Downstairs, the servants heard a terrible scream. It came from somewhere high in the house. They looked at each other in fear. 'What was that?' asked the cook. 'It sounded like someone dying,' said the butler. They waited, but no other sound came. The house was completely silent. 'Should we go and check on the master?' asked a maid. 'He told us never to disturb him upstairs.' But that scream had been too horrible to ignore. The butler climbed the stairs to the locked room. He knocked on the door. 'Sir? Mr. Gray? Are you all right?' There was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer. He tried the door, but it was locked. The other servants had followed him up the stairs. 'We need to break down this door,' said the butler. Two of the men threw their weight against it. The old lock gave way, and the door burst open. They rushed into the room. On the wall hung a beautiful portrait. It showed their master in all his youthful glory. Golden hair, clear eyes, an innocent smile. The painting looked as fresh as the day it was made. But on the floor lay something horrible. A dead man in evening clothes. He was withered and wrinkled. His face was hideous with age and decay. A knife was stuck in his heart. The servants did not recognize him at first. 'Who is this old man?' asked the cook. 'Where is Mr. Gray?' The butler knelt down beside the body. He looked at the rings on the dead man's fingers. He recognized them immediately. They belonged to Dorian Gray. 'My God,' he whispered. 'This is the master.' The others gasped in horror. 'That cannot be Mr. Gray!' 'Mr. Gray is young and beautiful!' But the rings did not lie. Somehow, impossibly, this was Dorian Gray. The police were called. They could not explain what they found. A man who should have been forty looked eighty. He had stabbed himself through the heart. The beautiful portrait watched over the scene. It was young and perfect and innocent. Just as Dorian Gray had looked for so many years. No one ever understood what had happened. How had Dorian aged so terribly in a single night? What was the connection to the portrait? These questions would never be answered. The only witnesses to the truth were dead. Basil, who painted the portrait. And Dorian, who sold his soul for youth. Lord Henry heard the news the next morning. He sat in silence for a long time. 'How strange,' he finally said. 'How very, very strange.' He never spoke of Dorian Gray again. But sometimes, late at night, he wondered. What had really happened in that locked room? What dark magic had Dorian discovered? And had it all been worth it in the end? The portrait remained beautiful. But beauty, as Dorian had learned, comes with a terrible price.
B1Chapter 17 / 20490 words70 sentences
Chapter 17: Fear
Chapter 17 · The Picture of Dorian Gray · B1 English. Tip: Click on any word while reading to see its translation. Take your time with each chapter and review the vocabulary before moving on.
Chapter Summary
Dorian hosts a party at his country house but is terrified when he sees James Vane's face at the window. He stays inside for days, afraid to leave.
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Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
What did the servants hear that made them investigate?
2
How did the servants recognize that the dead man was Dorian Gray?
3
What did the portrait look like when the servants found it?
4