all right let me talk about Henry, Basil and Dorian rq and excuse me for memory holes. spoilers ahead
i never have seen the love Basil had for Dorian as something that is pure, which confused me usually when people talk about Basil's feelings as some kind of romantic yearning. Basil to me, was just some guy, which is exactly why he died in the middle of the book
Basil was simply the lens in which the reader gets to see how society objectifies a naive Dorian who doesn't understand anything better. Basil's feelings may be genuine but it was definitely infatuation, i never saw Basil as a legitimate love interest. he's just one Basil out of the other Basils like Sybil and Allan who got roped into their infatuation. he's no one special
i don't think Basil was a villain to the same degree as Henry but he was definitely complicit. especially since he would be about a decade older than 17 yo Dorian, but the power imbalance from age difference isn't really present in the text itself, it's more like a modern retrospection imo. Basil didn't really have that level of power over Dorian but he isn't entirely innocent
the power play doesn't really come from age differences, it comes more from Henry's manipulation of rational. to a naive Dorian whose life has been treated as a mindless doll, Henry is this novel thing that, through his constant fucking yapping, gave an impression to Dorian that Dorian is being treated like a peer with agency and intellect. Henry doesn't see Dorian like that, of course. what Henry gave to Dorian isn't just his flimsy philosophy, he gave Dorian a rationale to his worries. the world sees Dorian as an Aesthetic and Henry gave a foundational rational why that happens
this shit is important. because this does two things: 1. it ropes Dorian into Henry's pseudo intellectual yappings and 2. aesthetics, the vanity of the senses, that's what Dorian is most familiar with. that's like, bro's only thing that bro knows so when Henry actually gives "insight" on why that shit happens it turns into a core value/philosophy within Dorian
your suffering is there and at first being naive you don't know why it's there, when you gain "insight" to why it happens you cling into it. it's like that cult type shit
the reason why Henry didn't die is simply because he was not overpowered by Dorian. Basil was influenced, Sybil, etc, but not Henry. it feels incredibly bitter and unfair but it kinda just makes sense to me. the whole idea is that if you're gonna chase for vanity you're gonna die out of vanity. Henry just doesn't always follow his own yappings which is probably why he was saved, prolly
TLDR i never understood why people treat TPODG as like, a sweet romance between queer men when it's really just about some kid getting groomed. which, just because a tragic tale about an abuse victim perpetuating abuse doesn't mean it's bad or doesn't hold it's own weight. but it really isn't just about what i feel like i seen online
edit: you actually wanna know what's really funny? before finishing the book, seeing fanart of Sybil with these three blokes made me think she played a much bigger role but no bro just died like that