PODG #4 Analysis

            Henry’s influence over Dorian is a clear representation of Dorian’s evident reaction to Sibyl’s death and continues to influence Dorian into a product of his own making. As Henry notifies Dorian about Sibyl’s suicide, he attempts to make the point that love should be appreciated for its materialistic worth and not by its hidden surface. Henry mentions that “One should absorb the color of life, but one should never remember its details” (Wilde 105) and suggests to Dorian that any element in life can only be fully appreciated by restricting your influence upon it. You digest any appreciative aspect of it without questioning it. Henry continues to convince Dorian that Sibyl is a mere false façade of reality by stating that “The girl never really lived, and so she has never really died” (107). By saying this Henry is fully aware that Sibyl took upon various roles as an actress, thus blinding her view of what reality is. Since these various roles are simply interpretations of reality, Henry explains to Dorian that Sibyl is unaware what true reality is, therefore reasoning with Dorian that she has never really lived and ultimately convincing Dorian that she never really died as well. Henry is a constant reminder of how an individual is capable of misguiding another individual through the means of farfetched reasoning.