Dorian Grey Chapter 7

1) “So what does it matter if she plays Juliet like a wooden doll? She is very lovely, and if she knows as little about life as she does about acting, she will be a delightful experience. There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating­­­­­–people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing” (89).

When Dorian brings Basil and Henry to see Sibyl act, she performs terribly, and Dorian feels embarrassed and heartbroken. Lord Henry then says this quote, and it only makes Basil tell Henry to leave. Dorian cannot bear to hear Henry's theories about the girl that he loved. From what he says it is obvious that Henry does not think much of marriage. He thinks that all Sibyl needs is to be beautiful, and if she knows nothing, it makes her all the more fascinating. Dorian loved Sibyl mostly because she was such a talented actress, but now that she has lost that quality he falls out of love. This is ironic because it is Dorian's love for her that makes her act poorly. So it is his love for her that breaks his heart. He confesses to Sibyl that he no longer loves her, but at the end of the chapter he decides to make amends with her. It seems that this relationship will be much more complex then Dorian originally thought.

2) “For every sin that he committed, a stain would fleck and wreck its fairness. But he would not sin. The picture, changed or unchanged, would be to him the visible emblem of conscience. He would resist temptation. He would not see Lord Henry any more–would not, at any rate, listen to those subtle, poisonous theories” (96).

This is Dorian's reaction to the portrait's ability to change. Dorian saw that when he was cruel to Sibyl the portrait had a cruel expression. Dorian then realizes that what he had wished at Basil's house was coming true. The portrait would show all of his sins and changes, while he will remain young. Dorian decides that he will use the portrait as a symbol of his conscience, thus preventing him from committing sin, and reminding him to resist temptation. He then resolves to stay away from Lord Henry, or at least avoid living by Lord Henry's theories. He decides this because he believes it is Lord Henry's fault that he made this wish for eternal youthfulness. Dorian now seems to recognize the influence that Lord Henry has on him. Will the portrait really be a reminder for Dorian to avoid sin? It may become a scapegoat for Dorian's mistakes. This will Dorian to live his life very differently if he finds out that the painting will take the fall for anything that he does. Dorian may live as if he was immortal because of this phenomenon, and as a result he may become immoral.

Definitions:

1) “The air was heavy with the perfume of the flowers, and their beauty seemed to bring him an anodyne for his pain” (93). 

anodyne: noun- a medicine that relieves pain

2) “Yet she was curiously listless” (87).

listless: adjective- having or showing little or no interest in anything