Since values and literature first went hand in hand, texts have examined many values and ideas that have changed over time in accordance to society. We are able to see how literature has changed, stayed the same since the Victorian era through studying modern texts. The film `Bedazzled', directed by Harold Ramis in 2000 and Patricia Cornwell's non-fiction work `Portrait of a killer - Jack the ripper, case closed' written in 2002 and both examine the human condition and share many themes with Oscar Wilde's `The picture of Dorian Gray'.

The importance of the soul is a significant value in `The picture of Dorian Gray' and in the film `Bedazzled'. In both these texts, the protagonists; Elliot Richards and Dorian Gray, barter their souls for the thing they want most. Dorian Gray makes a wish and that his portrait should age and he would remain young and beautiful for eternity...