English Literature books summary

people notice women, who at one time adored him, blanch when he walks in a

room in shame or horror. To most people, the stories only increase his

mysterious charm. According to Lord Henry, society doesn’t care about

morality in its aristocratic members, only good manners.

Dorian Gray can’t imagine why people reduce human beings to a single,

"simple, permanent, reliable essence." For Dorian, people enjoy myriad

lives and sensations; they change radically from time to time. Dorian likes

to look at the portrait gallery of his country house. He wonders about his

ancestors and how their blood co- mingled with his own. He looks at Lady

Elizabeth Devereaux in her extaordinary beauty and realizes her legacy to

him is in his beauty and in his love of all that is beautiful.

He also thinks of his ancestors as being in literature he has read.

These characters have influenced him more even than his family members

have. The hero of the central novel of his life has certainly been his

greatest influence. He also loves to think of all the evil heroes about

whom he has read: Caligula, Filippo, Due of Milan, Pietro Barbi, the

Borgia, and many more. He feels a "horrible fascination" with all of them.

He knows he has been poisoned by the French Symboliste book. He thinks of

evil as nothing more than a mode of experiencing the beautiful.

CHAPTER 12

It is the ninth of November, not long before Dorian Gray will turn 38

years old. He is walking home late one night when he sees Basil Hallward.

He becomes suddenly afraid to have contact with his old friend whom he

hasn’t seen in many months, but Basil sees him and stops him. Basil says

he’s been waiting for him all evening and has just given up. He insists on

coming back inside with Dorian because he says he has something important

to tell him.

Inside, Dorian acts as though he’s bored and wants to go to bed. Basil

insists on talking. He says he is going to Paris in one hour’s time and

will be taking a studio there for six months. He tells Dorian that he is

always having to defend Dorian’s name wherever he goes. He thinks Dorian

must be a good person because he looks so beautiful. He says he knows sin

tells on people’s faces after a while, so he has a great deal of trouble

believing the stories. However, the evidence has piled up and is quite

compelling. He names several young men who have lost very promising

reputations after being extremely close to Dorian. He names several young

women, including Lord Henry’s sister, who have lost their reputations. Lady

Gwendolyn, Lord Henry’s sister, has suffered such a fall that she is not

even allowed to see her own children any more. He mentions the stories of

people who have seen Dorian spending time in "dreadful houses" and in "the

foulest dens in London." He mentions the stories of what happens at

Dorian’s country house.

Basil urges Dorian to have a good influence on people instead of a bad

one. He tells Dorian that it is said that he corrupts everyone with whom he

becomes intimate. He has even seen a letter shown to him by Lord

Gloucester, one of his best friends, that his wife wrote to him on her

death bed. It implicated Dorian Gray in her debasement. Basil sums up by

saying that he doesn’t know that he even knows Dorian any more. He says

that he can’t say without seeing Dorian’s soul and only God can do that.

At his last words, Dorian goes white with fear and repeats the words

"To see my soul!" He laughs bitterly and tells Basil that he will see his

soul that very night. He will let Basil look on the face of corruption.

Basil is shocked and thinks Dorian is being blasphemous. He stands over

Basil and tells him to finish what he has to say to him. Basil says Dorian

must give him a satisfactory answer to all the stories about him that very

night. Dorian just tells him to come upstairs with him. He says he has

written a dairy of his life from day to day and that it never leaves the

room in which it is written.

CHAPTER 13

The two men climb the stairs and Dorian lets Basil in the room

upstairs. He lights the lamp and asks Basil again if he really wants an

answer to his question. Basil does, so Dorian pulls the curtain from the

portrait and shines the light on it, saying he is delighted to show Basil

because Basil is the only man in the world entitled to know all about him.

Basil cries out in horror when he sees the portrait. He stares at it for a

long time in amazement, not believing at first that it is the same portrait

he painted all those years ago.

Dorian is leaning against the mantle shelf watching Basil’s reaction

with something like triumph expressed on his face. Dorian tells him that

years ago when he was a boy, Basil had painted this portrait of him,

teaching him to be vain of his looks. Then he had introduced him to Lord

Henry who explained to him the wonder of youth. The portrait had completed

the lesson in the beauty of youth. When he had seen it in the first moment,

he had prayed that he should change places with it, never changing and

aging, but letting the picture do so. Basil remembers the prayer. He

thinks, however, that it must be impossible. He tries to find some logical

explanation for the degradation of the beauty of the portrait. He thinks

perhaps the room was damp or that he had used some kind of poor quality

paints. He says there was nothing evil or shameful in his ideal that he

painted that day. This, instead, is the face of a satyr. Dorian says it is

the face of his soul.

Basil begins to believe it is true and then realizes what it means. It

means that all that is said of Dorian is true and that his reputation isn’t

even as bad as he is. He can hear Dorian sobbing as he begins to pray. He

asks Dorian to join him in prayer. He says Dorian worshipped himself too

much and now they are both punished.

Dorian tells him it’s too late. Basil insists that it isn’t. He begins

to pray. Dorian looks at the picture and suddenly feels an overwhelming

hatred for Basil. He sees a knife lying nearby and picks it up. He walks

over and stands behind Basil and stabs him in the neck several times. When

he is finished, he hears nothing but blood dripping. He goes to the door

and locks it. He is horrified to look at Basil’s body.

He goes to the window and sees a policeman outside and an old woman.

He tries not to think about what has happen. He picks up the lamp because

he knows the servant will miss it from downstairs, and he goes downstairs,

locking the door behind him.

Everything is quiet in the house. He remembers that Basil was supposed

to leave for Paris that night and had even sent his heavy things ahead of

him. No one had seen him come back inside after he left his house earlier

that evening. No one will begin to wonder about him for months to come. He

puts Basil’s bag and coat in a hiding place, the same place where he hides

his disguises. Then he puts on his own coat, goes outside, and knocks on

the door. His servant opens the door and he asks him what time it is. Then

he tells him to wake him at nine the next morning. The servant tells him

Mr. Hallward came by and Dorian exclaims over having missed him.

Inside his library again, he picks up the Blue Book and finds the name

of Alan Campbell. He says this is the man he wants.

CHAPTER 14

Dorian Gray wakes with a smile the next morning at nine o’clock,

feeling well rested. He gradually recalls the events of the night before.

He feels sorry for himself and loathing for Basil. Then he realizes that

Basil’s body remains upstairs in he room. He fears that if he thinks too

much on what happened he will go crazy. He gets up and spends a long time

choosing his outfit and his rings. He has a leisurely breakfast and reads

his mail, throwing away a letter from a lover, remembering one of Lord

Henry’s misogynist sayings about women, that they have a awful memory. He

writes two letters and sends one to Mr. Alan Campbell by his manservant.

He smokes a cigarette and sketches for a while, but every face he

sketches looks like Basil’s. He lies down on the sofa and tries to read

Gautier’s Emaux et Camees. He enjoys the images in the book of the beauties

of Venice. It reminds him of his visit there. He was with Basil and he

remembers Basil’s joy over the work of Tintoret. He tries to read again and

then begins to worry that Alan Campbell might be out of town.

Five years ago, he and Alan had been great friends. Now they never

speak. Alan always leaves the room when Dorian comes in at any party they

both attend. Alan is a scientist, but when he and Dorian were together, he

was also in love with music. They were inseparable for a year and a half.

Then they quarreled and have not spoken since. Alan has given up music in

favor of science. Dorian becomes hysterical with anxiety as he waits.

Finally, the servant announces that Mr. Campbell has arrived.

Dorian loses all anxiety and plays the part of the gracious host. Alan

Campbell is stiff with disapproval and hatred. He wants to know why Dorian

has called him. Dorian tells him there is a dead body in a room at the top

of the stairs and he needs Campbell to dispose of it. Alan tells him to

stop talking. He says he will not turn him in, but that he will not have

anything to do with it. Dorian tells him he wants him to do it because of

Alan’s knowledge of chemistry. He wants him to change the body into a

handful of ashes. He at first says it was a suicide, but then admits that

he murdered the man upstairs. Dorian begs him to help and Alan refuses to

listen. Finally, when he is sure he can’t convince him,

Dorian writes something down and tells Alan to read it. Alan is

shocked at what he reads. Dorian says if Alan won’t help him, he will send

a letter to someone and ruin Alan’s reputation. He tells Alan he is

terribly sorry for him for what he will have to do, but tries to console

him by saying he does this sort of thing all the time for the pursuit of

science so it shouldn’t be too horrible for him.

Finally, Alan says he needs to get things from home. Dorian won’t let

him leave. He makes him write down what he needs and sends his servant to

get the equipment. Then when it arrives, he sends his servant away for the

day to get some orchids in another city. He and Alan carry the equipment

upstairs. At the door, Dorian realizes he has left the portrait uncovered

for the first time in years. He rushes over to it to cover it. He sees that

on the hands, there is a red stain. He covers it and then leaves the room

to Alan without looking at the body.

Long after seven o’clock that evening, Alan comes downstairs and says

it is finished. He says he never wants to see Dorian again. Dorian thanks

him sincerely, saying he saved him from ruin. When Campbell leaves, Dorian

rushes upstairs and sees there is no trace of the body.

CHAPTER 15

That evening, Dorian Gray goes to a dinner party at Lady Narborough’s

house. He looks perfectly dressed and perfectly at ease. The party is small

and the guests boring. Dorian is relieved when he hears that Lord Henry

will be coming. When Lord Henry arrives late, he carries on in his usual

way with one aphorism after another much to Lady Narborough’s amusement.

Dorian, for his part, cannot even eat. He is noticeably distracted. Lady

Narborough asks him several times what is the matter and when the men are

left alone after dinner for their cigars, Lord Henry questions him. Lord

Henry asks him where he went the night before since he left the party

early. Dorian first says he went home, then he says he went to the club,

then he corrects himself again and says he walked around until half past

two when he got home and had to ask his servant to let him in.

The two men chat a little longer. Dorian is planning a party at his

country house the next weekend and they discuss the guest list. Dorian is

interested in a Duchess and has invited her and her husband. Lord Henry

warns him against her, saying she is too smart, and that women are best

when they are weak and ignorant. Dorian finally says he must leave. He goes

home and opens the hiding place where he has put Basil Hallward’s coat and

bag. He puts them on the fire and waits until they are completely burned

up. Then he sits and looks at a cabinet for a long time fascinated.

Finally, he gets up and gets a Chinese box out of it. He opens it and

finds inside a green paste with a heavy odor. He hesitates with a strange

smile and then puts the box back and closes the cabinet. He gets dressed

and leaves the house. He hails a cab telling the man the address. The cab

driver almost refuses since it is too far, but Dorian promises him a huge

tip and they drive off toward the river.

CHAPTER 16

It is raining and cold as Dorian rides to the outskirts of the city.

The ride is extraordinarily long. He hears over and over again Lord Henry’s

saying that one can cure the soul by means of the sense and can cure the

sense by means of the soul. He heard Lord Henry say that on the first day

he met him. He has repeated it often over the years. Tonight it is all he

can think of to calm himself through the long drive. The roads get worse

and worse. People chase the cab and have to be whipped away by the driver.

Finally, they arrive and Dorian gets out.

He goes into a building and passes through several dirty and poor

rooms. He passes through a bar where a sailor is slumped over a table and

two prostitutes are jeering at a crazy old man. He smells the odor of opium

and feels relieved. However, when he goes into the opium den, he is

unhappily surprised to see Adrian Darlington.

Adrian tells him he has no friends any more and doesn’t need them as

long as he has opium. Dorian doesn’t want to be in the same place with the

young man about whom Basil Hallway had just spoken the night before. He

buys Adrian a drink and is bothered by a prostitute. He tells her not to

speak to him and gives her money to leave him alone. He tells Adrian to

call on him if he ever needs anything and then he leaves. As he is leaving,

one of the prostitutes calls out to him "There goes the devil’s bargain."

He curses her and she says, "Prince Charming is what you like to be called,

ain’t it?" As she says this the sailor who has been asleep jumps up and

runs after Dorian.

Outside, Dorian is wishing he hadn’t run into Adrian Singleton and

cursing fate. He hurries along when he is suddenly grabbed from behind and

shoved against the wall. A gun is shoved into his face. Dorian calls out

and the man tells him to be quiet. The man tells him to make his peace with

God before he dies. He says he is James Vane, brother of Sibyl Vane, who

killed herself after Dorian ruined her. He plans to leave for India that

night and will kill Dorian before he goes. Dorian suddenly thinks of a way

out. He asks James when his sister died. James tells him it was eighteen

years ago. Dorian tells James to look at his face under the light.

James drags him to the street light and looks at him. He sees a face

that is too young to have been a young lover eighteen years ago. H releases

Dorian feelings shocked that he might have killed the wrong man.

After Dorian is gone, the prostitute comes out of the darkness and

tells James he should have killed the man. She says he has made a bargain

with the devil to remain looking young. She says the same man had ruined

her eighteen years ago and left her to become a prostitute. He is nearly

forty years old now. She swears she is telling the truth. He runs away from

her but sees no trace of Dorian Gray.

CHAPTER 17

It is one week later and Dorian Gray is entertaining guests at his

country estate, Selby Royal. He is chatting with the Duchess of Monmouth

when Lord Henry interrupts them. Lord Henry has decided to begin calling

everyone Gladys as a means to combat the ugliness of names in the modern

world. He engages the Duchess in a witty repartee about women and about

values in general. The Duchess at one point mentions that Dorian’s color is

very poor. He seems not to be feeling well. Dorian tries but does not do

well in keeping up with their conversation. Finally, he volunteers to go to

the conservatory to get her some orchids for her dress that evening.

When he is gone, Lord Henry tells the Duchess that she is flirting

disgracefully with Dorian. She jokes with him in return. He teases her that

she has a rival in Lady Narborough. She asks Lord Henry to describe women

as a sex. He says women are "Sphinxes without secrets." She notices that

Dorian is taking a long time and suggests going to find him when they hear

a crash. They rush into the conservatory to find Dorian fainted away on the

floor. They carry him in to the sofa and he gradually comes awake. He asks

Lord Henry if they are safe inside. Lord Henry tells him he just fainted

and must stay in his room instead of coming down to dinner.

Dorian insists he will come down to dinner. At dinner, he is wildly

gay. Every once in a while, he feels a thrill of terror as he recalls the

face of James Vane looking at him through the window of the conservatory.

CHAPTER 18

The next day, Dorian Gray remains in his house afraid to leave it for

fear of being shot by James Vane. The second day brings its own fears as

well, but on the third day, Dorian wakes up and feels that he has been

imagining things. He tells himself that James Vane has sailed away on his

ship and will never find him in life.

After breakfast, he talks to the Duchess for an hour in the garden and

then he drives across the part to join the shooting party. When he gets

close, he sees Geoffrey Clouston, the Duchess’s brother. He joins Geoffrey

for a stroll. Suddenly, a rabbit appears out of the bush and Geoffrey aims

for it. Dorian tells him not to shoot it, but Geoffrey shoots anyway.

Instead of the rabbit falling, a man who was hidden by the bush falls. The

two men think it was one of the beaters (the men hired to beat the bushes

so the wildlife will run and the hunters will be able to shoot at it).

Geoffrey is annoyed at the man for getting in front of the gunfire. Lord

Henry comes over and tells Dorian they should call off the shooting for the

day to avoid appearing callous. Dorian is awfully upset by the shooting.

Lord Henry consoles him, saying the man’s death is of no consequence,

though it will cause Geoffrey some inconvenience. Dorian thinks of it as a

bad omen. He thinks he will be shot. Lord Henry laughs his fears away,

telling him there is no such thing as destiny.

They arrive at the house and Dorian is greeted by the gardener who has

a note from the Duchess. He receives it and walks on. They discuss her.

Lord Henry says the Duchess loves him. Dorian says he wishes he could love

but that he’s too concentrated on himself to love anyone else. He says he

wants to take a cruise on his yacht where he will be safe. As they talk,

the Duchess approaches them.

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