Dorian Gray: Chap 15 and 16

Definitions-
1) Corroborative- to make more certain; confirm
"If you want any corrobarative evidence on the subject you can ask him" (Wilde 186).

2) Audacious- extremely bold or daring; fearless
" Oh! she is audacious enough for anything, my dear" (182).

Quote- “A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her” (184).

Explanation- This response by Lord Henry, is disagreeing with Lady Narborough view that once you have found the perfect match, or the one in some instances, then you can have a happy marriage. This idea is seen wrong, because he begins to take a theological view toward it. When one marries he vows to commit himself entirely to the partner. Love was never stated in the vows, but it can be a good basis. If a man loves a woman, he may not generally have the idea of commitment in his mind. Furthermore after a few years a marriage can peak, and the spark that intertwined the couple in love, can began to fizzle. Just as Dorian has done with Sibyl Vane, he only loved and did not commit; which ended in a tragedy. As long as one commits and does not love; he can be happy.

Quote- “Ugliness that had once been hateful to him because it made things real, became dear to him now for that very reason. Ugliness was the one reality” (191).

Explanation- Dorian Grey could only hate the ugly in all things because it took away all the beauties out of life. It had showed Dorian all the things that he did not want to see. As Dorian wanted to be a spectator of his own life the ugliness in all things had stopped him on his path of achieving that goal. But for that same reason he needed the ugly, it was the one thing that brought him back to the real world. Dorian is acting as a teenager who hates drugs and knows the consequences of them, but he believes that he needs drugs to stay content. He believes it to be a physical need, than what it is truly a physical want. Dorian does not need ugliness; he wants it so that he may too stay content and become stabilized.