PoDG Ch. 15

1.) "'No, I don't mean that. I didn't go to the club. I walked about. I forget what I did...How inquisitive you are, Harry! You always want to know what one has been doing. I always want to forget what I have been doing. I came in at half-past two, if you wish to know the exact time. I had left my latch-key at home, and my servant had to let me in. If you want any corroborative evidence on the subject you can ask him'" (Wilde 186).

Basil's death still haunts Dorian. Otherwise, Dorian would not be so fidgety and jumpy as he is when talking to Henry. Henry is simply asking him what he did the night before. What does Dorian do? He lashes out, turns the tables and goes on the offensive. Rather than answer the question forwardly, he complains that Henry always has to know everything about him. He equivocates, saying he forgets what he did. He goes out of his way to establish proof of what he says he did that night, as if he were being interrogated and needed an alibi. All Henry asked was if he went to the club or not. Dorian is still troubled by Basil's death. His memory is what made Dorian trip up like that. I think that murder is finally catching up to Dorian. Dorian has been able to commit a world of sin without batting an eye, but murder is an entirely new step for him that is far too much. Not only did he murder anyone, but he murdered a friend, a friend that cared about him and wanted the best for him. Basil, in turn, got a knife to the neck. I think that Dorian has been able to endure every sin up to this point: murder is the straw that broke the camel's back. Of course, this would have to concede that actually has a conscience and moral ideals, which I'm not entirely sure of. He may though, have sense enough to know the severity of his crime.

2.) "It was a small Chinese box. [...] He opened it. Inside was a green paste,* waxy in luster, the odor curiously heavy and persistent'" (188).

At the end of chapter 15, we are left with a question: what is inside the box? What is this paste that Dorian feels the need to see so suddenly? It is like he tried not to take the box out, which was hidden in what sounded like a secret compartment. Why would this be hidden, and why would Dorian hesitate to open it? The footnote at the bottom of the page gives us some insight: "*Wilde scholar H. Montgomery Hyde suggests this may be a poison or aphrodisiac drug" (188). If it turns out to be the latter, then my prediction will be completely null and void. If, however, this paste was the former, if it was a deadly poison that Dorian has hidden away in house, it may be more important. It sounds as though Dorian has been considering suicide. Before, at Lady Narborough's party, Dorian speaks of the end of the world: "'I wish it were fin du globe,' said Dorian, with a sigh. 'Life is a great disappointment'" (183). Dorian is basically saying that the world has no more interest for him. It is all one big let-down. This statement certainly does seem to exude such a pessimistic air on Dorian's part. I can not help but think of why Dorian would want to kill himself if he in theory could not be harmed. The portrait would take any wear and tear that his body would naturally go through. Any wrinkles lines age the portrait and not himself. That, though, makes sense why Dorian would want to end his life. It is the same radical concept of killing yourself when you are happiest. That way, you will leave at your happiest, and you will never be less happy. In Dorian's case, he cannot be any less beautiful than he is already, but he has already experienced everything he would have wanted. Killing himself now would mean that he would die beautiful. This is something he always wanted: immortal beauty. If he ends his life now, he would avoid the risk of his deal somehow ending too soon, or any other unforeseen detail. He could strike first before he himself is stricken down. I also think that it is a combination of this and the fact that he has murdered one of his friends that drive him to suicide. Murdering a friend is usually a big deal.