Dorian Gray #1

Quote
"You seem to forget that I am married, and the only charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties" (Wilde 6).

Response
This quote has little textual relevance but I feel like it is the ignored aspect of marriage. Marriage is not a cake walk, people sometimes go into marriage thinking that it will be easy and full of nothing but blissful happiness. This is possibly why the divorce rate in the United States is at 50%, people have a false idea of the struggles of marriage and when the going gets tough people just quit. It is a testimony to certain people, if you are not willing to put effort into something important like marriage then you should not be getting married.

Quote
"Every day. I couldn't be happy if I didn't see him every day. He is absolutely necessary to me" (11).

Response
Oscar Wilde seems to be inserting his own life into his characters. When Basil states that he cannot reveal his painting because it will say to much about his true self it is a testimony to the struggles of homosexuals in the 1800s. These homosexual tendencies are probably why the novel was ridiculed when it first came out. If I was to guess what would happen I would say that Basil's sexual identity will be found out, much like Wilde's was. Once again, the novel's ending is not going to be pleasant.