The Picture of Dorian Gray #4

It is evident after reading the seventh and eighth chapters of the Picture of Dorian Gray that Dorian is inadvertently influenced by Lord Henry almost all of the time. This is most clear when Dorian publicly announces Lord Henry’s theories as incorrect, but in the end praises him for his thoughts and opinions. In the previous chapter, Dorian claims that “the mere touch of Sibyl Vane’s hand makes [him] forget [Lord Henry] and all [of his] wrong, fascinating, poisonous, [and] delightful theories” (56). The scene at the movie theater where Dorian rejects all of his Lord Henry’s inputs seem to wash away once Dorian becomes aware of Sibyl’s death later in the reading. The assistance Lord Henry offers Dorian seems to delight him, and Dorian soon realizes the good that has come out of this tragedy: “But I am awfully obliged to you for all that you have said to me. You are certainly my best friend. No one has ever understood me as you have” (76). He feels that he has made a great friend in Lord Henry. Anything Lord Henry suggests seems to stick on Dorian, subtly influencing all of his decisions and actions. Without a doubt, there is a sense of manipulation in Lord Henry, as he is capable of encouraging Dorian to latch on to his bandwagon instead of that of Basil or even Dorian himself. There is no telling whether Lord Henry is as awful as the novel seems to put him up to be, but there is certainly no doubting the obvious fancy Dorian has taken for Lord Henry’s input, even after he has repeatedly refuted him in public. Eventually the audience will learn the truth: whether Lord Henry’s tactics are for better or for worse, and whether Dorian is seriously fixated on the opinions of Lord Henry over that of himself and his other friends.