"He felt that if he brooded on what he had gone through he would sicken or grow mad. There were sins whose fascination was more in the memory than in the doing of them, strange triumphs that gratified the pride" (166).
Once again, Dorian does not realize that brooding over his sin will help him. Dorian needs to understand that the painting is there to help him. He can see the effect of his sin upon the portrait, which should have prompted Dorian to become a better person. Yet, Dorian has found joy and fascination in sin and is now pleasing the pride that has filled his heart. It is strange that Dorian thinks he will become sick if he deals with his sin, for the picture would bear his pain. Brooding over his sin is the first step to a long process of repentance that Dorian has to take for all the sin and terrible deeds he has committed. Dorian will have to change, or his pride will bring upon his end.
"Don't speak about those days, Dorian; they are dead." (174).
We know that Lord Henry influenced Dorian to the point of domination, and now it was Dorian's turn to do the same to others. We see that many people do not like Dorian now, with all the rumors and women fearing him. Alan Campbell must have been someone he tried to influence, yet Campbell saved himself in the end. They were good friends through music and with the help of the attraction Dorian creates. Dorian may have tried to tell Alan that his Genius did not matter, for "Beauty is a form of Genius-- is higher, indeed, than Genius" (24). This is possible for right after people noticed they did not talk anymore, Alan was said to have "[disliked] hearing music, and would never himself play [...] when called upon, that he was so absorbed in science that he had no time left in which to practise" (170). Alan may have grown less fond of the beauty found in music and continued to bolster his intellect by staying in the lab. Though Alan disliked Dorian, Alan fell for Dorian's entreatment after Dorian threatens to blackmail him. Alan must have done something very unacceptable with Dorian. Dorian is starting to become a lot like Lord Henry with his power to dominate others. The book even states, "Campbell felt dominated by him" (177).
Vocabulary:
"He began to brood over those verses which [...] tell of that curious statue that Gautier compares to a contralto voice" (169).
contralto- n. the lowest female singing voice
"He by monstrous winds was being swept towards the jagged edge of some black cleft or precipice" (171).
precipice- n. a very steep rock face or cliff, typically a tall one
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