Log 6

 log 6

summary: 

Dorian met Sibyl at the theater, and although they hadn’t known each other long, they were deeply infatuated with each other. One day, Dorian brought his friends to the theater to watch Sibyl’s performance. However, that night, Sibyl’s acting was poor, she wasn’t up to her usual par, making Dorian deeply disappointed. Sibyl later told Dorian that because of her genuine love for him, she could no longer act the romance role on stage. Then Dorian felt that she no longer had any artistic value, and decided to end their relationship. Afterward, he noticed that the expression in his portrait had twisted into a distorted smile. This sight prompted him to reflect on his actions, and he resolved to apologize to Sibyl and propose to her. Unfortunately, Sibyl had already taken her own life. Overcome with pain and guilt, Dorian confided in Lord Henry, who advised him not to blame himself or be in sorrow and instead suggested they go see a play together. Later, Dorian met Lord Henry’s sister, Lady Gwendolen, and an acquaintance from the theater, Patty.

reflection:

When reading this chapter, I strongly feel Dorian's obsession with love and beauty. However, I think Dorian has been influenced by Lord Henry too much. Although Lord Henry teaches him to pursue and appreciate beauty, art, and love, Dorian should have his own perspectives and understanding of them. Perhaps because he lost his parents at a young age and received little love from his grandfather, he doesn’t have much understanding of love. Additionally, Lord Henry’s teachings about love are incomplete, so Dorian’s grasp of love is shallow and perhaps even a bit of a misunderstanding. Under Henry’s influence, Dorian combines love with art and equates love with perfection. When someone fails to meet his ideal standards, he chooses to abandon them. This influence is frightening. In Chapter Nine, Dorian describes Sybil’s death as:

“Her last night of acting—the night you saw her—she performed poorly because she realized love truly existed. When she understood love didn’t truly exist, she died, just like Juliet. She re-entered the realm of art. She had the spirit of a martyr, her death containing all the tragic uselessness of martyrdom, all the wasted beauty.”

Although his description seems artistic, I feel he has become obsessed with the pursuit of art and beauty, even involving his own life and perceiving it as an audience. Just like the changes in that incredible painting, his image gradually becomes ugly, showing a weird smile, his mind has already started to decay.

Dorian's behavior was despicable, much of it is due to Lord Henry's influence. What angers me is that Henry treats Dorian as some kind of human experiment, and he doesn't have to bear any responsibility for it. Even as he gradually influences Dorian, he has no guilt for Sybil’s death. In the future, Dorian might have to bear the consequences of his over pursuit of artistic perfection, which has made his inner self horribly corrupted.

A few days ago, I read Lu Xun's “Blessing” and felt the story is somewhat similar to these chapters. “Blessing” depicts the tragedy of Xianglin Sao, who is cursed as an "impure" woman and treated as a "freak." She is diligent, kind, and strong, but in the old society, not only was she unable to have basic rights as a human being, but she also became a figure trampled upon, persecuted, and despised, eventually consumed by feudal customs and misguided values. I think these two stories are similar because they both discuss how the negative impacts can be when people have limited understanding of something and are influenced by misguided values.