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The picture of Dorian Gray
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Chapter 14
In persuading Alan Campbell to destroy the body of Basil, what did Dorian wrote on the piece of paper?
The original text is as follows:
"The same look of pity came into Dorian Gray's eyes. Then he stretched out his hand, took a piece of paper, and wrote something on it. He read it over twice, folded it carefully, and pushed it across the table. Having done this, he got up and went over to the window.
Campbell looked at him in surprise, and then took up the paper, and opened it. As he read it, his face became ghastly pale and he fell back in his chair. A horrible sense of sickness came over him. He felt as if his heart was beating itself to death in some empty hollow
"
In persuading Alan Campbell to destroy the body of Basil, what did Dorian wrote on the piece of paper?
The original text is as follows:
"The same look of pity came into Dorian Gray's eyes. Then he stretched out his hand, took a piece of paper, and wrote something on it. He read it over twice, folded it carefully, and pushed it across the table. Having done this, he got up and went over to the window.
Campbell looked at him in surprise, and then took up the paper, and opened it. As he read it, his face became ghastly pale and he fell back in his chair. A horrible sense of sickness came over him. He felt as if his heart was beating itself to death in some empty hollow
"
Answers
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The assumption is that Dorian is blackmailing him with something from his own past that he doesn't want people to know, and Dorian wrote it down on the paper as it was too terrible to say aloud. In technical terms it was a good device for creating a scandal in Victorian literature without getting the book itself in trouble.
Some notes from an on-line commentary:
�Wilde doesn�t say what secret Dorian holds over Campbell. Most likely, it is something that the scientist did years ago while under Dorian�s influence. In any case, Dorian is fully aware that blackmailing Campbell into helping him is dreadful, but he doesn�t hesitate for a moment to do so. In fact, he scolds Campbell for not wanting to help him at first, and he even seems to take pleasure in forcing Campbell to comply eventually. Dorian has become dominated by the evil of his secrets, and he in turn seeks to dominate and control those around him. At this point in the story [when the note is written and Campbell succumbs], Dorian shows that he has surpassed his mentor�Lord Henry�in his power to manipulate.�
�Wilde doesn�t say what secret Dorian holds over Campbell. Most likely, it is something that the scientist did years ago while under Dorian�s influence. In any case, Dorian is fully aware that blackmailing Campbell into helping him is dreadful, but he doesn�t hesitate for a moment to do so. In fact, he scolds Campbell for not wanting to help him at first, and he even seems to take pleasure in forcing Campbell to comply eventually. Dorian has become dominated by the evil of his secrets, and he in turn seeks to dominate and control those around him. At this point in the story [when the note is written and Campbell succumbs], Dorian shows that he has surpassed his mentor�Lord Henry�in his power to manipulate.�
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