DG Ch. 7-8

"'So I have murdered Sybil Vane,' said Dorian Gray, half to himself-'murdered her as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife. Yet the roses are not less lovely for all that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden. And to-night I am to dine with you, and then go on to the Opera, and sup somewhere, I suppose, afterward'"(103).

Through Sybil's death, Dorian has realized that he should live his life to the fullest and pay no attention to the bad things that happen to him along the way. Time did not stand still when Sybil died. The whole world did not mourn her passing, and neither should Dorian. He cannot let things affect him because life still goes on with or without him. Dorian's moral process has changed, and he now wants his life to be full of joy. I predict that his new care-free attitude will benefit Dorian at first, but it will definitely lead him into some trouble in the long-term.

"Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins--he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame, that was all" (109).

The development that the portrait of Dorian ages while he does not may seem like a blessing to Dorian, but it may be a curse in the end. As we have witnessed, Dorian's sins are represented in the image displayed on the canvas while Dorian is able to bask in his eternal youth. As time goes by, through his actions, Dorian will commit several sins that he feels shame for and would like to forget forever. However, the portrait of Dorian will display his wrongdoings, and keep his shame at the front of his mind. Dorian may seem happy and full of life and exuberance, but, on the inside, the constant reminder of his shame will drive him mad and wish he had never asked for his unique gift.