“It would kill this
monstrous soul-life, and without its hideous warnings, he would be at peace. He
seized the thing, and stabbed the picture with it” (Wilde 164).
Dorian wants to ruin the painting because he believes
that he is going to change the way that he lives his life. He believes the
painting is holding him back from moving on with his life; he continues to
blame the painting, not himself, for his actions. Dorian’s plan does not work
out the way he expects, because he ended up killing himself when he stabs the
painting. The end of the book reflects Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy that life should
mimic art, because when Dorian stabs the painting, he is stabbing himself. After
Dorian dies, the painting changes back to its original picture of Dorian, while
the body of Dorian has aged. The painting reverts back to the youthful Dorian
after he dies because he no longer needs to hide the evil that has taken over
his soul, because he is dead. The painting is still a reminder to people of who
he was, and his body is the only evidence that he was evil.
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