Chapter IV, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde published in 1891.She laughed nervously as she spoke, and watched him with her vague forget-me-not eyes. She was a curious woman, whose dresses always looked as if they had been designed in a rage and put on in a tempest. She was usually in love with somebody, and, as her passion was never returned, she had kept all her illusions. She tried to look picturesque, but only succeeded in being untidy. Her name was Victoria, and she had a perfect mania for going to church.
Everything about this paragraph is wonderful. It is such a beautifully written description of Victoria, making her seem all at once flurried and hurried and exciting, at the same time as very simple and absurd. I love this paragraph so much because it just seems to me to be such a triumph of a character description. It makes me happy to have met her acquaintance.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it so much! I only wish that he had written more books.
ReplyDelete