chapter 8

Quote: "It had made him conscious how unjust, how cruel, he had been to Syble Vane. [...] the portrait that Basil Hawward had painted of him would be a guide to him through life, would be to him what holiness is to some, and conscience to others, and the fear of God to us all" (100).

Explanation: This excerpt is explaining Dorian's mind set at the beginning of the chapter, when he is free of Lord Henry manipulative reach. Dorian has become more conscious of his actions and how awful he was to Syble Vane. And he notes that the picture serves as a physical symbol of his moral compass , his conscience. And Dorian makes a committment to being a decent person with good intentions, to being a good moral agent. But when Lord Henry visits Dorian, Dorian is again corrupted by Lord Henry's bad influence, and his former disdain for henry, "Yes, it was better let Lord Henry in , and [...] to quarrel with him [...] [and] to part" (100), becomes respect and reliance, "I am awfully obliged to you for all that you have said to me. You are certainly my best friend. No one has ever understood me as you have" (108).

Quote: "He felt that the time had really come for making his choice. Or had his choice already been made? Yes, life had decided that for him-life, and his own infinite curiousity about life. Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasure subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins-he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame; that was all" (109).

Explanation: Here Dorian finally makes the decision to live a life of pleasure and temptation, he will give in and fullfill every thought, desire, and hunger. Though he says that it is due to some other force and his curiousity. Yes after talking with Lord Henry he finally changed and is now fully subjected to Lord Henry's testing  of Lord Henry's morals but Dorian references the portrait saying that it would "bear the burden of his shame" (109), meaning he has some some shame for giving into this pleasurable  life yet chooses to do so anyways and he is shifting the guilt that comes from it to the painting. Thus he is making the decision to change, he is to blame for any bad consquences that are to come.

Vocab:

Abject: of the most contemptible kind

"I say nothing about the social mistake, which would have been abject"(104).

Affinity: kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship

"Was there some subtle affinity between the chemical atoms" (99).