A Life of Sensations

"'how horribly real ugliness made things" (120).
Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

Points for Reflection

O. Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) chps. 15-20

1. are the altered states induced by smells, images, and sounds an intrinsic good to Dorian?
2. is the aging process awarded any positive qualities within this book—the wisdom presumed to be born of experience, perhaps?
3. how does Wilde go about establishing a dark, Gothic atmosphere for the horrific events of chapter thirteen?  Pay close attention to the setting.
4. after viewing the altered portrait, what does Basil ask Dorian to do?
5. why is it that no one will notice Basil’s absence in London for at least four months?
6. do Basil's opinions concerning his two friends find purchase and take root in today's readings, or are they violently rebuffed?
   • Lord Henry: does the narrative thus far support Basil’s opinion (8, 12, 73) that Lord Henry is, deep down, a morally upright guy?
   • Dorian: in the same way that Basil once concluded “[Dorian] would never bring misery upon any one” (75), Basil again convinces himself that there is “so much in [Dorian] that was good, so much in him that was noble” (107).  Does today’s reading support Basil’s reiterated optimism about Dorian’s character?
7. Dorian’s lessons in psychology from Lord Henry may be of doubtful value—as Alan Campbell suggests (161)—but the final chapters of this novel present a number of suggestions about human nature to the attentive reader.  Identify some of them.
8. in what ways do these last chapters apply a final test to the validity of Lord Henry’s hedonistic ideals, particularly the following claims?
   • "'Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul'" (23).
   • "'To get back one's youth, one has merely to repeat one's follies [. . .] the only things one neer regrets are one's mistakes'" (42).
   • "'It is better to be beautiful than to be good'" (186).
   • "'Romance lives by repetition, and repetition converts an appetite into an art" (188).
   • "'The only horrible thing in the world is ennui [boredom], Dorian. That is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness'" (194).
   • "'Art [has] a soul, but man [has] not'" (205).
   • "'Art has no influence upon action. It annihilates the desire to act. It is superbly sterile'" (208).
9. as Dorian enters Lady Narborough’s drawing-room, he congratulates himself on the even tenor of his present affect: “He himself could not help wondering at the calm of his demeanour, and for a moment felt keenly the terrible pleasure of a double life” (167).  Does he sustain this calm throughout the dinner party?
10. why does the portrait not change for the better after Dorian breaks off a relationship with the country girl Hetty Merton instead of going ahead and ruining her?
11. how close does Dorian come to walking a righteous path, and what obstacles (external & internal) does he encounter?
12. does this novel suggest that Dorian’s post-portrait life choices were an inevitable consequence of circumstances (environmental, inborn) outside his control?  Do body and blood dictate fate?
13. is it possible to find someone—of either sex—beautiful without sexually desiring them?
14. in the first edition (1890), Wilde ended the novel with a chapter that combined elements from chps. 13, 19, and 20.  What is gained by the inclusion of everything that happens between chapters 14-18?  Is anything lost?
15. is there, finally, a character who serves as moral compass throughout this novel?  If so, who is it?  Lord Henry Wotton?  Jim Vane?  Basil Hallward? The Portrait?
16. whose initial estimation of Dorian Gray proved more correct, Basil’s upon first meeting him (9-10) or Lord Wotton’s after seeing only his portrait (7)?

Le Soleil (1912)
Edvard Munch

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu