The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapter 17-18

Chapter seventeen takes place a week after Dorian's encounter with James Vane, Sybil's brother. He is sitting in the conservatory at Selby Rose, having a conversation with Lord Henry and the Duchess of Monmouth. On the surface, this chapter seems somewhat irrelevant to the flow of the novel. However the witty dialogue within this chapter goes toward exhibiting the style of the author. The somewhat light-hearted banter going on between the characters is similar to that which was in displayed in "The Importance of Being Ernest." The end of the chapter is extremely important because it is at this point that Dorian faints because he sees James Vane watching him from the window.

Chapter eighteen shows the struggle that Dorian goes through with is own conscious. He comes to a realization and states that "It was the imagination that set remorse to dog the feet of sin." page 218. This basically means that he thinks there is no order within actual life, but that the imagination holds all the order by which the world must function. It takes Dorian three days in order to pull himself together enough to leave the house. When he does leave the house he goes to take a walk with the Duchess and it is at this point that his mood shifts. "He was dominated by the carelessness of happiness, by the high indifference of joy." page 220.

As usual though, this mood does not last long. When a rabbit hops past he tells Sir Geoffry not to shot it. Instead Sir Geoffry ends of shooting a random man, this man ends up dying. After the shooting Dorian reveals to Lord Henry that he feels as if "It is a bad omen, Harry. I feel as if something horrible were going to happen to some of us." page 222. This statement is foreshadowing some tragic even that is going to occur before the conclusion of the novel. Toward the end of the chapter Dorian finds out that the man that was shoot earlier that day was in fact James Vane. Dorian cries tears of relief and happiness believing that he is now safe. However there is still a sense of foreboding as if something awful is still going to occur.