Lord Henry Influence on Dorian Gray

At the beginning of the book, Lord Henry was ambitious and social. He is a rich, snobby, idealist man. He seemed as if he was all to himself and told those around him how he felt, what he wanted, and what he thinks. All throughout the book, Lord Henry remarks that love and art are just forms of imitation and does not follow the idea. He stated “They are both simply forms of imitation”. Lord Henry says some uneducated things but deep down is a man of deep thought and brilliance. In one moment, Lord Henry although did really admire the picture Basil painted of Dorian. He stated “ It is your best work, basil, the nest thing you have ever done”. He admired Dorian Gray very much but he did not admire his decisions and thoughts on marriage. Ultimately, Lord Henry demonstrates that whatever influence anyone exerts over anyone else is proportional with the inner soul of the individual.

Lord Henry started out in the book as a snobby, rich, and idealist mean. He stated tp Basil “You will always be fond of me”. Everything was about himself and he seemed as if he knew everything and he always had to be right. Lord Henry was very fond of Dorian Gray and loved to admire him. Lord Henry although, did not agree with Dorian Gray’s standpoints on marriage and woman. He also believed that art and love are just forms of imitation. Lord Henry is a man possessed of wrong, fascinating, poisonous, and delightful theories. As the book continues on, he more of his true colors start to show. It progresses quite slow, but he does start showing. Ultimately, Lord Henry demonstrates that whatever influence anyone exerts over anyone else if proportional with the inner soul of the individual. Lord Henry always has a very strong opinion about what he believes.

Once Lord Henry starts showing his true colors, his actions change. Although he still has his spunk, he has started to have a softer spot now. “In the essence of your soul being capable to resist temptation, the latter will mean nothing”. He stated “I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions.” In Lord Henry’s mind, the mixture of forbidden pleasures and the beauty of Dorian would mean perfection perfected. Personally, I think that Lord Henry has always had a soft side to himself and throughout the chapters is starts to show more and more. All throughout the ending chapters, he did influence Dorian in many ways. For example, when Lord Henry and Basil discuss Basil’s newest painting, he becomes charmed by it and vows to meet and guide the man in the picture, despite Basil’s objection to his idea for him to meet Dorian Gray. Meanwhile, when Basil is painting Dorian, Lord Henry expounds on youth to Dorian.

In conclusion, Lord Henry is a sophisticated and social man. He demands honor and respect from those around him. He is pretty neutral all through the book, but does tend to show more of a soft side towards the end. Lord Henry did influence Dorian into doing some bad things which one would believe is one of the resulting factors of how Dorian Gray ended up. The actions, thoughts, and sayings of Lord Henry all throughout the book does show what kind of person he is. At the end, he especially changed because he did end up having a wife, although she did leave him.

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