painted by one of his friends, Dorian sees the
gorgeous full-sized painting of himself. As a result, he becomes instantly conscious of
the power that his appearance possesses by stating, "People say...that beauty is only
superficial...To me beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not
judge by appearances." (p. 24) In addition, Dorian suddenly realizes that he will not remain
beautiful forever because he will age and lose his youth. Consequently, he becomes fearful of
this eventuality and unconsciously makes a deadly wish without realizing its consequences: "I
shall grow old and horrible...But this picture will remain always young. If it were I who was to
be young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that...I would give my own soul!" (p. 28)
When Dorian utters this wish, it is purely a result of his newly acquired sense of narcissism; he
does not suspect that his wish will have any consequences on his life. For him, the most
important objective is to preserve his most precious asset, which is his beauty. Furthermore,
once Dorian discovers that he is exempt from aging, he becomes infatuated with superficiality
and facades; as a result, he does not strive to keep his inner soul pure and free from sin. He
demonstrates this by declaring, "I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am
jealous of the portrait you have painted me." (p. 29) As a result of his love of his exterior
appearance, Dorian chooses a path of sin and dishonesty. He indulges in pleasures such as,
perfumes, fashion, tapestries and music, with the intention of making his surroundings beautiful.
"For these treasures, and everything that he collected...were to be to him means of
forgetfulness, modes by which he could escape..." (p. 143) Through the obtainment of material
possessions, Dorian experiences a sense of contentment which, in t...