the yellow book (dorian)

Question 1

in chapter 10, after dorian hides his portrait i& learns the results of sibyl vanes inquest, he reads the “yellow book”. what does this do

Answer 1

this novel changed dorian’s life. he buys multiple copies, reads it and lives it’s philosophy

Question 2

what does the book symbolize

Answer 2

several closely linked meanings. lost directly, it represents henry’s influence over dorian. Generally “controversial French novels” were bound in yellow during this period, so the book represents the influence of french literature

Question 3

what were these yellow books considered as

Answer 3

sensational at best and decadent and immoral at worst, promoting both sexual and philosophical deviance

Question 4

more specifically, what can this book be read as

Answer 4

joris-karl huysmans “À Rebours”, a book of decadent movement that Wilde read on his honeymoon

Question 5

what does the book do once it enters dorian’s life

Answer 5

•he begins to live like he’s part of the aesthetic movement
•he much more hedonistic. it also provides a mean by which dorian can practice henry’s belief about curing “the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul.”