“There were passions in him that would find their terrible outlet, dreams that would make the shadow of true evil” (Wilde,115). The author reveals that pleasure is the driving force of many characters in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, but this pursuit of pleasure becomes fatal once it is caught in the hands of Dorian Gray. Throughout the novel Dorian Gray changes his opinion on pleasure based on what he needs to escape reality. For every death and misdeed for which he is responsible; Dorian must search harder for a more drastic form of liberation. His path declines from his innocent beginnings with Sybil Vane, to the pleasure he finds in corrupt relationships, and finally to the need to escape the reality of a former friend's murder. Dorian's view on pleasure changes as his soul deteriorates and often what initially brought him pleasure is then destroyed and he must find another form of enjoyment. He uses obsession and forced ignorance to try to avoid the reality of his sins, but ultimately his only way to escape his own damnation is death. Dorian Gray's pursuit of pleasure through sensation and detachment intensifies as the novel progresses and is the cause of the death and destruction of many as Dorian tries to find escape from himself and his actions. Sybyl Vane was the prime cause in Dorian's pursuit of pleasure and while the situation began innocently enough, it turned deadly the moment Dorian's obsession failed to bring him the pleasure Dorian needed. While in Lord Henry's library, Dorian reveals that he is in love with Sibyl Vane after only three weeks of meeting her. “You filled me with an unbridled desire to know everything about life… I had a passion for sensation” (Wilde, 48). Dorian has just been awakened to his k... middle of paper... in pleasure leading to the deaths of five people and his indulgence in pleasure leading to the loss of his sanity and soul. Dorian tries so hard to ignore the guilt within him that he cannot see the repetitive process he is experiencing. He seeks pleasure, destroys or alienates what gives him pleasure, becomes guilt-ridden and diminished by his own exploits, and then must find another form of liberation to escape his sins. Pleasure plays a vital role in this novel and has more power over Dorian than his own beauty because pleasure was the basis of each of Dorian's sins. It is not Lord Henry's influence or a narcissistic personality that kills Dorian, but the pursuit of pleasure, regardless of the consequences, that truly causes the degradation of Dorian's soul. Work cited Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1985. Print.