-OSCAR WILDE-
The Picture of Dorian Gray
CHAPTER 2 - Page 27
He was going to rip up the canvas. With a stifled sob the lad leaped from the couch, and, rushing over to Hallward, tore the knife out of his hand, and flung it to the end of the studio. "Don't, Basil, don't!" he cried. "It would be murder!" [1]
"I am glad you appreciate my work at last, Dorian," said the painter coldly [2] when he had recovered from his surprise. "I never thought you would."
Figure 1: This lithograph served as the frontispiece for a 1908 version of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
"Appreciate it? I am in love with it, Basil. [3] It is part of myself. I feel that." "Well, as soon as you are dry, you shall be varnished, and framed, and sent home. Then you can do what you like with yourself." And he walked across the room and rang the bell for tea. "You will have tea, of course, Dorian? And so will you, Harry? Or do you object to such simple pleasures?"
"I adore simple pleasures," said Lord Henry. "They are the last refuge of the complex. [4] But I don't like scenes, except on the stage. What absurd fellows you are, both of you! I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal [5]. It was the most premature definition ever given. Man is many things, but he is not rational. I am glad he is not, after all--though I wish you chaps would not squabble over the picture. You had much better let me have it, Basil. This silly boy doesn't really want it, and I really do."
"If you let any one have it but me, Basil, I shall never forgive you!" cried Dorian Gray; "and I don't allow people to call me a silly boy." [6]
"You know the picture is yours, Dorian. I gave it to you before it existed."
"And you know you have been a little silly, Mr. Gray, and that you don't really object to being reminded that you are extremely young." "I should have objected very strongly this morning, Lord Henry."
"Ah! this morning! You have lived since then."
Figure 2: Above, a Japanese table, a Georgian urn, and blue china, respectively
There came a knock at the door , and the butler entered with a laden tea-tray and set it down upon a small Japanese table. There was a rattle of cups and saucers and the hissing of a fluted Georgian urn. Two globe-shaped china dishes [7] were brought in by a page. Dorian Gray went over and poured out the tea. The two men sauntered languidly to the table and examined what was under the covers.
Annotations
[1] There are multiple levels of meaning behind this phrase.
Firstly, it foreshadows the connection between the painting and Dorian's soul. A fact not explicitly stated until Chapter 7.
It also serves as foreshadowing of how, when Dorian ultimately attempts to rid himself of the painting, his actions will result in his own murder.
Finally, there is both a dramatic irony and a cosmic irony to the quote. There is dramatic irony because Dorian does not actually realize that he possesses a connection with a painting and yet his words suggest otherwise. There is a kind of cosmic irony because, ultimately, Dorian fails to heed his own words.
[2] Wilde's diction clearly illustrates the growing rift between Dorian and Basil. This is shown not only by the use of the adverb "coldly" but also of the noun "painter" instead of "Basil." This dehumanization of Basil shows how the warm human connection between Basil and Dorian is degrading.
[3] Dorian is incredibly narcissistic and this narcissism is evident in his enrapturement with his own image. There are many parallels between Dorian and the myth of Narcissus and these can be explored here.
[4] This is an example of one of Wilde's famous epigrams.
During the Industrial Era, the connection between man and nature was increasingly distant. Mass urbanization and industrialization freed people from working the land. However, at the turn of the century, many began to yearn for the simpler times that had been left behind. This yearning is evident in the Pre-Raphaelites' works, such as Waterhouse's The Lady of Shallot.
The wealthy thus wished to make their lives simpler.
[5] The idea of man being a rational animal predates Plato. It is even evident in the name Homo sapiens.
During the era, there was increasing criticism of this viewpoint, not only by aesthetes like Wilde, but by the scientific community, which increasingly viewed man as an irrational beast thanks to the spread of the theory of evolution.
[6] The Picture of Dorian Gray can be viewed as a bildungsroman in that Dorian undergoes growth in his development. At the beginning he truly is a "silly boy".
His insistence on not being called a silly boy also shows how much he yearns for others' approval and respect, particularly Lord Henry's.
[7] The various items described here illustrate the vast reach of British imperialism during this era. Items from the Far East (blue China and a Japanese table), India (tea), and Great Britain (a Georgian urn).
hat was he doing there? His fingers were straying about among the litter of tin tubes and dry brushes, seeking for something. Yes, it was for the long palette-knife, with its thin blade of lithe steel. He had found it at last.
Analysis
This page of the novel is key to the progression to the plot. Two main ideas are presented in this selection. The first is the changing dynamic between the characters of Lord Henry, Basil, and Dorian. At this point, Dorian and Basil are having their first major disagreement. Meanwhile, Dorian has fully absorbed the hedonist ideas of Lord Henry and now looks to him for approval in his actions. This shift in loyalties is key to the progression of the rest of the plot and establishes Basil as a symbol for consciousness (the superego) and Lord Henry as a symbol for aestheticism (the id).
The second main idea is the introduction of the idea of a connection between Dorian and his painting. Oscar Wilde was very fond of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and many of the ideas from that short story can be found in Wilde’s novel. For example, the idea that the soul can transfigure its “clay continent” is an idea that is central to the plot of Stevenson’s story. Just as how Stevenson leaves various clues to the reader to allow them to piece together the mystery of Mr. Hyde as the story progresses, so too does Wilde offer glimpses into the nature of the portrait prior to its reveal in Chapter 7.
Together these two key points form the basis of, not only Chapter 2, but also the novel. Chapter 2 lays the foundation for Wilde’s more probing examination of the human psyche in the subsequent chapters, and even if examined in isolation, this passage allows for Wilde to illustrate a wide range of ideas and characterizations in a dynamic setting, thus capturing the audience’s attention from the beginning of the novel.
