One night, Dorian Gray had dinner at Lord Henry's. The two
men were alone after dinner was over , and Dorian wanted to tell
Lord Henry how he had decided to change his life and be good.
"I met a girl in the country. She reminded me of Sybil
Vane. We spent a month togeth er, and I really felt I loved
her. But I did not want to destroy her innocence, so I told
her I could not see her anymore ."
"So you broke her hea rt. What good is th ere in that?"
"Her heart was not broke n. She was sad , but she can live
an honourable life . I did nothing to blacken her name."
"I think you did it for yourself. It makes you feel good to
think that you h ave n't hurt her when in reality you have.
She' ll never forget someone of your beauty. She'll make you
more wonderful in her own imagination and she' ll never be
sati sfi ed with anoth er man ."
"Oh, Harry, stop . Can't we please talk about something
else?"
Dori an was walkin g around ner vously.
"Vle could talk about Bas il. Eve r yone is talking of his
di sappearance. Or we could talk abou t Alan Campbell's
suicid e. Did you know he shot himself in his laborator y?"
Dorian did not an swer. He was deep in th ought.
"Did you ever think, Ha rr y, th at maybe Bas il was
murde red? What would you say if I told you I murde red
Bas il ?"
Lord Henry la ughed .
"I would not be lieve yo u. Only horrible people commit
murder s. You could not live the life yo u do, and you could
not look as handsome as you do if you were a mu rclerer."
Dorian Gray prepared to leave.
"Oh, don't leave, Doria n. Let's go out and have a d rink.
It's only ele\'en o'clock."
"No, Har ry. I'm going to bed early toni ght. I told you , I
want to change."
Dorian Gray felt good when he returned home. He really
believed that he had finally clone something right when he
told the girl he had met in the country not to ta ll in love vv ith
him. T his was how he was going to change his life. He was
going to stop doing thi ngs which might hurt other people.
After that, he hoped that his portrait would change from an
old ugly man to one th at was young and beautift tllike himself.
T he idea th at the portrait would cha nge excited him so
much that he threw off hi s coat and ran upstairs to the room
where he hid the picture. He unlocked the door and lit a
candle. T he knife he had used to kill Bas il was still on the
table. His heart beat excited ly as he pulled th e curtain away.
T hen his whole body became sick at th e sight of the horrible
face. Not only was the picture unchanged , but it looked even
more ugly.
Was Harry ri ght? Could Dorian do nothing but act
selfi shl y? T he thought that he could never again become
good and that he would always have a picture of how he truly
was made him mad with anger.
"Why are you looking at me like th at?!"
T he face in the picture looked as if it was laughing at
Doria n. T he blood on the hand looked mo re red th an
befo re, and no w Do ri an noti ced that there was blood on the
other and on the floor by its feet. Do ri an picked up the knife
off the table.
"Yo u' re th e only evidence that I killed Bas il Hallward .
vVhy should I let you live and to r ture me for the rest of my
life. I'll des troy you. Why a re you looking at me like th at?!"
Doria n raised hi s arm and ra n towards the por trait. His
eyes looked as if they were on fire.
A h o rribl e cr y of p ain and the sound of something heavy
falling to the floor came from the locked room at the top of
Dori an Gray's ho use. T he se rva nts wer e all as leep , but they
woke up when they heard thi s strange noise.
Victor, the bu tle r, kn ocked on the door.
"Mr Gray, sir. Are you in th e re?"
The re was no a nswer. Victor and two oth ers climbed out
on the roof and ente red the room from the balco ny. T he
room was dark excep t for a ca ndl e on a table near the door.
Victor saw the po r trait of his maste r , and he vvas surprised at
how real it looked. T he face in the pi cture was young and
h andsome, just like Mr Gray had been whe n he was twenty
years old .
T he three men went close r towards the picture, and the re
on the floor in fro nt of it was a ho rribl e sight: a ve r y old man
with a horrible look on his face and a kn ife stuck in his heart.
It was o nl y after they looked at the r ings on the man's fin gers
th at they unde rstood who he really was.
men were alone after dinner was over , and Dorian wanted to tell
Lord Henry how he had decided to change his life and be good.
"I met a girl in the country. She reminded me of Sybil
Vane. We spent a month togeth er, and I really felt I loved
her. But I did not want to destroy her innocence, so I told
her I could not see her anymore ."
"So you broke her hea rt. What good is th ere in that?"
"Her heart was not broke n. She was sad , but she can live
an honourable life . I did nothing to blacken her name."
"I think you did it for yourself. It makes you feel good to
think that you h ave n't hurt her when in reality you have.
She' ll never forget someone of your beauty. She'll make you
more wonderful in her own imagination and she' ll never be
sati sfi ed with anoth er man ."
"Oh, Harry, stop . Can't we please talk about something
else?"
Dori an was walkin g around ner vously.
"Vle could talk about Bas il. Eve r yone is talking of his
di sappearance. Or we could talk abou t Alan Campbell's
suicid e. Did you know he shot himself in his laborator y?"
Dorian did not an swer. He was deep in th ought.
"Did you ever think, Ha rr y, th at maybe Bas il was
murde red? What would you say if I told you I murde red
Bas il ?"
Lord Henry la ughed .
"I would not be lieve yo u. Only horrible people commit
murder s. You could not live the life yo u do, and you could
not look as handsome as you do if you were a mu rclerer."
Dorian Gray prepared to leave.
"Oh, don't leave, Doria n. Let's go out and have a d rink.
It's only ele\'en o'clock."
"No, Har ry. I'm going to bed early toni ght. I told you , I
want to change."
Dorian Gray felt good when he returned home. He really
believed that he had finally clone something right when he
told the girl he had met in the country not to ta ll in love vv ith
him. T his was how he was going to change his life. He was
going to stop doing thi ngs which might hurt other people.
After that, he hoped that his portrait would change from an
old ugly man to one th at was young and beautift tllike himself.
T he idea th at the portrait would cha nge excited him so
much that he threw off hi s coat and ran upstairs to the room
where he hid the picture. He unlocked the door and lit a
candle. T he knife he had used to kill Bas il was still on the
table. His heart beat excited ly as he pulled th e curtain away.
T hen his whole body became sick at th e sight of the horrible
face. Not only was the picture unchanged , but it looked even
more ugly.
Was Harry ri ght? Could Dorian do nothing but act
selfi shl y? T he thought that he could never again become
good and that he would always have a picture of how he truly
was made him mad with anger.
"Why are you looking at me like th at?!"
T he face in the picture looked as if it was laughing at
Doria n. T he blood on the hand looked mo re red th an
befo re, and no w Do ri an noti ced that there was blood on the
other and on the floor by its feet. Do ri an picked up the knife
off the table.
"Yo u' re th e only evidence that I killed Bas il Hallward .
vVhy should I let you live and to r ture me for the rest of my
life. I'll des troy you. Why a re you looking at me like th at?!"
Doria n raised hi s arm and ra n towards the por trait. His
eyes looked as if they were on fire.
A h o rribl e cr y of p ain and the sound of something heavy
falling to the floor came from the locked room at the top of
Dori an Gray's ho use. T he se rva nts wer e all as leep , but they
woke up when they heard thi s strange noise.
Victor, the bu tle r, kn ocked on the door.
"Mr Gray, sir. Are you in th e re?"
The re was no a nswer. Victor and two oth ers climbed out
on the roof and ente red the room from the balco ny. T he
room was dark excep t for a ca ndl e on a table near the door.
Victor saw the po r trait of his maste r , and he vvas surprised at
how real it looked. T he face in the pi cture was young and
h andsome, just like Mr Gray had been whe n he was twenty
years old .
T he three men went close r towards the picture, and the re
on the floor in fro nt of it was a ho rribl e sight: a ve r y old man
with a horrible look on his face and a kn ife stuck in his heart.
It was o nl y after they looked at the r ings on the man's fin gers
th at they unde rstood who he really was.
No comments:
Post a Comment