Why did Dorian hate Basil?

In Basil's horror Dorian can see the total loss of his innocence—he hates Basil because Basil knew him when he was innocent, and because in painting the portrait Basil started Dorian on the road away from innocence.

Why is Dorian mad at Basil?

Dorian is horrified that Basil wants to exhibit the portrait; he fears that his secret would be revealed to the whole world.

What did Dorian Gray do to Basil?

In anger, Dorian blames his fate on Basil and stabs him to death. Dorian then calmly blackmails an old friend, the scientist Alan Campbell, into using his knowledge of chemistry to destroy the body of Basil Hallward. Alan later kills himself.

What does Dorian killing Basil symbolize?

In fact, when Basil is killed, it is a sign of the death of real beauty, ironically at the hands of Dorian, a supposed lover of beauty and a sign of ultimate corruption, callousness and ugliness. And finally, the symbolism of Dorian himself, particularly his portrait, which bears the moral heart of the story.

Did Dorian Gray kiss Basil?

Instead of subtly leading Basil to his confession, Dorian steers the conversation away by kissing Basil, who eventually gives in to his passion and succumbs to a sexual encounter. Basil is pushed into a subjugated, almost submissive position, while Dorian stands above him, preparing for a sexual act.

The Murder Of Basil from Dorian Gray

Did Basil have a crush on Dorian?

The main focus of the book is on its male characters: Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Basil has quite a detectable crush on Dorian, and while Dorian and Henry do have relationships with women, they treat these women rather poorly in favor of their own friendship.

Does Dorian feel bad for killing basil?

With a murder added to his growing list of sins, Dorian wants nothing more than to be able to shrug off his guilt: he perceives Basil's corpse as a “thing” sitting in a chair and tries to lose himself in the lines of a French poet.

What was Basil's secret?

Basil tries to keep the painting's subject's identity a secret from Lord Henry, then accidentally discloses that the beautiful young man's name is Dorian Gray. Basil admits that he prefers to keep favorite people to himself, not even telling others their names because he feels he might lose a part of them.

How old was Dorian when he killed Basil?

Finally, when he is thirty-eight years old, Dorian shows the portrait to Basil, who begs Dorian to repent of his sin and ask that the wish be revoked. Instead, Dorian kills Basil and hides his body. Blackmailing his old friend Alan Campbell, Dorian is able to dispose of Basil's body.

What is the Dorian Gray syndrome?

Dorian Gray syndrome (DGS) denotes a cultural and societal phenomenon characterized by a man's extreme pride in his personal appearance and the fitness of his physique, which is accompanied by difficulties in coping with the requirements of psychological maturation and with the aging of his body.

What was Dorian Gray obsessed with?

Dorian is characterized by his evasiveness and his obsession with objets d'art.

How does Dorian feel after killing Basil?

After the murder, he feels oddly calm and goes about the business of removing evidence and establishing an alibi. In the coolness of Dorian's actions after he kills Basil, the reader sees that Dorian has spoken at least a few truthful words during his corrupt life — his admission that it is too late to save his soul.

What does Basil say about Dorian's face?

While explaining the first time he sees Dorian, Basil says he came “face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself” (Wilde 8).

Why did Dorian turn evil?

The charm of the youth is what made Dorian pure evil from the innocent man he was. Swayed by what Henry said, he wanted to grab on to his youth and that was where the tragedy happened. To want to become young again and to clutch on one's youth while one still has it is every person's desire.

Why was the picture of Dorian Gray controversial?

Despite that censorship, The Picture of Dorian Gray offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers. They immediately criticized the novel's decadence and homosexual allusions, calling it “unclean, poisonous, and heavy with the mephitic odors of moral and spiritual putrefaction.”

Is Dorian Gray a bad guy?

He is one the most iconic and pioneering villains from classic literature and is identified as one of the first attempts at creating a protagonist villain. As such he has been adapted in various forms of media several times and has had several characters based around him.

Who helps Dorian get rid of a body?

Dorian has killed Basil. He has now summoned Alan Campbell, to whom he was once close, to help him dispose of the body.

What was Basil's love confession to Dorian?

For example, this declaration of love by Basil for Dorian on page 147: “It is quite true that I have worshipped you with far more romance than a man should ever give to a friend. Somehow I have never loved a woman… I quite admit that I adored you madly, extravagantly, absurdly.”

Who is basil in love with?

Basil is in love with Sunny. Basil is very gentle, sensitive and somewhat effeminate, describes Omori as "perfect" on more than one occasion, and calls Sunny his best friend. Cutscenes show the two holding hands or comforting each other in a very tender way.

Why does Dorian hide it in the attic?

Dorian seals his commitment to a life of vanity and debauchery when he hides and locks the portrait in the attic schoolroom. He rationalizes that he might, in fact, become more virtuous and reverse the moral decay reflected in the picture, but even he seems to know that will never happen.

Who was Dorian in love with?

He confesses his love for Sibyl, calling her a "genius," and in the next breath states that he doesn't really care who she is or where she came from. From his own description, Dorian's "love" for Sibyl has more to do with the affectations of her profession than with her as a person.

What was censored in The Picture of Dorian Gray?

The original uncensored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, edited by Nicholas Frankel, was published by Belknap Press, in 2011, 121 years after the magazine publication. It was censored in 1890 because of what was seen as its immoral sexual content, both heterosexual and homosexual in nature.

How old was Dorian Gray when he died?

1908 illustration by Paul Thiriat. Basil explains that Dorian Gray is 20 years-old.

Was Lord Henry in love with Dorian Gray?

While both Lord Henry and Basil Hallward were fascinated by Dorian's beauty and purity, their feelings toward the main protagonist were not the same. Lord Henry referred to Dorian as his subject for experiments, but Basil regarded his feelings as “idolatry” (Wilde, 1981, p.

What is the moral lesson of Dorian Gray?

Wilde himself admits, in a letter to the St. James's Gazette, that Dorian Gray “is a story with a moral. And the moral is this: All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment” (Wilde 248).