Dorian Gray ch 9-10

"The lad was actually pallid with rage"(115).
pallid- pale; faint or deficient in color

"She lingered for a few moments, and was garrulous over some detail of the household"(122).
garrulous- excessively talking in a rambling manner


"I should like to have something more of her than the memory of a few kisses and some broken, pathetic words"(115).

Through this quote we are able to inadvertently see Harry's effect on Dorian. Harry is constantly influencing Dorian about his twisted thoughts about life. Harry holds youth and beauty in the highest regard, and is convincing Dorian to have the same priorities. Dorian is highly influenced by everything that Harry says and also believes that beauty should be everyone's highest priority. As we see here, even in Sybil's death, Dorian does not choose to remember her life. He sees her as the beautifully tragic ending to the perfect play in a chapter of his life. All he wants to remember is her beauty. He does not care about the pain or remorse he felt (or should feel) and he does not care about the love that he was so sure they shared. All he cares about is remembering her beauty in a picture painted by Basil. He declares the other memories about her as worthless. This is completely Harry's influence over Dorian.


"He recalled the stainless purity of his boysih life, and it seemed horrible to him that it was here the fatal portrait was to be hidden away. How little he had thought, in those dead days, of all that was in store for him!"(125).

Dorian cannot stand to look at his portrait and the new face it is displaying. He knows that it is his conscience and his innermost feelings. He cannot face his conscience himself, and he does not want others to see his deepest secrets either. Therefore, he chooses to hide the painting in the attic of his house. To a certain extent, Dorian grew up in this room. He used to play in it as a child, and then used it as a study. Before Dorian met Harry, and as a child, he was innocent, moral, and good. He is now corrupt and sinful as we see how he really is through is portrait. This further shows how much Dorian is being overtaken and dominated by Harry and his sinful ways. Even the painting is overtaking the room where his innocent childhood memories once stood.