Summary
and
Analysis
Chapter 9
Summary
Basil Hallward pays Dorian a visit the next morning after the opera. Basil believes he did not attend the opera the night before and is surprised to learn that he did. He can't believe Dorian is so cold-hearted when Sibyl hasn't even been buried. Dorian says he doesn't want to hear about it because it happened in the past. He believes that if he is a strong man, he should be able to control his emotions and dismiss them when he wants to. Basil blames Lord Henry for Dorian's lack of emotion. Dorian admits to Basil that he taught him to be vain. Basil is astounded to learn that Sibyl committed suicide. Dorian informs him that it is fitting that she did so because she is more artistic. "Her death has all the pathetic uselessness of martyrdom, all its wasted beauty." He informs Basil that he has suffered, that he was in excruciating pain yesterday at 5 or 6 p.m. He claims that he no longer feels these emotions and that attempting to recreate them would be a waste of effort. He wants Basil to assist him in seeing the art in it rather than making him feel guilty about it. He asks Basil not to leave him, but rather to quit arguing with him.
Basil is moved by Dorian's remarks and concludes that Dorian may have experienced a temporary loss of emotion and should be punished for it. He pledges not to mention Sibyl to Dorian again. Dorian, on the other hand, requests that he sketch a picture of Sibyl for him. Basil accepts and invites Dorian to come sit for him again, claiming that he can't finish his painting without Dorian. Dorian begins by declaring that he will never be able to sit for Basil again. Basil is taken aback and looks around to see if he can find the portrait he gave to Dorian. Basil is taken aback and looks around to see if he can find the portrait he gave to Dorian. He gets irritated to discover that it is hidden behind a screen and proceeds to approach it. Dorian leaps to his feet and places himself between him and the screen, keeping him away from it. He makes Basil pledge not to look at it again and never to question why. Basil is astonished, but agrees because Dorian's friendship is more important to him than anything else. He informs Dorian that he intends to exhibit the portrait. Dorian recalls the time at Basil's studio when Basil stated passionately that he would never show it. He recalls Lord Henry urging him to question Basil about it one day. Now he does.
Basil unwillingly reveals to him that he has been attracted and dominated by his personality since the first time he met him. He painted portraits of Dorian in many styles, including ancient Greek and Renaissance clothing. He chose to depict Dorian as he was one day, and as he painted each stroke, he grew enthralled by the concept that the painting revealed his idolatry of Dorian. He swore he would never show it again. However, the feeling left him as he delivered the portrait to Dorian. "Art conceals the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him," he recognized. That's when he decided to display the portrait as the centrepiece.
Dorian inhales deeply. He realizes he is safe for the time being because Basil obviously does not know the truth about the picture. Basil believes Dorian sees his idolatry of Dorian in the portrait. He tries to persuade Dorian to let him see the image, but Dorian continues to resist. Dorian walks away from Basil, thinking on what he said to him. He summons his servant, thinking that the image must be stored somewhere where guests will not be able to see it.
Notes
Wilde's novel is structured in the manner of a play. (The Picture of Dorian Gray was Wilde's only complete novel. He wrote more dramas and poetry.) First, the three men go to the play together and observe Sibyl Vane's acting abilities being destroyed. Dorian then scorns her and kills herself. The next morning, one of his admirers approaches him and convinces him that he is not guilty. The next morning, his other admirer approaches him and is surprised that he feels no guilt, but is persuaded to forgive him. Wilde maintains a symmetrical approach to the triangle interaction.
The portrait has been elevated to a new level. Dorian anxiously hides it, certain that anyone who glances at it would see his embarrassment. Basil Hallway, who formerly claimed he would never exhibit the picture for fear of exposing his Dorian Gray devotion, now believes that art is, after all, abstract, consisting just of form and colour.
Chapter 10
Summary
Dorian is sitting in his drawing room when his manservant Victor walks in. He examines Victor to discover if he has viewed the painting behind the curtain. He examines Victor in the mirror to see if he can see anything but "a placid mask of servility." He summons the housekeeper. When she comes, he requests the key to the old schoolroom. She wants to clean it up before he approaches it, but he insists on not having it cleaned. She says it hasn't been used in five years, since his grandfather passed away. Dorian shivers at the thought of his grandfather, who was always cruel to him.
When she goes, he removes the couch cover and drapes it over the portrait. He considers Basil and wonders if he should not have asked Basil to assist him in resisting Lord Henry's influence. He is aware that Basil loves him in more ways than one. However, he abandons the idea of enlisting Basil's assistance, thinking that the future is unavoidable and that the past can always be erased.
He meets the men from the framer's business. Mr. Hubbard, the frame maker, has arrived. He requests that the two men assist him in carrying the portrait upstairs. He sends Victor to Lord Henry's to get him out of the way so that the operation can be hidden from him. They struggle to get the portrait upstairs, and he instructs them to rest it against the wall and leave it.
He despises the thought of leaving it in the dreadful room where he was always sent to get away from his grandfather, who didn't like seeing him, but it's the only room in the house that isn't in use. He imagines how the painting will evolve over time. He is repulsed by the thought of how its picture will exhibit symptoms of aging.
Victor has returned from Lord Henry's by the time he returns downstairs to the library. Lord Henry had sent him a book as well as the newspaper. A line describing the inquest investigating Sibyl Vane's death is marked with a red pen on the document. He throws it away, irritated at Lord Henry for sending it and concerned that Victor noticed the red mark.
Then he takes up the book that Lord Henry had sent him. From the first page, this is a fascinating book. It is a psychological study of a young Parisian who spends his entire life attempting to fulfil all of the passions and styles of thought of earlier ages. It is written in the Symbolists style of France. He considers it a poisonous book. He is unable to put it down. It causes him to be late for dinner with Lord Henry.
Notes
Dorian Gray becomes paranoid over the portrait in this scene. He suspects Victor, his manservant, of snooping around the picture. He wonders if Victor will even demand money for his hidden knowledge of the portrait.
Lord Henry's power grows by the end of the chapter. He gives Dorian a book written by a French Symbolist. Dorian considers it as poisonous as Lord Henry's views, but he is equally attracted by it. Early in the chapter, Dorian wonders if he should have confessed to Basil about the portrait and urged him to spare him from Lord Henry's influence. By the end of the chapter, it is evident that Dorian is no longer under the control of Basil Hallward.
