How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June…If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that – for that – I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 2. Be careful what you wish for! Dorian’s life is forever changed when he wishes to remain always young and handsome like his portrait. Basil’s piece of art has captured Dorian’s remarkable beauty and he is astonished by the picture. Dorian grows immediately jealous of his portrait, because it will not grow old, as he will. In a climactic moment and fearing for his mortality, he wishes for the picture to grow old instead. He says that he would give his soul for eternal youth and so makes a Faustian bargain – Faust sold his soul to the devil in return for worldly knowledge and pleasure! This foreshadows that Dorian will lose his soul.