Chapter 15 and 16

Quote: "As Dorian Gray drove back to his own house, he was conscious that the sense of terror he thought he had strangled had come back to him. Lord Henry's casual questioning had maded him lose his nerve for the moment, and he wanted his nerve still" (Wilde 186).

Explanation: Here Dorian Gray is discussing the fear and horror he felt after Lord Henry had asked him about what he did the night of Basil's murder. He feels the anxiety of being reminded of the deadly night in which he thought he would never have to think about again. He makes the assumption that after getting rid of the body he would be able to get rid of the sin and the guilt but he is just reminded of this sin because of Lord Henry. So once again he must try to bear with his sins and the fruits of his life of pleasure. But he has no desire, let alone the means, to deal with the sin for he has lived this pleasurable life for a long time. And he will most likely be unable to thwart off bearing his sin for "the dead linger sometimes. The man up-stairs will not go away" (174).

Quote: "To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul [...] He had often tried it, and would try it again now. There were opium dens [...] where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new" (189).

Explanation: And as it is becoming glaringly obvious that Dorian must deal with his sin sooner or later, Dorian chooses to try to avoid it. It is choice based on the fact that he has never trully grappled with his wrong doings and errors. And now when one of his mistakes comes to haunt him he chooses to take the easy way out and try to run away from it, rather then deal with it. He tries to use the one thing he knows best to help him forget his woes, pleasure: "he was determined to forget" (189). But he nows that his sins are catching up to him, he knows that he must deal with them but he has no idea how to deal with them: "He was prisoned in thought [...] he wanted to escape himself" (193).

Vocab:
Bulwark: an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
"He jovially termed it- was shown to be the proper bulwark of Society" (185).

Incorrigible: impervious to correction by punishment
"Isn't he incorrigible?" (183).