--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were times when it appeared to…" description: "\"There were times when it appeared to Dorian Gray that the whole of history was merely the record of his own life, not as he had lived it in act and cir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/oscar-wilde-16_brain_there-were-times-when-it-appeared-to-dor_2016068.jpg" --- # There were times when it appeared to Dorian Gray that the… ![“There were times when it appeared to Dorian Gray that the whole of history was merely the record of his own life, not as he had lived it in act and circumstand, but as his imagination had created it for him, as it had been in his brain and in his passions. He felt that he had known them all, those…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/oscar-wilde-16_brain_there-were-times-when-it-appeared-to-dor_2016068.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/oscar-wilde-16_brain_there-were-times-when-it-appeared-to-dor_2016068.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a92/oscar-wilde-16_brain_there-were-times-when-it-appeared-to-dor_2016068.jpg) > “There were times when it appeared to Dorian Gray that the whole of history was merely the record of his own life, not as he had lived it in act and circumstand, but as his imagination had created it for him, as it had been in his brain and in his passions. He felt that he had known them all, those strange terrible figures that had passed across the stage of the world and made sin so marvellous, and evil so full of subtlety. It seemed to him that in some mysterious way their lives had been his own.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels his life mirrors history, seeing past figures as extensions of his own imagination and emotions. **In simple terms:** He sees history as his personal story. Key Takeaway Recognize how personal perspective shapes perception of events. Themes identity history perception imagination subjectivity Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical analysis - historical study - self‑analysis Key Concepts existentialism psychology literary realism Questions to Reflect On - How does your imagination influence your view of history? - Can personal bias distort understanding of past events? A Different Perspective This view may ignore objective facts and over‑personalize events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appeared Dorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appeared-dorian-3341076/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Dorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dorian/) [Dorian Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dorian-gray/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-created-1149932/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Marvellous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marvellous/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Mysterious ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious-ways/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passions Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passions-felt-3626058/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Subtlety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtlety/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“But it appeared to Dorian Gray that the true nature of the senses had never been understood, and that they had remained savage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/but-it-appeared-to-dorian-gray-that-the-true-nature-of-the-senses-had/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Yet one had ancestors in literature as well as in one’s own race, nearer perhaps in type and temperament, many of them, and certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-one-had-ancestors-in-literature-as-well-as-in-one-s-own-race-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Unconsciously he defines for me the lines of a fresh new school, a school that is to have in it all the passion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/unconsciously-he-defines-for-me-the-lines-of-a-fresh-new-school-a/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“that. As long as I live, the personality of Dorian Gray will dominate me. You can’t feel what I feel. You change”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/that-as-long-as-i-live-the-personality-of-dorian-gray-will-dominate/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“A fit of passionate sobbing choked her. She crouched on the floor like a wounded thing, and Dorian Gray, with his beautiful eyes, looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/a-fit-of-passionate-sobbing-choked-her-she-crouched-on-the-floor-like/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Lord Henry went out to the garden and found Dorian Gray burying his face in the great cool lilac-blossoms, feverishly drinking in their perfume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/lord-henry-went-out-to-the-garden-and-found-dorian-gray-burying-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I did not want any external influence in my life. You know how independent I am by nature. I have always been my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-did-not-want-any-external-influence-in-my-life-you-know-how/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“A strange sense of loss came over him. He felt that Dorian Gray would never again be to him all that he had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/a-strange-sense-of-loss-came-over-him-he-felt-that-dorian-gray-would/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Dorian Gray frowned and turned his head away. He could not help liking the tall, graceful young man who was standing by him. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray-frowned-and-turned-his-head-away-he-could-not-help-liking/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I turned halfway round, and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-turned-halfway-round-and-saw-dorian-gray-for-the-first-time-when/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray-had-been-poisoned-by-a-book/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Nicioadata nu aprob sau dezaprob un lucru, e o atitudine absurda fata de viata. Nu suntem trimisi in lume ca sa ne exibitionam prejudecatile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nicioadata-nu-aprob-sau-dezaprob-un-lucru-e-o-atitudine-absurda-fata/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Dorian Gray listened, open-eyed and wondering. The spray of lilac fell from his hand upon the gravel. A furry bee came and buzzed round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray-listened-open-eyed-and-wondering-the-spray-of-lilac-fell/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I suddenly became conscious that some one was looking at me. I turned half-way round and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-suddenly-became-conscious-that-some-one-was-looking-at-me-i-turned/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Gollum is my picture of Dorian Gray. 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It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Brain quotes > [The brain abhors discrepancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/the-brain-abhors-discrepancies/) [Vilayanur S. 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Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [I prefer the word 'musician.' I'm a musician and a composer. I have a problem with the word 'artist.' 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