The Picture of Dorian Gray #5

The inevitable outcome has finally arrived, and Lord Henry has successfully poisoned all of what was good inside of Dorian Gray. Earlier chapters hinted at this happening, but Dorian’s reaction about Sibyl towards Basil was the very first evidence of Dorian’s heartless behavior. When Basil comes to express his condolences for Dorian, he refuses to hear it saying, “What is done is done. What is past is past” (79). This attitude is left over from Lord Henry’s visit to Dorian the previous night. As Lord Henry convinces Dorian to look past the depressing moment and move on, he acts differently around other people and even himself, for he has also picked up on Lord Henry’s tone rather than just his message. Unfortunately, this is what Lord Henry expects to happen, and probably began planning for it accordingly. This realization sparks Basil to become frightened and annoyed at Dorian for ignoring his warnings about Lord Henry: “I don’t know what has come over you. You talk as if you had no heart, no pity in you. It is all Harry’s influence. I see that” (79). Basil will later go on to express his fixation for Dorian, and still views his character is repairable. However, Dorian will probably never break free from Lord Henry’s grasp. It appears that Dorian finds Lord Henry much more interesting and entertaining than Basil, and expresses this by refusing to meet Basil at his studio for work and lunch. As the novel progresses, the relationship between Basil and Dorian seems to wither away at Lord Henry’s influence. Ultimately, Dorian will begin to completely filter outside influences for purposes of improving his own hedonistic desires and maintaining a healthy, young, and self-gaining personality.