PODG: Ch. 15

"Don't tell me that you have exhausted Life. When a man says that, one knows that Life has exhausted him. Lord Henry is a very wicked man" (184).

Lady Narborough is like the female version of Lord Henry. If not, then she is very different from the other characters we have met in the book. When Lord Henry states his philosophies, most people are intrigued by what he has to say. For example, when Lord Henry says, "moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast" (185), Lady Ruxton is intrigued and insists that he "must come and explain that to [her] some afternoon [because] it sound[ed] a fascinating theory" (185). Unlike Lady Ruxton's reponse, Lady Narborough responds to Lord Henry's philosophies with her own, like the quote shown above. It seems as though Lord Henry has found someone of equal intellect. Lord Henry makes remarks about women and Lady Narborough makes remarks about men. She has the same fascination for Lord Henry that Lord Henry had for Dorian when they first met: "You must come and dine with me soon again. You are really an admirable tonic" (184). She is "not at all surprised that the world says [Lord Henry is] extremely wicked" (182) and wishes "sometimes [...] that [she] had been" (184) the same, which has not been the reaction of any of the characters in the book so far. Lady Narborough also does not fall for Dorian like females usually do. Instead, she recognizes the fact that she probably would have "fallen madly in love with [him and] thrown [her] bonnet right over the mills for" (180) him if she met him in her earlier years, but she is glad that this did not happen, which gives us an idea of her sensibility. Lady Narborough knows that falling in love with him would not go well, especially because she knows Dorian's history with women. This does not sound like the usual thinking the women Dorian interacts with have. Thus, Lady Narborough is unlike any character we have met so far.


"At dinner [Dorian] could not eat anything. Plate after plate went away untasted. [...] Now and then Lord Henry looked across at him, wondering, [...] 'what is the matter with you to-night? You are quite out of the sorts'" (181).

The reason behind Dorian's odd behavior can be directed back to Basil's murder. Dorian seems to be having trouble and worrying about this issue. He had no problem with Sibyl's death, but that could also be because he did not physically kill her. Dorian once told Basil after hearing of Sibyl's death, "if you really want to console me, teach me, rather to forget what has happened, or to see it from a proper artistic point of view" (113). Dorian is having trouble doing this with Basil. He cannot manage to forget what happened even though he took great precautions of getting rid of Basil and his things. Dorian will most likely not be suspected, which was Dorian's main concern when Sibyl died, but why is it so difficult for him to move on now that Basil is dead? The book does not mention the fact Dorian stabbed Basil with his own hands as a reason why Dorian has been acting strangely, which means there must be another reason. This could be Dorian's breaking point where he realizes the mistake he made by not listening to Basil, but this is unlikely. Dorian is on the move again, but with what seems to be poison. Could he be out to poison Lord Henry this time? Dorian tends to reject the love people have for him and causes them to die instead. Sibyl and Basil both cared for him very much and loved him dearly, but now they are not alive anymore, which is his fault. The next person to care for Dorian would have to be Lord Henry.