PODG #8

            In chapter nineteen of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian talks to Lord Henry about the portrait. Lord Henry asks Dorian “what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose […] his own soul?” (158). When Dorian made the request to keep his looks while the portrait grows old, Dorian essentially sold his soul to the portrait. By stabbing the picture at the end of the novel, Dorian stabs his own soul. Therefore, Dorian kills himself. Even though Dorian gained everlasting youth by selling his soul to the portrait, the trade has not profited Dorian in any other way. Rather, the trade has been rather detrimental to Dorian. The portrait has caused Dorian to commit the murder of Basil, and drove Alan Campbell to commit suicide. The deaths of Basil and Alan, along with various lies and other sins, have not only altered the portrait of Dorian, but also Dorian himself. Dorian has become an evil character. Even when Dorian attempts to make up for his awful deeds at the end of the novel, the attempts at reconciliation are seen as hypocritical and selfish. All in all, a man does not profit by selling his own soul, even if he does gain the whole world in the process.