The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Charatcters traits before sybils death and Dorian character trait after sybil's death?

its a homework that i need to finish

Asked by
Last updated by michelle r #201725
Answers 2
Add Yours

Dorian is a pleasure seeker above all else; he prescribes to the beliefs of 'new hedonism' and follows the teachings of lord Henry's philosophy. His relationship with Sibyl changes this a bit. He's fallen in love, and yet he gives up her love and breaks her heart in order to prove his beliefs. After Sybyl commits suicide he has feeling of deep guilt, but even those feelings can't shake the deep rooted feelings that everything he does is justified by the old 'if it feels good do it' mentality.

Dorian takes his guilt and weighs it against Lord Henry's philosophy, and the philosophy wins out. The philosophy enables him to view Sibyl's suicide as an achievement, it's an artistic ideal; how many people can idealize suicide as an artistic occurence? Not many I think!

After Sibyl's suicide Dorian starts slipping. He indulges in every sin and every type of debauchery, he seems to have no conscience but yet again we eventually see that he does. he commits murder; he kills his best friend in the world, and finally he can't live with himself. Dorian can't live by the moral code, or shall we say lack of that code any longer. After Sibyl's death, although not immdiately we see a man who's capable of human emotion.

Source(s)

The Picture of Dorian Gray

what are the reactions of the poeple to him later on in the novel?