PODG #4

"There were no signs of any change when he looked into the actual painting, and yet there was no doubt that the whole expression had altered. It was not a mere fancy of his own. The thing was horribly apparent"(Wilde 94-95).

This is the first time that Dorian notices any change in the painting, but he is unable to identify the change exactly. Dorian reflects of the cruelty he showed Sibyl, demonstrating that he may have some belief that the portrait excepted the bargain of a soul for eternal youth. Dorian ignores the change soon after, just as mankind ignores their sins. Dorian also decides that there was never a change in the first place. This can be compared to a human being's inability to recognize their sin even when it is right in front of them.

"'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).

Dorian's reaction to the news of Sibyl's death shows that his soul is slipping away. His morality has been replaced by an uncaring being of darkness. Although Dorian wishes to feel some emotion for his lost love, he is unable. Dorian's optimism is too bright to be mere displacement. He truly does not care about Sibyl's death one bit. He speaks in such a nonchalant manner that I am surprised that not even Lord Henry found his words odd. If this is what Dorian becomes after breaking up with someone, I can only imagine how he will change should he commit true atrocities.