I knew that if I spoke to Dorian I would become absolutely devoted to him, and that I ought not to speak to him.
From LAWLER 177: Was "I would never leave him till either he or I were dead" in the original manuscript. Omitted completely from the 1891 text.
It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was.
From LAWLER 281: The original ending read "When they entered, they found on the wall the portrait of a young man of extraordinary personal beauty, their master as they had last seen him. Lying on the floor was a dead body, withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage with a knife in his heart." Wilde changed the ending to what it is now in the Lippincott's typescript.
Old Mrs. Leaf was crying,
From LAWLER 281: Wilde changed to this from "One of he maids was crying."
glistened
From LAWLER 280: Wilde originally had "He took it up and darted it into the canvas."
had!
From LAWLER 277: Following this exclamation, Wilde originally had the following: "I have always been too much of a critic. I have been afraid of things wounding me, and have looked on." He canceled it in the typescript.
of
From LAWLER 277: Wilde originally had "of moments of anguish and regret" here.
chimney-piece.
From LAWLER 272: Following this sentence, Wilde originally had the following: "The pain in his forehead was less than it had been but he was shivering..."
hollow
From LAWLER 271: This paragraph originally ended with the following: "He tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to be paralyzed."
that
From LAWLER 270: Wilde cancelled the following from his manuscript for the typescript: "Had this happened three years ago, I might have consented to be your accomplice."
The binding was of citron-green leather with a design of gilt trellis-work and dotted pomegranates. It had been given to him by Adrian Singleton.
From LAWLER 266: Wilde wrote this in after completing the manuscript.
Gautier's "Émaux et Camées,"
From LAWLER 266: Wilde's original choice was a volume of "sonnets by Verlaine."
face
Wilde cancelled the following lines in the manuscript: "Now, I will show you my soul. You shall see the thing you fancy only God can see."
The Renaissance knew of strange manners of poisoning,—poisoning by a helmet and a lighted torch, by an embroidered glove and a jewelled fan, by a gilded pomander and by an amber chain. Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book. There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful.
From LAWLER 255: The original ending of this chapter read: "Lord Henry had given him one, and Basil Hallward had painted the other."
with Fratricide
From LAWLER 255: Was originally "with Incest and Fratricide."
until he was driven away.
From LAWLER 251: This last phrase is Stoddart's. The original read, "till they almost drove him out in horror and had to be appeared with monstrous bribes."
Blue Gate Fields,
From LAWLER 251: Wilde originally wrote "the Docks."
He discovered wonderful stories, also, about jewels.
From LAWLER 247: Wilde added four paragraphs here in three long manuscript pages, beginning at "He discovered wonderful stories..." and ending at "luxury of the dead was wonderful." The following lines of the insert never appeared in print. Since there were no instructions from Stoddart or other editorial marks, the omission may have been a typesetting error or a deliberate omission to avoid an ambiguity of reference or syntax: "It was a pearl that Julius Caesar had given to Servilia when he loved her. Their child had been Brutus. [New paragraph] The young priest of the Sun, who while yet a boy had been slain for his sins, used to walk in jewelled shoes on dust of gold and silver."
part
From LAWLER 242: Cancelled in the manuscript: "twelfth and thirteenth chapters." No parallels seem to exist in these and other allusions between the contents of the yellow book and either A Rebours or Monsieur Venus except for similarities in tone, general subject matter, and angle of treatment.
There was something tragic in a friendship so colored by romance.
From LAWLER 234: Wilde originally had the following before it was changed by Stoddart in the typescript: "There was something infinitely tragic in a romance that was at once so passionate and so sterile."
whom I have been really fond.
From LAWLER 234: The manuscript originally had "whom I had loved."
Did you really see it?"
From LAWLER 233: Originally read "Perhaps you did not see it. But you suspected it. You were conscious of something you did not like."
But that was all.
From LAWLER 233: Wilde cancelled "He felt no romance for him" in the typescript.
usually
From LAWLER 232: Stoddart changed Wilde's "should ever give" to this reading.
Her little hands stretched blindly out, and appeared to be seeking for him.
From LAWLER 215: This sentence was added in the typescript.
"If you want him to marry this girl, tell him that, Basil. He is sure to do it then.
From LAWLER 206: This was written in the manuscript's margin, and the following sentence was added in the typescript.
"Except in America.
From LAWLER 206: Wilde added this in the typescript.
Poor Sibyl! what a romance it had all been! She had often mimicked death on the stage, and at last Death himself had touched her, and brought her with him. How had she played that dreadful scene? Had she cursed him, as she died? No; she had died for love of him, and love would always be a sacrament to him now. She had atoned for everything, by the sacrifice she had made of her life. He would not think any more of what she had made him go through, that horrible night at the theatre. When he thought of her, it would be as a wonderful tragic figure to show Love had been a great reality. A wonderful tragic figure? Tears came to his eyes as he remembered her child-like look and winsome fanciful ways and shy tremulous grace. He wiped them away hastily, and looked again at the picture.
From LAWLER 226: This paragraph was added in the typescript.
fault
From LAWLER 221: After this sentence, Wilde originally had the following: "And besides, no one knows that you were at the theatre last night."
to explain to him the new life he was going to lead,
From LAWLER 220: Originally read "to sever their friendship at once."
He covered page after page with wild words of sorrow, and wilder words of pain.
From LAWLER 220: Wilde added this in the typescript.
Three o'clock struck, and four, and half-past four, but he did not stir. He was trying to gather up the scarlet threads of life, and to weave them into a pattern; to find his way through the sanguine labyrinth of passion through which he was wandering. He did not know what to do, or what to think.
From LAWLER 220: Wilde added these sentences in the typescript.
Or was there some other, more terrible reason? He shuddered, and felt afraid, and, going back to the couch, lay there, gazing at the picture in sickened horror.
From LAWLER 220: Wilde had added these sentences in the typescript.
scientific interest
From LAWLER 219: Originally, the manuscript read, "He was strangely calm at this moment."
Victor
From LAWLER 218: In the manuscript, the valet was named Jacques. The conversation was in French, as it was whenever Dorian and Jacques spoke. Wilde changed this to English in stages: first, Dorian's speech in MS, then the name of the valet and his dialogue.
surprise
From LAWLER 216: In the manuscript, the following lines were cancelled at this point: "then he smiled to himself and went on into his bedroom. 'It is merely an effect of light,' he murmured. 'I did not know that the dawn was so unbecoming.'"
apes
From LAWLER 215: Wilde had originally had these lines in the typescript, but crossed them out before publication: "A man with curious eyes had suddenly peered into his face and then dodged him with stealthily footsteps, passing and repassing him many times." It is likely that Sibyl's avenging brother, James, added in 1891, may have originated here.
The joy of Beatrice was my joy, and the sorrows of Cordelia were mine also.
From LAWLER 214: Was originally "If I died as Desdemona, I came back as Juliet."
darkened
From LAWLER 210: Wilde originally had "filled with tears."
And it is an irrevocable vow that I want to take.
From LAWLER 209: After this sentence, Wilde originally had the following: "Why she would loathe me if she thought I merely meant to use her till I grew weary of her and then threw her away." Wilde crossed this out in his manuscript.
yours
From LAWLER 200: Was originally "your mistress," but Stoddart changed it. Wilde altered Stoddart's emendation in 1891, making it "I suppose she will belong to you some day."
ZABROUSKI: I found this specific change interesting, for it seems like such a minor alteration yet makes a big impact in the grand scheme of things. Lawler claimed that the 1891 alteration is "stronger" than what is here. Given the time this was published, that claim rings true; because Victorian women were typically viewed as property or arm candy rather than an actual partner, saying the phrase "belong to" would have been fitting for a heterosexual Victorian man.
"Harry, Sibyl Vane is sacred!"
From LAWLER 200: Stoddart altered this statement, for it was originally "How dare you suggest such a thing, Harry? It is horrible. Sibyl Vane is sacred!"
correctly
From LAWLER 179: J.M. Stoddart, Lippincott's editor changed the original reading "live with their wives," removing an expression inadmissible to the American public. Wilde let these and similar changes stand even though they are clearly inferior to the original.
I am putting it into practice, as I do everything you say."
From LAWLER 197: This sentence was added in the typescript.
Nowadays people know the price of everything, and the value of nothing."
From LAWLER 196: This well-known epigram was added to the typescript.
"Am I really like that?""Yes; you are just like that.""How wonderful, Basil!"
From LAWLER 194: Wilde added this to the typescript.
"And you know you have been a little silly, Mr. Gray, and that you don't really mind being called a boy.""I should have minded very much this morning, Lord Henry.""Ah! this morning!
From LAWLER 193: Wilde added these sentences to the typescript.
"If it is not, what have I to do with it?"
From LAWLER 192: Was originally "Comme vous voulez, mon cher." (English Translation: "As you wish, my dear.")
Hermes
From LAWLER 191: Originally "Sylvanus."
From COLLINS DICTIONARY: Sylvanus is the Roman god of the woodlands, fields and flocks. Its Greek counterpart is Pan, god of the wild.
"How sad it is!" murmured Dorian Gray, with his eyes still fixed upon his own portrait. "How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrid, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June. . . . . If it was only the other way! If it was I who were to be always young, and the picture that were to grow old! For this—for this—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!"
From LAWLER 191: Wilde altered this passage each time he revised his text. After "dreadful," he cancelled the following: "Life will send its lines across my face. Passion will create it and thought twist it from its form." For the typescript of this edition, Wilde added the last sentence of this paragraph. In 1891, Wilde added another sentence at the paragraph's end: "I would give my soul for that."
forever
LAWLER: Following this sentence, Wilde originally had the following: "Like priests, they terrify one at the prospect of certain eternity, attempt to terrify one, I should say."
well
From LAWLER 190: Following this sentence, Wilde originally had the following passage: Most modern portrait painting comes under the head of elegant fiction or if it aims at realism, gives one something between a caricature and a photograph. But this was different. It had all the mystery of life, and all the mystery of beauty. Within the world, as men know it, there is a finer world that only artists know of--artists or those to whom the temperament of the artist has been given. Creation within creation--that is what Basil Hallward named it, that is what he had attained to."
And Beauty is a form of Genius,—is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is one of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon.
From LAWLER 188: These lines were originally spoken by Basil in the previous chapter. Wilde relocated them here and transferred them to Henry.
terribly.
From LAWLER 188: Wilde cancelled the following line from his original manuscript: "If you set yourself to know life, you will look evil; if you are afraid of life, you will look common."
ZABROUSKI: The homoerotic undertone of this sentence wouldn't have gone unnoticed if it was included in this edition. Though Lord Henry seems to be talking about the changes in appearance through aging, if those lines were included in this edition, Lord Henry could've been implicitly addressing society's view on homosexual relations rather than society's view on physical appearance. The phrase "afraid of life" may suggest being afraid of acting on one's true desires, and the phrase looking "common" may suggest an unwanted submission to a heterosexual relationship.
to whom he had rather taken a fancy. He was so unlike Hallward. They made a delightful contrast. And he had such a beautiful voice.
From LALWER 185: Added from the original manuscript.
house
From LAWLER 183: The original conclusion of the chapter, cancelled in the manuscript, read: "'I don't suppose I shall care for him, and I am quite sure he won't care for me,' replied Lord Henry, smiling..."
"Harry, don't talk like that
From LAWLER 182: The following lines were cut from the original manuscript: "I am not afraid of things, but I am afraid of words. I cannot understand how it is that no prophecy has ever been fulfilled. None has I know. And yet it seems to me that to say a thing is to bring it to pass. Whatever has found expression becomes true, and what has not found expression can never happen. As for genius lasting longer than beauty, it is only the transitory that stirs me. What is permanent is monstrous and produces no effect. Our senses become dulled by what is always with us."
ZABROUSKI: ADD SOMETHING HERE
day
From LAWLER 181: The following lines were cancelled form the manuscript: "Who seems to take a real delight in giving me pain. I seem quite adjusted to it. I can imagine myself doing it. But not to him, not to him. Once or twice we have been away together. Then I have had him all to myself. I am horribly jealous of him, of course. I never let him talk to me of the people he knows. I like to isolate him from the rest of life and to think that he absolutely belongs to me. He does not, I know. But it gives me pleasure to think he does."
"Because I have put into it all the extraordinary romance of which, of course, I have never dared to speak to him. He knows nothing about it. He will never know anything about it. But the world might guess it; and I will not bare my soul to their shallow, prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope. There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry,—too much of myself!"
From LAWLER 181: Wilde altered this paragraph in every revision.
ZABROUSKI: In the 1891 version, Wilde wrote, “Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all this curious artistic idolatry, of which, of course, I have never cared to speak to him. He knows nothing about it. He shall never know anything about it. But the world might guess it, and I will not bare my soul to their shallow prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope. There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry—too much of myself!” In the original manuscript, Wilde had (after "But the world might guess it") "where there is merely love, they would see something evil. Where there is spiritual passion, they would suggest something vile." If Wilde kept those two sentences in, it could be assumed that critics would have used it as fuel for their argument on what constitutes a moral vs immoral book.
garden
From LAWLER 181: Wilde canceled the following at this point from the manuscript: "A curious smile crossed his face. He seemed like a man in a dream."
I must see Dorian Gray."
LAWLER 180: Henry's response in the manuscript is too heavily blotted to read fully, but he protests Basil's being in Dorian's power: "to make yourself the slave of your slave. It is worse than wicked, it is silly. I hate Dorian Gray!" In one stroke, Wilde rid himself of some silly dialogue and removed a clue, perhaps, to the nature of the relationship between Dorian and Basil as a form of homoerotic bondage so fashionable among the English that the French referred to it as le vice anglais.
me
ZABROUSKI: Wilde added "Some subtle influence passed from him to me, and for the first time in my life I saw in the plain woodland the wonder I had always looked for and always missed" to the end of this paragraph in 1891.
LAWLER 180: From the original manuscript, Wilde deleted "and as he leaned across to look at it, his lips touched my hand. The world becomes young to me when I hold his hand..." In 1891, Wilde added another sentence here (which I transcribed above) emphasizing Dorian's influence over Basil's art.
lad
From LAWLER 180: "Lad" substituted for "boy" here and in several other places from the original manuscript. Additionally, Wilde removed "Through twenty summers have shown him roses less scarlet than his lips" from the manuscript.
feeling
From LAWLER 176: Wilde changed the original "passion" to "feeling."
looking him straight in the face,
From LAWLER 176: Wilde canceled the phrase "taking hold of his hand" from the original manuscript.
faltering steps of kings.
From LAWLER 175: Original manuscript had "to dog the steps of kings."
"No: I won't send it anywhere."
From LAWLER 174: Original manuscript had "and yet, you are quite right about it. It is my best work."
other
ZABROUSKI: Added in from the original manuscript.
slanting
ZABROUSKI: Removed "silent" before "slanting beams" from the original manuscript.
Gray
ZABROUSKI: Replaced "him" from original manuscript.
he is
ZABROUSKI: Replaced "we are" from the original manuscript.
would
ZABROUSKI: Replaced "did" from the original manuscript.
slanting
ZABROUSKI: Removed "silent" before "slanting beams" from the original manuscript.
Gray
ZABROUSKI: Replaced "him" from original manuscript.
would
ZABROUSKI: Replaced "did" from the original manuscript.
he is
ZABROUSKI: Replaced "we are" from the original manuscript.
correctly."
From LAWLER 179: J.M. Stoddart, Lippincott's editor changed the original reading "live with their wives," removing an expression inadmissible to the American public. Wilde let these and similar changes stand even though they are clearly inferior to the original.