Well, now that I finished the story of Dorian Gray, I'm thinking that I maybe I shouldn't have used that book as my first post. Strange book in that as Dorian moves through his life, he makes morally wrong choices. He becomes evil on the inside but his outer appearance is not affected by his decisions; he retains his handsome, youthful look. His painting, on the other hand, takes on his inner character and becomes an ugly, disfigured creature. He experiences reversed metamorphosis, from a beautiful butterfly to an ugly worm.
What a sad picture of a world without the One True God, who is able to transform us, to metamorphosize us, from the inside out, if we let Him. May I keep that goal ever before me--I want to become a Blue Morpho didius.