BOOK CLUB Academiae Obscuriae – “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” + “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell”

O Clube do Livro Academiae Obscuriae convida-o mais uma vez a mergulhar nas profundezas da Academia Negra — onde a literatura encontra o estranho, o intelectual e o desconhecido.

In our next meeting, we’ll be discussing two remarkable works: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke.

The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of Dorian Gray, a beautiful and naïve young man who becomes the object of fascination for the painter Basil Hallward. Basil paints his portrait, capturing his youth and beauty almost perfectly.

When he meets Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian is seduced by a hedonistic view of life: the idea that pleasure, beauty and youth are the only things that truly matter. Disturbed by the fear of growing old, Dorian wishes that the portrait would age in his place, while he remains young forever.

His wish comes true. From then on, Dorian gives himself over to a life of excess, vanity and moral cruelty. Outwardly, he remains beautiful and untouched, but the portrait begins to reveal the degradation of his soul, becoming increasingly monstrous.

The novel is a critique of superficiality, the obsession with beauty, moral corruption and the attempt to separate appearance from conscience. In the end, Dorian tries to destroy the portrait in order to free himself from guilt, but ends up destroying himself instead.

We’ll also delve into Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke’s extraordinary blend of historical fiction, fantasy and dark academia. Set in an alternative version of 19th-century England, the novel follows two very different magicians: the reclusive and scholarly Mr Norrell and the brilliant, impulsive Jonathan Strange.

As English magic begins to return after centuries of absence, their uneasy partnership gradually becomes a rivalry, drawing them into questions of ambition, knowledge, power and the dangerous influence of the mysterious world of Faerie.

Together, these two novels will lead us into a discussion of beauty, obsession, morality, ambition, forbidden knowledge and the consequences of reaching beyond the limits of what we understand.