“He was almost saddened by the reflection of the ruin that Time brought on beautiful and wonderful things. He, at any rate, had escaped that” (141).
Pride seems to have poisoned Dorian. The way he regards himself as beautiful and wonderful and is almost saddened by the ruin of time comes off as boastful and arrogant. Pride is the utmost evil and is the source of all other vices and sins. Dorian does not realize the power he has gained from his painting. Many would do anything to keep their youth and beauty, and Dorian was lucky enough to have his wish granted. Yet this wish may seem miraculous, it has done him no good. He may have escaped losing his youth, yet the evils of pride and sin have breached his morality: "Manners are of more importance than morals" (146).
"For these treasures, and everything that he collected in his lovely house, were to be to him means of forgetfulness, modes by which he could escape, for a season, from the fear that seemed to him at times to be almost too great to be borne" (143).
A sad end for Dorian is inevitable if he continues to shun the shame of his sin. If Dorian wants to feel any better, he has to repent for his sin, by being open to it. This can be done by showing Basil or others his portrait and how it changes. Dorian cannot rely on collecting all these beautiful things, for beauty and youth will never remain. Beauty will always fade away; that was the reason why he had wished for the portrait to bear his aging in the first place. Dorian will just be hurt in the end if he continues his fascination of the arts and life to appease his fear of the portrait. This fascination continues to grow under the influence of Lord Henry.
Vocabulary:
"his [...] debonnair [sic] manner [...] seemed never to leave him" (145).
debonair- adj. confident, stylish, charming
"Of the asceticism that deadens the senses, [...], it was to know nothing" (134).
ascetic- adj. characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons
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