In chapter 20 of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian is presented to us as a figure torn between reforming himself and relieving himself from sin and corruption that he has perpetuated on others, and pursuing his exclamatory yearning for the return of his “immaculate splendor of eternal youth”. Above all, Dorian's death can only be interpreted by affirming his relationship with his portrait; the "fatal picture", in which Wilde's diction suggests that it serves as a brutal reminder to his deteriorating soul and true self, or simply as a symbol of a greater social force on Dorian. So only in this way can we judge whether Dorian really died by murder, suicide or accident. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the chapter, Wilde uses a pathetic fallacy to convey the "beautiful night" which may coincide with Dorian's innate feeling of contentment and his self-centeredness and narcissism regarding his relief of being safe. This is reflected in earlier parts of the novel, such as after James Vane's death, where Wilde bathetically recalls how Dorian's "eyes filled with tears, for he knew he was safe." The pleasant, opulent aristocratic setting of the “beautiful night” echoes the synesthesia previously used in Lord Henry's sumptuous “apricot” habitat, mirrors Dorian's narcissism, but to a greater extent, the setting is an oxymoron against the sense of unease and underlying boredom in Dorian. Influenced by Lord Henry's hedonistic aphorisms and "poisonous" images embodying the influence of the Yellow Book which advocates a "complex and multifaceted creature", he seeks to "seek new sensations" (an allusion to Pater's Renaissance). However, Wilde's deliberate and repetitive use of the past perfect and free indirect speech in "He had often," "she had believed" suggests Dorian's remorse and apathy towards the pursuit of pleasure. This is seen in his interaction with the girl he had "enticed to love him" but who had told her he was "poor" and "evil", suggesting how Dorian is on the one hand perhaps atoning for a similar situation with Sybil by not corrupting the girl. , as the image of the "thrush" echoes the "caged songbird" whose suicide Dorian had been responsible for. This perhaps underlies Dorian's guilt and desire for change, further seen in the alliterative aphorism "There was purification in punishment" which suggests how Dorian wishes for each of his sins to result in punishment. On the other hand, it could be argued that his statement to the girl represents his desperation to start "A new life!", thus suggesting that Dorian is torn but is more likely to ignore rather than face the consequences of his actions which inevitably they will lead him to his death. Furthermore, Dorian's relationship to the portrait is crucial as to whether his death is a murder, suicide, or accident. Jonah Siegel argues: "Dorian's death is less a sign of moral failure than an indication of the failure of his historicism." Indeed, it can be argued that Dorian's growing disgust with his portrayal of reducing him to “sliver chips” represents to a greater extent the failure of his historicism. This questionable externalization of Dorian's conscience may reflect Victorian society's overwhelming judgment of Wilde himself, as a homosexual, and the hypocrisy prevalent in the 19th century that built a façade of moral rectitude and piety with "slivers of silver " which served as the foundation of his vice, of corruption.