Dorian Gray pp 47-9 A few ideas for a text commentary: main effect= multiple perspectives, perceptible through the meditative mood of the passage (I), the complexity of the character of Lord Henry (II), and the juxtaposition of contraries throughout the passage (III)

I. Thinking or dreaming? Philosophical reflection and personal meditation General, abstract, philosophical reflection: ‘Lord Henry’s heavy eyelids drooped, and he began to think’ Use of ‘one’ References to abstract scientific and philosophical concepts -> theory + sophisticated language But also: personal meditation ‘While Lord Henry sat dreaming on these things …’ Interior monologue, free indirect speech Digressive structure of the passage >> not what you would expect from a philosophical exposé

II. Lord Henry: characterisation: similarly dual Arrogance, brutality, superiority Emotional detachment, posture: scientific observation And yet: insistance on sensuality, pleasure, ‘delight’, ‘passion’ See for ex end of § 1: use of vocab, punctuation, etc Musical style § 7: stylized, aesthetic description of the sunset Scientific references: gothic undertones (‘sulfurous fumes’, ‘monstrous fancies’, ‘misshapen dreams’, ‘poisons’, ‘maladies’) And also: possible irony in §6: ‘It was the passions about whose origins we deceived ourselves that tyrannised most strongly over us … It often happened that when we thought we were really experimenting on others we were really experimenting on ourselves.’

III.Blurred distinctions: meeting of opposites Basic principle of the passage: juxtaposition or even superimposition of normally separate, contradictory notions: Observation / creation Detachment / voyeurism Logic / passion ; intellect / emotion Others / self Pain / pleasure Body / soul; spirit / matter + of course: art / life Dorian: at once ‘complex personality’ (-> depth) and ‘one of those gracious figures in a pageant or a play’ (-> surface), ‘masterpiece’ and ‘premature’ monster Only two concepts apparently kept separate: experience and ethics: §5: ‘experience was of no ethical value’ ‘All that it really demonstrated was that our future would be the same as our past, and that the sin we had done once, and with loathing, we would do many times, and with joy’ >>> How is the reader supposed to view this assertion? 2 contradictory possible interpretations: A cynical but realistic view of human psychology? The expression of Lord Henry’s and Dorian’s sin, what causes their downfall?

Conclusion: Complex positioning of the reader who does not know what to make of Lord Henry’s views. A complex passage which raises more questions than it answers.