Lord Henry forgives someone for acting badly because they are beautiful this is when Lord Henry assures Dorian that his Aunt Agatha could not possible stay mad at him because she is so smitten with his beauty. It is possible to see evil in a beautiful face however Lord Henry’s first impression of him is that he looks so good and pure, “all the candour of youth was there, as well as youth’s passionate purity”. Due to this Lord Henry is not surprised that Basil has such affection for Dorian as he loves to paint Dorian as a subject. From the first sight of seeing Dorian, Lord Henry takes a shine to Dorian “you are too charming”, he see’s this and knows he can influence Dorian easily as he is unaware of his beauty and how it will fade over time.
Lord Henry is the first to impress Dorian that his beauty is what will get him things in life and the idea that his beauty will fade with age. He believes beauty is only upon those who have youth, “youth is one thing worth having”, “when your old, wrinkled and ugly”. This shows that Lord Henry knows that Dorian’s looks will fade but whilst he has his Youth he should embrace what he has as his beauty will get him the things in life that a person who may not be the most beautiful won’t. He issues a warning to Dorian that he should live out his dreams now when he is young, beautiful and can do no wrong in the eyes of the world. Dorian is quite aware of the effect his looks have on the people around him however Lord Henry tells him that someday he will be ugly and he will understand what he is talking about.
When Lord Henry tries to enlighten Dorian on how beautiful and youthful he is, Dorian frowns at the thought of losing it all due to age. Lord Henry tells him “Beauty is a form of Genius,” it can be said that this means if a person knows how to use their beauty to their advantage they would be able to achieve what most would not.
Dorian awakens to the reality of his beauty for the first time when he sees Basil’s portrait of him, he is instantly struck by what Lord Henry had told him about the idea that his beauty will fade overtime. This would not happen in the portrait as it will forever be beautiful even as it ages, “I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young.” Reality has clearly hit Dorian and in some ways he may almost feel as though beauty will be the cause of his death. Dorian has realized how important beauty is and how it is only their when you are youthful. He would be willing to give anything to keep it. Though he had previously been unawake of his beauty, he realizes it now as the most important aspect he possesses. “Yes, there is nothing in the whole world that I would not give! I would give my soul for that!” Clearly beauty is more important than his own soul. In chapter 2 the idea of Beauty only being present when a person is youthful is clearly shown as Lord Henry is the reason why Dorian’s views have changed and why over time he will despise himself for growing old.