Summary: Chapter Twenty
Furious, he seizes a knife—the same weapon with which he killed Basil—and drives it into the portrait in an attempt to destroy it. From below, Dorian’s servants hear a cry and a clatter.
How does Dorian get rid of Basil’s body?
Dorian blackmails Campbell, threatening to reveal a secret that would bring great disgrace on him. With no alternative, Campbell agrees to dispose of the body and sends a servant to his home for the necessary equipment. When Dorian returns to the room, the body is gone, and the odor of nitric acid fills the room.
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.
Where does Dorian take Basil at the beginning of Chapter 13?
Dorian takes Basil to the attic, where he eventually recognises the picture. Basil urges Dorian to repent but, maddened with hatred, Dorian stabs him. Dorian hides Basil’s belongings. He ensures that the servant will think that he has just arrived home.
Basil Hallward is a talented, though somewhat conventionally minded, painter. His love for Dorian Gray changes the way he sees art; indeed, it defines a new school of expression for him. Basil’s portrait of Dorian marks a new phase of his career.
What does Dorian do 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.
Why did Basil paint Dorian?
When Lord Henry expresses his desire to meet Gray, Basil explains that he wants to keep Dorian and the painting hidden away so that neither Dorian nor the world will ever know about his “curious artistic idolatry.” Lord Henry suggests that Basil’s feeling may pass and that he will eventually become indifferent to
Alan Campbell was an acquaintance of Dorian Gray’s while Dorian was first living in Mayfair and spending time with Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward. After Dorian murders Basil in a fit of spiteful rage he blackmails Alan into destroying Basil’s body using his skills as a chemist.
What is Dorian’s alibi for basil?
What does Dorian do to provide himself with an alibi regarding Basil’s death? Dorian goes outside and bangs on his door to awaken his servants. In doing so his servants will provide him with an alibi that he returned home after Basil had gone.
What bad things did Dorian Gray do?
As the novel progresses, Gray becomes increasingly immoral, indulging in all manner of vices, eventually including the murder of the portrait-painter. Gray only ends the split by plunging a knife into the painting and killing himself.
Who did Dorian Gray love?
Sibyl Vane
A poor, beautiful, and talented actress with whom Dorian falls in love.
His fame as a playwright and the scandal of his downfall, when he would be arrested and imprisoned for acts of ‘gross indecency’ with other men in 1895, still awaited him. His relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas would prove literally fatal.
How does Dorian Gray sell his soul?
The legend tells of a learned doctor who sells his soul to the devil in return for knowledge and magical abilities. Although Dorian Gray never contracts with the devil, his sacrifice is similar: he trades his soul for the luxury of eternal youth.
What does Dorian Gray think of marriage?
“I can’t believe it. Dorian is far too sensible.” “Dorian is far too wise not to do foolish things now and then, my dear Basil.” “Marriage is hardly a thing that one can do now and then, Harry.”
What comment does basil make that is ironic?
What comment does Basil make that is ironic? “Sin makes itself known on the sinners face.”
The most explicit scene in the novel is Basil’s confessional monologue in a private salon, where he professes his devotion to Dorian. 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.
Why does Dorian fall in love with Sibyl?
when she speaks for other women as she plays her roles” (19). Her Page 6 acting, or her art, is what attracts him to her. Meyers also confirms that Dorian is “attracted to Sibyl partly because she is an illusion who is idealized and distanced from him by the stage” (372).
What is Dorian Gray Syndrome?
Dorian Gray Syndrome (DGS) denotes a cultural and societal phenomenon characterized by an excessive preoccupation with the individual’s own appearance (dysmorphophobia) accompanied by difficulties coping with the aging process and with the requirements of maturation.
