The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapter 20 presents Dorian as someone torn in his quest to regain his “unsullied beauty of eternal youthfulness”. Wilde suggests that Dorian’s death can be explained by his relationship to the “fatal photograph”, which is either a reminder of Dorian’s true self and deteriorating soul. Hence, this is the only way to determine if Dorian really died by suicide, murder or accident.

Wilde begins the chapter with a pathetic fallacy that conveys the “lovely evening” and could correspond to Dorian’s inherent contentment as well his narcissism, egotism and egocentrism regarding his relief at being safe. Wilde echoes Dorian’s tears in the novel’s earlier sections, including after James Vane was killed. The beautiful, opulent and aristocratic setting in the “lovely nights” mirrors Dorian’s narcissism. This setting also echoes synaesthesia used previously in Lord Henry’s lavish “apricot coloured” habitat. Lord Henry’s Hedonistic Apologetics and “poisonous”, which represents the influence from the Yellow Book that advocates a “complex creature”, lead him to seek “new sensations”. This is an allusion of Pater’s Rennaissance. Wilde uses the past perfect and indirect dialogue in “He often”, and “she had been convinced” to suggest Dorian’s remorse. Dorian is shown to be atoned for his actions with Sybil in that he told the girl “I’m poor” and “wicked”. The “thrush”, which is the image of the “caged-song-bird”, is also a reference to the “thrush”. The alliterative aphorism, “There was punishment in purification”, suggests that Dorian wants to be punished for each sin. Another interpretation is that Dorian declares to the girl that he wants “A New Life!”. He is desperate to change his life, but is not willing to face his sins and their consequences.

Dorian’s relationship towards the portrait also plays a major role in determining his death as murder, suicidal or accidental. Jonah Siegel states that Dorian’s death represents a failure of his historicalism, rather than a moral failing. This externalisation, it could be argued, of Dorian’s moral conscience, may mirror Victorian society’s judgment of Wilde, who was homosexual. And the hypocrisy which characterized the 19th century with its veneer of moral rectitude. The sibilant images here may represent the fact that Dorian is unable to accept his current state and cannot rebuild “silver-splinters”. Dorian’s tragic death, however, is my personal opinion. It is not clear that his stabbing at the portrait was meant as divine retribution. Dorian never realized how it would affect him. Dorian dies as a result of trying to save himself, suggesting that his narcissism led him to form his Faustian deal with his portrait.

You can argue that Dorian died because of the disjunction he had between his inner life and his outer life. It is also possible to debate whether Dorian actually died. Andrew Smith exclaims: “Dorian’s demise represents the inability…and failure…to be artificial”. Dorian’s failure to be authentic is a result of his inability to live according to his moral code. Dorian is also not artificial because he continues to remain young and beautiful, while his painting reveals his corruption. Smith’s paradoxical critique is not entirely my opinion. Wilde claimed in ‘The Decay of Lying that “Life Imitates Art…Art is Reality”. Dorian is not shown in his portrait, but the sin he has accrued, like Basil’s death or Sybil’s suicidal act, remains the same. Dorian’s actions and decisions reflect this. Walter Sickett, whose portrait is said to identify Jack the Ripper, embodies this idea that Art can mirror reality.

In Chapter 20, it’s debatable if Dorian really dies. The caveat “to” suggests an uncertainty. This would confirm Dorian’s ambivalence towards the portrait. You can say that before meeting Lord Henry, Dorian did not wear a mask. His original state was encapsulated by the oxymoronic “poisonous theories” and the “fascinating theories”. Dorian was not himself at death, but merely a copy of Lord Henry, “an echo” of his music. Wilde stated that “Give a Man a Mask, and He’ll Tell the Truth”, which implied Dorian’s beautiful was the truth.

michaellang

Michael Lang is a 33-year-old professor and blogger who is passionate about writing. He has been blogging for over 7 years and has written for various online publications. Michael is also a seasoned professor who has taught at the college level for over a decade. He is currently a professor of English at a community college in the Midwest.