Notes

• Dorian Gray avoids justice because of his beauty – people cannot believe that
someone as beautiful as he is can commit atrocities.
• Sibyl’s death is a direct result of Dorian’s cruelty towards her. Because her death is
ruled a suicide, there will be no inquest. He can also not be implicated in her death as
her family does not know his name. Dorian is not called upon to face justice.
• Initially, after seeing the first change in the portrait, Dorian realises that the portrait acts
as his conscience and he vows to behave better and resist temptation. He even
resolves to avoid Lord Henry in future.
• After Harry’s insistence that Sibyl’s suicide is an artistic act, Dorian manages to shrug
off his guilt. He even convinces himself that she is the guilty one for putting him through
embarrassment in front of his friends.
• DG’s cruel / sinful acts are revealed only in the portrait which is kept hidden in the
schoolroom. He regards the portrait as the bearer of his conscience and soul.
• He becomes ambivalent about the portrait’s role as his conscience. At times he takes
delight in watching the changes in the portrait and at other times he resents the way
the picture shows his degrading soul.
• He does become increasingly paranoid that someone will see the portrait and discover
his secret.
• Basil’s murder does weigh heavily on his mind but he is more plagued by the fact that
it bothers him rather than the murder itself.
• His attitude to Basil’s death is similar to his attitude towards Sibyl. He finds a way to
blame Basil in his own mind, in an effort to avoid his conscience. BUT the portrait’s
slow degradation continues unchecked.
• Dorian escapes James Vane’s first attack as his youthful appearance saves him.
• He revels in Vane’s horror at almost killing (who he believes to be) the wrong person.
• Vane is accidentally killed later, severing the last possible tie with Sibyl’s death.
• He becomes addicted to drugs (opium) in an attempt to soothe his conscience and
escape his memories.
• However, the portrait’s appearance makes it impossible for him to avoid the decay of
his soul and the extent of his guilt.
• When his “sparing” of Hetty Merton results in a further degradation of the portrait, he
realises he can never escape his conscience as the portrait is indeed a true reflection
of his soul. He cannot fool the portrait with his vain attempt at redemption.
• His attempt at redemption is more an experiment to try and improve the picture, that a
real desire to change.
• In an attempt to eradicate his conscience and guilt, he stabs the painting which
inadvertently causes his own death, proving that ultimately he cannot escape his
conscience.