Dorian's Terrible Unspeakable Thing is deliberately unidentifiable, because Wilde is a massive troll.
Consequently, when anyone made accusations about exactly what immoral subject matter the book was delving into, Wilde could respond with the literary equivalent of "He who smelt it, dealt it":
It was necessary, Sir, for the dramatic development of this story, to surround Dorian Gray with an atmosphere of moral corruption. Otherwise the story would have had no meaning and the plot no issue. To keep this atmosphere vague and indeterminate and wonderful was the aim of the artist who wrote the story. I claim, Sir, that he has succeeded. Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What Dorian Gray's sins are no one knows. He who finds them has brought them.
Gosh, oh censorious Scots Observer reviewer, you seem to have a very specific idea of what Dorian did, and doesn't that say a lot about the contents of your imagination?
And it means he can play with all sorts of implications, but have total deniability because Dorian's unspeakable thing can't be pinned down.
N.B. I believe I stole this point from Sos Eltis's Oxford lecture series on Wilde, which is a gleeful intellectual joy:
Obviously the book is very very gay, but that's not specifically attached to Dorian's unspeakable thing; IIRC, the edits are in large part about making Basil's feelings towards Dorian less obviously romantic.
oh oh oh I know this one!!! *waves hand frantically*
Consequently, when anyone made accusations about exactly what immoral subject matter the book was delving into, Wilde could respond with the literary equivalent of "He who smelt it, dealt it":
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33689/33689-h/33689-h.htm#OSCAR_WILDES_REPLIES
It was necessary, Sir, for the dramatic development of this story, to surround Dorian Gray with an atmosphere of moral corruption. Otherwise the story would have had no meaning and the plot no issue. To keep this atmosphere vague and indeterminate and wonderful was the aim of the artist who wrote the story. I claim, Sir, that he has succeeded. Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What Dorian Gray's sins are no one knows. He who finds them has brought them.
Gosh, oh censorious Scots Observer reviewer, you seem to have a very specific idea of what Dorian did, and doesn't that say a lot about the contents of your imagination?
And it means he can play with all sorts of implications, but have total deniability because Dorian's unspeakable thing can't be pinned down.
N.B. I believe I stole this point from Sos Eltis's Oxford lecture series on Wilde, which is a gleeful intellectual joy:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Sos+Eltis%22
Obviously the book is very very gay, but that's not specifically attached to Dorian's unspeakable thing; IIRC, the edits are in large part about making Basil's feelings towards Dorian less obviously romantic.