The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapter 14
Dorian sleeps well. When he awakens and recalls the previous night’s events, his hatred for Basil returns, but he chooses not to give the matter further thought. He considers that the body is still in the room upstairs, so he must work on disposing of the corpse. He gives Francis the address of Alan Campbell and directs the servant to return with Mr. Campbell.
While awaiting Mr. Campbell’s arrival, Dorian reads some poetry and spends time musing upon his long-ago friend Campbell, a young scientist familiar with chemistry. At one time the two had been close, but their friendship had ended.
Campbell arrives, but with trepidation. He’d been told that this was a matter of life and death, so he’d felt obligated. Dorian tells him that there is a dead body upstairs, and he asks Campbell to destroy the body with chemicals. Campbell refuses, but Dorian continues, admitting that he murdered the man. Campbell wants nothing to do with this business,
Dorian, however, knows a dark secret of Campbell’s and blackmails him to cooperate with Dorian’s wishes. Having little choice, Campbell relents, sending a servant to his house to retrieve the needed equipment.
Dorian goes upstairs, to ensure that the portrait is covered. When he looks at the portrait, he sees that one of the hands in the picture is red, as though dripping with blood. Dorian covers it, and Campbell enters the room.
Campbell spends five hours on the project, working until evening. He then tells Dorian that he has done what he was asked to do, and states that he hopes to never see Dorian again. After Campbell has left, Dorian finds that the body is gone, although the powerful scent of chemicals hangs heavily in the air.
Analysis
While we know little of the exact details of Dorian’s secret life of debauchery, we can be certain that it is as wicked as can be imagined. And while we do not know the nature of the dark secret with which Dorian has blackmailed Campbell, we are certain that it must have been powerful. Campbell did not hesitate, once presented with the option of being exposed for lack of compliance. Certainly, Dorian had influenced the younger man at some point, steering him in a terrible direction. Just as Lord Henry had manipulated and corrupted Dorian, so Dorian does the same to others. Dorian has learned from the master, and now masters the craft of manipulation.
