Quote: 

Passage from Chapter 7, pg 127

” Cruelty! Had he been cruel? It was the girls’ fault, not his…. She had been shallow and unworthy. And yet, a feeling of infinite regret came over him, as he thought of her lying at his feet like a little child…Why had he been made like that? Why had such a soul been given to him? ” (Oscar Wilde)

Comment:

This is an interesting passage to look at because throughout the novel up this point, Dorian has been described by Basil and Lord Henry as someone who is pure and innocent and someone who just has it all. Dorian has been very acceptive of this and loves to receive these types of praises. But did he ever stop and think about who he actually was? Did he want people to view him in this way, of having no imperfections? People have the tendency to see the surface of who someone is and someone like Lord Henry likes to take those surface characteristics and fixate one those and nothing else. In the moment where Dorian rejects Sibyl something is uncovered, a side that is new to him, anger and frustration. This is what he doesn’t understand, how a beautiful person such as himself can have a cruel side. Again, nobody is perfect and instead of trying to accept this side of him he instead goes on to say that women do better with these emotions and not men. It’s also interesting when he talks about his soul and how earlier he had mentioned he would give his soul to remain the pure and innocent person that he currently was. This is the breakthrough moment where he realizes he can have his portrait take on the emotions that he does not want to accept. 

Question:

Why doesn’t Dorian have the willingness to accept that he can feel and that just because he is a “perfect” person, there should be exceptions for him? Will there ever be a point where he will understand this?