PODG: Ch. 16-18

"A cry of joy broke from his lips. The man who had been shot in the thicket was James Vane" (214).

Once again, Dorian gets out of another sticky situation. Even at gun point, he manages to talk James out of shooting him: "Eighteen years! Set me under the lamp and look at my face" (196). At first, afraid that he will also be shot in the woods, Dorian "wish[s] [the concept of shooting] were stopped forever [because] the whole thing is hideous and cruel" (208). If it is really that bad, then why was it so easy to stab Basil? One would think stabbing somebody is more grotesque than shooting somebody. It was wrong of Dorian to act out of hatred, in the spur of the moment, especially since he knew what he did was sinful. Dorian wonders "what sort of life would his be if, day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silence" (206), preventing him from forgetting what happened. Dorian can be seen as a coward because "it is the coming of Death that terrifies" (209) him, which is justified by all the times he feels or does faint but, apparently he has "no terror of Death" (209) itself. Dorian should have accepted the fact that what comes around, goes around. Did he really think he would be safe once word came out that he was the reason behind Sibyl's death? Sadly, Dorian is still too self-absorbed and worried that he could get shot the way the man did, but once he finds out James Vane was the one shot and died, he rejoices. It is sickening to find somebody happy about another person's death.


"What sort of life would his be if, day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep!" (206).

Dorian knows what he did was wrong, but instead of opening up and confessing his wrongdoing, he believes the best way to free himself from this tension is by forgetting what happened the night he killed Basil. Dorian blamed his misery on Basil, but realizes "innocent blood had been spilt" (189). Thus, making Basil not at fault for Dorian's supposed misery. If Basil caused the misery, then Dorian would not have said this. Dorian refuses to believe that he caused his own misery. Dorian also mentions that he "wish [he] could love!" (210). When love was at his feet, begging for him to take her back, Dorian verbally tore her to pieces with his harsh words. That was also his fault. On the bright side, he does realize that he is "too much concentrated on [him]self" (210). Now, it is a matter of what he does to fix that or if he even bothers to do so.