Picture of Dorian Gray pg. 47

"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 was something special to Basil. Dorian opened up another side of Basil. Without meaning to be, Dorian was an inspiration that allowed Basil to expand his art and realize what it means to put oneself into a piece of art. Something about Dorian consumed Basil, making him reveal everything about himself through his art. Lord Henry wanted to be this for Dorian. Lord Henry is very intrigued by Dorian because of his beauty and the tragedy that it had grown from. Lord Henry wants to be Dorian's guide and inspiration. I believe that Lord Henry wants to do this so Dorian will reveal himself and leave himself completely open. If that happens, Lord Henry believes that he will be able to figure out how such beauty can come out of tragedy and how the two are connected.



"I cannot sympathize with that. It is too ugly, too horrible, too distressing. There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain. One should sympathize with the color, the beauty, the joy of life. The less said about life's sores the better"(43).

Lord Henry chooses to not view the negatives in life. He focus on love, beauty, and youth. Those qualities are mainly the only things in life he cares about at all. He does not want to deal with the unfavorable aspects of life such as pain. Lord Henry is so obsessed with love and beauty that he refuses to think deeply on ideas like pain. However, his ideas about life and pain do somewhat contradict himself. He states that he believes people should focus about the positives in life and not the downfalls, while he seems very interested in the connection between beauty and tragedy: "Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic"(39).


"Worlds had to be in travail, that the meanest flower might blow"(39).
travail- painfully burdensome work; toil

"and let it tarry there for a moment"(39).
tarry- to remain or stay; wait