome, impressionable,
wealthy and well respected young gentleman, whose
portrait the artist Basil Hallward is painting.
Dorian Gray exists as a kind of ideal at the start of the
novel: he is the paradigm of male youth and beauty.
But as the story progresses the character of Dorian
Gray under goes huge changes, Dorian experiences,
love, intellectual enlightenment, remorse, experience
both vice and virtue, guilt and remorse. Dorians
characters grow more and more complex with each
experience, we see his transition from an innocent
youth to a man blind in power and zeal to see the
extremes to which he can venture.

5
Basil Hallward
Basil Hallward is a gifted painter, albeit one with a
traditional outlook. His admiration for Dorian Gray
alters his perception of art; in fact, it establishes a new
school of thought for him. He worries that he has
poured too much of himself into the painting once he
has represented Dorian as he truly is. He is concerned
that his love, which he calls "idolatry," is too obvious
and betrays too much of himself. Though he later
comes to understand that art is always more abstract
than one imagines it to be, and that the picture thus
betrays nothing but form and color, his emotional
investment in Dorian stays consistent. He tries to
safeguard Dorian by objecting to Lord Henry's harmful
influence over him and defending him even after their
relationship has plainly ended. Basil's devotion to
Dorian, which inevitably proves fatal, demonstrates his
real affection for his favorite subject as well as his
worry for Dorian's welfare and salvation.

Lord Henry Wotton

Lord Henry is filled of "false, interesting, deadly,
beautiful theories." He is a charismatic orator, a well-
known humorist, and a clever thinker. It's no surprise
that Dorian falls fully under his spell, given the
enticing way he leads conversation. Lord Henry's
beliefs are radical; they are intended to startle and to
overturn established, unproven, or conventional
notions of knowledge. They prove naive in the end, and
Lord Henry himself is unaware of the ramifications of
most of what he says.

6
Lord Henry is a rather steady figure who does not alter
significantly during the storey. In the closing chapters
of the storey, he is as coolly calm, unshakeable, and
full of the same dry humor as he was at the start. His
philosophy is interesting and intriguing in the first part
of the book, but implausible and superficial in the
second, because he does not evolve while Dorian and
Basil do. In Chapter Nineteen, for example, Lord Henry
ponders the existence of immoral books, claiming that
“the books that the world labels immoral are books
that expose the world its own shame.” However, it is
difficult to take what Lord Henry says as real because
the hedonistic book that Lord Henry provides Dorian
accelerates Dorian's descent.

Despite the fact that Lord Henry is a self-proclaimed

hedonist who believes in the pursuit of both moral and
immoral pleasures, he leads a pretty boring existence.
He is a member of genteel London society, attending
parties and the theatre but refraining from immoral
behavior. He does not, unlike Dorian, persuade young
people to commit suicide or travel surreptitiously to
the city's most reviled and needy areas. As a result,
Lord Henry is unaware of the practical implications of
his ideology. His remark that Dorian could never
commit a murder because "crime belongs exclusively to
the lower ranks" reveals his grasp of the human soul's
limitations.

7
III. SETTING, SYMBOLS, MOTIFS AND
THEMES

• Setting

The novel is set in 19th century London, England; the

setting is credible for several reasons. For starters, the
setting is not based on a fictional location but on a real
location (London England). Dorian lives on the Upper
West Side, where he lives a life of riches, extravagance,
and pleasure, therefore the location is also plausible.
The locale is important in the plot since Dorian may
readily roam between two major districts of London,
the opulent West End and the run-down East End,
from where he lives.

Dorian maintains his residence in the West End,

especially in the posh Mayfair District, and frequents
numerous gentlemen's clubs, theatres, and symphony
halls. The disguised Dorian steals into bizarre saloons-
turned-opium-dens for an occasional high in the East
End, near the dock, and disgustingly brushes elbows
with the numerous underworld figures whose lives he's
wrecked.

Dorian's two sides are represented by the two settings.

He is the charming gentleman, trendy trendsetter,
intellectual aristocrat, and infamous local celebrity in
London's West End. To satisfy his sophisticated
appetite, he appreciates the best art forms society has
to offer - opera, theatre, painting, and French cuisine.
However, in the East End, he transforms into a

8
gloomy, skulking, unmistakably malevolent spectre
(the "devil's bargain"), just as anxious for an opium
dose as the next guy and generally attempting to
escape his criminal past in the city. Wilde clearly
depicts a double life in double surroundings.

• Symbols

The Portrait of Dorian

At work, the portrait is by far the most important

symbol. It's like a living allegory, a physical
manifestation of Dorian's soul. Essentially, the image
depicts Dorian's inner self, which grows worse with
each passing hour and each crime he commits. It is a
representation of Dorian's actual character, and as his
soul gets progressively corrupt, its wickedness
manifests itself on the canvas' surface. Dorian doesn't
seem to be truly free of the picture's influence: as the
picture gets uglier and uglier, Dorian starts to lose it. It
takes on the role of a morality, always reminding
Dorian of the evil at the core of his being.

The portrait depicts the deterioration of the soul and

the repercussions of prioritizing pleasure over all else.
The picture educates the viewers about the detrimental
consequences of sin and excess on the soul. Dorian
and his portrait are used by Wilde to demonstrate what
the true, full Hedonistic existence would entail. He
wanted readers to learn from Dorian's mistakes and
witness the consequences of the actions. The reader
follows Dorian's mental and moral decline throughout

9
the narrative, as the visuals depict the ramifications of
vice.

The Yellow Book

This is a thinly veiled reference to J.K. Huysmans'

hugely influential Decadent work Rebours ("Against
Nature"). The very affluent protagonist of the original
book, as well as Wilde's paraphrase of it, dedicated his
life to obtaining as many aesthetic sensations as he
can, regardless of what society thinks. He exemplifies
what Dorian could become: a robotic human devoid of
actual interactions and feelings, simply interested in
the next new thrill. Dorian sees pieces of his own life
echoed back at him in this character's life when he
reads it. However, to make it appropriate for his novel,
Wilde added certain major alterations (such as the
explicit reference of the protagonist's lost beauty,
which only serves to increase Dorian's fear of losing his
features).

The yellow book, above all, depicts Lord Henry's

"poisonous" influence on Dorian; Henry sends the book
to Dorian as a sort of experiment, and it works
frighteningly well. Its hedonistic, decadent ideology
serves as a type of manual for Dorian, who spends his
entire life pursuing its goals. Lord Henry is ultimately
to blame for poisoning Dorian with the book, which
comes to stand in for all of Henry's grandiose, greedy,
dangerously attractive intellectual beliefs, as we're
reminded.

10
 • Motifs
Homoerotic Male Relationships
The novel's structure is heavily influenced by men's
homoerotic connections. Lord Henry is seized with the
urge to lure Dorian and mould him into the realization of
a type, just as Basil's painting is dependent on his
appreciation of Dorian's beauty. This male camaraderie
fits into Wilde's greater aesthetic ideas because it
transports him back to antiquity, when a love of youth
and beauty was not only vital to culture but also
manifested in a physical interaction between men. Wilde
claimed this concept in part to excuse his own lifestyle
as a homosexual living in a hostile society. Part of the
reason for Wilde's assertion of this ideology was to
explain his personal lifestyle. Homosexuality was not a
vile vice for Wilde, but rather a sign of sophisticated
culture. The affection between an older and younger
man, as he asserted passionately during his trial for
"gross immorality" between men, places one in the
tradition of Plato, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare.

The Color White

Dorian's transformation from a figure of purity to a
figure of degradation may be traced thanks to Wilde's
choice of the color white. When Dorian is initially
presented, white typically connotes innocence and
blankness. Lord Henry is enthralled by Dorian's "white
purity" as a little boy. When Basil hears that Dorian has
given up his innocence, he invokes whiteness, quoting a

11
scriptural phrase from the Book of Isaiah as the artist
stares in horror at the wrecked portrait: “Though your
sins be as scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.”
But Dorian's days of innocence are past. He no longer
values this feature, and when he purchases flowers, he
specifies “as few white ones as possible.” When the color
reappears in the form of James Vane's face looking in
through a window—"like a white handkerchief"—it has
been converted from the color of innocence to the color
of death. Dorian longs for his "rose-white boyhood" in
the novel's conclusion, but his wish is dashed, and he is
unable to wipe away the scars of his misdeeds.

• Themes

The Purpose of Art

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺 was panned when it was

initially published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in
1890. The subsequent year, after editing the text, Wilde
included a preface that serves as a valuable exposition
of his aesthetic theory. According to this collection of
epigrams, the objective of art is to have no purpose. To
completely comprehend this claim, one must consider
the moral atmosphere of Wilde's day, as well as
Victorian sensibilities toward art and morals. As writers
such as Charles Dickens and George Gissing
demonstrate in their works, the Victorians thought that
art could be used as a vehicle for social instruction and
moral enlightenment. The aestheticism movement, of
which Wilde was a leading proponent, aimed to relieve
art of this burden. The aestheticists were compelled by a
12
disdain for bourgeois morality—a sensibility
encapsulated in Lord Henry's Dorian Gray, whose every
word seems designed to shock the burgeoning middle
class's ethical certainty—as well as the belief that art
does not need to serve any other purpose than to be
beautiful.

The Supremacy of Youth and Beauty

The fundamental principle of aestheticism, Oscar Wilde's
art ideology, is that art has no other function except to
provide beauty. Beauty reigns supreme throughout 𝘛𝘩𝘦
𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺. Basil's artwork has a calming
impact on the cynical Lord Henry, indicating that it is a
way to re-energize the tired senses. It's also a way of
escaping the world's cruelties: by devoting himself to the
study of beautiful things—music, gemstones, and rare
tapestries—Dorian separates himself, not to mention his
consciousness, from the horrors of his acts. Youth and
physical attractiveness become important commodities
in a society that values attractiveness so highly. On their
first interaction, Lord Henry reminds Dorian of this,
lamenting that Dorian will eventually lose his most
valuable characteristics. The Duchess of Monmouth
indicates to Lord Henry in Chapter Seventeen that he
lays too much weight on these things; indeed, Dorian's
death confirms her fears. Although beauty and youth are
still valued highly at the end of the story—the portrait is,
after all, restored to its original state—the novel argues
that the cost of obtaining them is exorbitant. Dorian
does not give anything less than his soul.

13
IV. EXPOSITION
Interaction between Laws and the Text
Before reaching the pinnacle of his renown, Wilde
authored his lone novel, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺.
Lippincott's Monthly Magazine published the inaugural
edition in the summer of 1890. It was dubbed
"scandalous" and "immoral." In 1891, after being
dissatisfied with the novel's reception, Wilde reworked it,
adding a preface and six new chapters. The Preface (as
Wilde refers to it) predicts some of the novel's criticisms
and responds to those who accuse 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯
𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺 of being an immoral narrative. It also concisely lays
up the tenets of Wilde's art theory. Wilde was devoted to
aestheticism, a school of thought and a manner of
sensibility that held that art has intrinsic value—that it
is beautiful and hence has worth, and thus requires no
other purpose, moral or political. In Victorian England,
where common belief held that art was not only a
function of morality but also a way of imposing it, this
attitude was revolutionary. Wilde also warned readers
not to look for significance “below the surface” of art in
the Preface. Part gothic book, part comedy of manners,
and part treatise on the relationship between art and
morality, this is a work that is part gothic novel, part
comedy of manners, and part treatise on the relationship
between art and moral. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺
continues to be a conundrum for its readers to solve.
“Diversity of opinion on a work of art reveals that the
work is new, complex, and vital,” writes Wilde near the
end of the Preface.

14
V. CRITICSM
“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book,”
wrote Oscar Wilde in the preface to the 1891 edition
of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺. “Books are well written, or
badly written. That is all.”
Of course, even as Wilde wrote these words, he knew
that the critics did not agree with his assessment. In
fact, the entire preface is a protest; a response to the
backlash created by the original publication of his now-
classic novel. The content of the original publication had
received backlash from critics because of its many
themes that were against the moral ideology of the
common Victorian crowd, as Mr. Wilde himself said on
many occasions, the themes or aestheticism,
homoeroticism as well as the entire content were ahead
of the century they were written in, critics were not
ready for such new ideas being brought into
mainstreamer publication.
Among the few constructive criticism one can muster,
includes the less developed back stories of a few
characters. Although practically every character in the
novel has a past, not all of them are fully fleshed out.
The reader is left with a lot of room for speculation. Still,
as a Wilde fan, I would have like to learn more about
Sybil Vane's mental state prior to meeting Dorian, or the
real storey behind Alan Campbell's "hidden message" in
Chapter 14, which still fascinates me.

15
VI. CONCLUSION
The term bildungsroman was coined in 1819 by Karl
Morgenstern and traditionally refers to a type of
narrative focusing on the development of its protagonist.
“Bildungsroman, class of novel that depicts and explores
the manner in which the protagonist develops morally
and psychologically. The German
word Bildungsroman means “novel of education” or
“novel of formation”. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺 by Oscar
Wilde is a model example of negative bildungsroman,
Dorian Gray is the protagonist of this bildungsroman
and the focus is on his deformation which takes place
throughout the story.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺 is a negative bildungsroman,

not only because Dorian’s development takes the
direction leading to immorality and destruction instead
of morality and harmony, but also because the Dorian
Gray that dies in the end may be educated by Basil
Hallward, Lord Henry and himself, but has never
actually learned anything from the events happened and
therefore possesses a mind that has never fully matured.

16
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary sources

• Wilde, Oscar. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺 1891. London:

Penguin Books, 1994

• Wilde, Oscar; Frankel, Nichols (ed.) 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧

𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺: An Annotated, Uncensored Edition The
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, London
2011

Secondary sources

• Carroll, Joseph. “Aestheticism, Homoeroticism, and

Christian Guilt in The Picture of Dorian Gray”.
Philosophy and Literature vol 29:2, p.286-304, 2005.

• Manganiello, Dominic. “Ethics and Aesthetics in ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦

𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺.’” The Canadian Journal of Irish
Studies 9, no. 2 (1983): 25–33.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25512571.

• Liebman, Sheldon w. “character design in ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧

𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺.’” Studies in the Novel, vol. 31, no. 3, Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1999, pp. 296–316,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/29533343.

17
• NUNOKAWA, JEFF. “Homosexual Desire and the
Effacement of the Self in ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺.’”
American Imago, vol. 49, no. 3, The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1992, pp. 311–21,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26304010.

• O.D. Edwards, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,

23 September 2004,
https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/29400

• Encyclopedia Britannica, The Picture of Dorian Gray

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Picture-of-
Dorian-Gray-novel-by-Wilde

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