Dorian Gray: Chapter 8

“There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel that no one else has the right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution” (100).

• Dorian feels contrite for how badly he treated Sibyl, so he goes about his search for forgiveness by writing a heartfelt letter to her. Dorian expresses that by doing so, he is recognizing his sin and is already forgiven. Through this quote Dorian articulates a thought/feeling that we have all had at one point. When we come to terms with our wrongdoing, we have the feeling that, because we have recognized our sin, no one else has the right to accuse us. In other words, because we have repented, there is no need for further judgment. This passage also relates to other characters we have come across, such as Proctor and Dimmesdale. Both went through struggles and hardships before coming to the understanding of where exactly absolution can be found, wheras Dorian immediately knew how to obtain forgivness.

“To you at least she was always a dream, a phantom that flitted through Shakespeare’s plays and left them lovelier for its presence… The moment she touched actual life, she marred it, and it marred her, and so she passed away” (107).

• What we previously spoke about in class is confirmed by this passage. Dorian fell in love with Sibyl’s talent in acting out the roles of extremely romantic women in history. Sibyl was always perfect and romantic because Imogen, Desdemona, and Juliet were all perfect and romantic. Dorian had not seen Sibyl in a genuine state, just her persona. He fell in love with the idea of being in love but was stabbed by reality after witnessing a glimpse of the real Sibyl. The instant “she touched actual life” (107) she died, just as Dorian's love for her died.
  

Definitions:

“Was there some subtle affinity between the chemical atoms, that shaped themselves into form and color on the canvas, and the soul that was within him?” (99).

Affinity: (noun) a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc

“Did it merely take cognizance of what passed within the soul?" (109).

Cognizance: (noun) awareness, realization, or knowledge; notice; perception

Dorian Gray: Chapter 7

"You used to stir my imagination. Now you don't even stir my curiosity. You simply produce no effect. I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid. My God! how mad I was to love you! What a fool I have been! You are nothing to me now. I will never see you again." (91)

• This quote reveals Dorian’s true feelings for Sibyl. He was not in love with her, as he had previously made known. He was simply in love with her stage character. Dorian had become utterly obsessed with her artistic background and found happiness through watching her graceful and charming performances. Without her wonderful performances and her ability to “mimic a passion” (91), Dorian has no reason to love Sibyl and is no longer drawn to her. This relationship is in direct correlation with the relationship between Basil and Dorian. Basil had simply wanted Dorian to be a “sitter” for his own artistic benefit. Basil became infatuated with Dorian’s ability to be painted but not exactly for his own character. It is true when Dorian expresses that once he grows old, Basil will no longer be drawn to him because all the beauty and youthfulness Dorian once had will disappear.

“It held the secret of his life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beauty. Would it teach him to loathe his own soul? Would he ever look at it again?" (95).

• Youth and beauty is the secret of life that is present in the portrait. Lord Henry helped Dorian come to the understanding that his youth and beauty should be cherished because it can slip away quickly; however, the painting captured his current beauty, which would be ever-present. To his surprise, the painting that had once “taught him to love his own soul” (95) had lines of age. It was now “the visible emblem of [his] conscience” (96). The portrait was aging, showing Dorian his wrongdoing and evidently encouraging him to do good. The painting forces him to face his ugly inner sinful acts while he remains physically beautiful.

Definitions:

The air was heavy with the perfume of the flowers, and their beauty seemed to bring him an anodyne for his pain” (93).

Anodyne: (noun) a medicine that relieves or allays pain

The fresh morning air seemed to drive away all his sombre passions” (96).

Sombre (somber): (adjective) gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted

Dorian Gray: Chapter 5 and 6

“When I am with her, I regret all that you have taught me. I become different from what you have known me to be. I am changed, and the mere touch of Sibyl Vane’s hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (82).

• In this quote, Dorian expresses his feelings when he is in Sibyl’s presence. Instead of being under Lord Henry’s influence, he feels as though Sibyl has a different affect on him. Sibyl brings a whole new perspective of life to Dorian and he becomes a different person. Does this mean that Dorian is not naïve, but instead purposely willing to be influenced? All the theories and sayings of Lord Henry that had seeped into Dorian’s mind take on new meanings when he is with Sibyl. Everything he had once been taught becomes irrational while anything new from Sibyl, we can assume, is seen as the gospel truth. In this quote, we can also see Dorian’s character as being easily influenced, not only by intellect and the power of words but also by strong emotions and love.

“Pleasure is Nature’s test, her sign of approval. When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy” (82).

• Lord Henry expresses that those who are happy do good things, but those who are good are not always happy. However, what determines “good”? One’s good could be extremely detrimental to another’s well being. And if so, could that be considered as bad? Lord Henry describes being good as being “in harmony with one’s self” (82). However, if being in harmony with oneself is makes a person in discord with others, can that really be good? In a general understanding of Lord Henry’s statement, one can come to the conclusion that Lord Henry is attempting to portray the fact that, when we are good which could mean following set rules, a person is not exactly happy because they may feel a type of restriction on their lives.

Definitions:

“You pain me, my son. I trust you will return from Australia in a position of affluence” (66).

Affluence: (n) abundance of money, property, and other material goods; riches; wealth

“Leaden with fear, his mother watched him” (74).

Leaden: (adj) inertly heavy like lead; hard to lift or move

Dorian Gray: Chapter 4

"After all, it never would have happened if I had not met you. You filled me with a wild desire to know everything about life. For days after I met you, something seemed to throb in my veins" (52).

• This quote reveals the influence Lord Henry had on Dorian. Dorian expresses that Lord Henry has encouraged him to alter his perception of certain things and see the world differently. Dorian even begins repeating aphorisms that Lord Henry may have said. Lord Henry’s wife notes this: “I always hear Harry’s views from his friends. It is the only way to get to know of them” (49). This discloses Lord Henry’s past reputation of manipulating his previous friends and Basil, being aware of this, attempts to warn Dorian but fails. The warning proved unsuccessful because Dorian clearly articulates to Lord Henry, “You have a curious influence over me” (56).

"Human life-- that appeared to him the one thing worth investigating. Compared to it there was nothing else of any value. It was true that as one watched life in its curious crucible of pain and pleasure, one could not wear over one’s face a mask of glass, nor keep the sulphurous fumes from troubling the brain” (61).

• Lord Henry seems to have found pleasure and excitement in observing Dorian’s sudden change in lifestyle. Dorian’s human nature has become Lord Henry’s newfound interest because Lord Henry is witnessing his own thoughts and views manifested through another human being. His previous studies of natural science had become trivial compared to the sensation Lord Henry felt when examining and witnessing such a fascinating human life: "Certainly few people had ever interested him so much as Dorian Gray" (61).

Definitions:

“I went out and wandered eastward, soon losing my way in a labyrinth of grimystreets and black, grassless squares" (52).

Labyrinth: (noun) an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit

“It was a tawdry affair, all cupids and cornucopias, like a third-rate wedding-cake” (53).

Tawdry: (adj) gaudy; showy and cheap

Dorian Gray: Chapter 3

"Yes, he would try to be to Dorian Gray what, without knowing it, the lad was to the painter who had fashioned him the wonderful portrait. He would seek to dominate him-- had already, indeed, half done so. He would make that wonderful spirit his own. There was something fascinating in this son of Love and Death" (40).

• Dorian Gray is “a motive in art” (13) for Basil. Basil is fascinated by Gray’s personality and his very being inspires Basil to paint some of his best work. This is what Lord Henry wants to be for Dorian Gray. Realizing what influence Gray has had on Basil, Lord Henry longs be the same for Gray. Lord Henry wants to have an impact on Gray’s thoughts and actions, where Gray is enthralled by Lord Henry’s very presence. By impressing his own thoughts on Gray, Lord Henry is in fact obtaining a feeling of youth and beauty.

"To get back one's youth one has merely to repeat one's follies" (44).

• In this quote, Lord Henry explains his theory of how to regain one’s youthfulness. When a person is young, several mistakes are made but one never regrets making them. Therefore, in order to feel young, one must make the same mistakes so it can remind them of their youth. In doing so, the past experiences will evoke a sense of adolescence and vitality that may not be felt at the older age.
  

Definitions:

“I am told pork-packing is the most lucrative profession in America, after politics” (38).

Lucrative: (adj) profitable; moneymaking; remunerative

“He played with the idea, and grew willful…made it iridescent with fancy, and winged it with paradox.

Iridescent: (adj) displaying a play of lustrous colors like those of the rainbow

Dorian Gray: Chapter 1 and 2

"I have put into it some expression of all this curious artistic idolatry, of which, of course, I have never cared to speak to him. He knows nothing about it. He shall never know anything about it. But the world might guess it; and I will not bare my soul to their shallow, prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under a microscope. There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry-- too much of myself!" (13).

• In this quote, Basil expresses his reasoning to why he cannot exhibit his work of art. He explains that the painting of Dorian Gray reveals a part of himself that no one knows. Basil has revealed “the secret of [his] own soul” (7) and is not willing for others to be critics of it. He does not overtly express what his secret is but the reader can assume that it is his feelings toward Dorian Gray. Basil is also convinced that people will delve into the meaning behind the painting as if it “were meant to be a form of autobiography” (13).

“Beauty is a form of Genius--is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has its divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it” (24).

• Basil is aware of Lord Henry’s influence on others and warns him not to influence Dorian Gray. However, Lord Henry succeeds in influencing him. Lord Henry explains to Gray that beauty is greater than genius only because beauty is understood universally, while genius demands an explanation. In the eyes of Lord Henry, beauty is youth. Lord Henry convinces Gray that he must cherish his youth while he can because it is extremely important. Without youth comes a life filled with sorrow because beauty is no longer present. Once Gray loses his youth, he loses everything. Lord Henry emphasizes the importance of youth because with youth come the pleasures of life: “Youth! Youth! There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth!” (25).

Definitions:

“I remember her bringing me up to a truculent and red-faced old gentlemen”(9).

Truculent: (adj) fierce; cruel; savagely brutal

“There was something in his low, languid voice that was absolutely fascinating” (23).

Languid: (adj) lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow

Scarlet Letter: Ch. 23-24

"The sun, but little past its meridian, shown down upon the clergymen, and gave a distinctness to his figure, as he stood out from all the earth, to put his plea of guilty at the bar of Eternal Justice" (227).

• Although Dimmesdale has returned to his frail and feeble state, he makes an effort to make himself right with God by confessing his sin right before his death. Throughout the book, we have been informed of Dimmesdale’s constant inner conflict. He never once searched for redemption from the townspeople-- solely from God. In doing so, he is making known that only God can judge and give absolution for one’s sin.
  

“Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it” (229).

• Previously rejecting Dimmesdale’s kiss in the forest, Pearl now kisses him in daylight. This can be seen as a sign of acceptance from Pearl. Also, the event had a great emotional affect on Pearl, which Hester had been awaiting when she had previously stated that she wanted Pearl to experience “a grief that should deeply touch her, and thus humanize and make her capable of sympathy” (166). This occurrence was indeed a significant act for Pearl and resulted in the maturing of the “elf-child”.
  

“As regarded its origin, there were various explanations, all of which must necessarily have been conjectural” (230).

Conjecture: the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof (www.dictionary.com)

“We have thrown all the light we could acquire upon the portent and would gladly, now that it has done its office, erase its deep print out of our brain” (230).

Portent: an indication or omen of something about to happen, esp. something momentous (www.dictionary.com)