A clever and pretty member of Lord Henry’s social set. She is unusual amongst the women of the novel as one of the only ones able to impress Lord Henry and keep up equal banter with him. She is also enamored with Dorian and shows that marriage in this society is often just a show, revealing secret affections, something that Lord Henry seems to highly approve of.
The Duchess of Monmouth Quotes in The Picture of Dorian Gray
The The Picture of Dorian Gray quotes below are all either spoken by The Duchess of Monmouth or refer to The Duchess of Monmouth. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 15
Quotes
“She is very clever, too clever for a woman. She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness. It is the feet of clay that make the gold of the image precious.”
Related Characters:
Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), The Duchess of Monmouth
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Duchess of Monmouth Character Timeline in The Picture of Dorian Gray
The timeline below shows where the character The Duchess of Monmouth appears in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
The Duchess is on Henry’s side; he makes her feel a lot better about her mistakes and...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...to sit by Lord Henry. Henry talks about the evening they spent together with the Duchess of Monmouth, who is smitten with Dorian. She is an unusual woman, clever and pretty,...
(full context)
Chapter 17
A week later, Dorian is entertaining the Duchess, her husband, and other elegant guests at his country house. Dorian, the Duchess, and Lord...
(full context)
...the virtues of the English, on the meaning of love, the importance of reputation. The Duchess makes the point that women love with their ears, while men love with their eyes,...
(full context)
Dorian goes to fetch some orchids for the Duchess to take home. When he is gone, Henry inquires about the Duchess’s flirting. She likes...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...and fears and is surprisingly refreshed by the winter day and meets up with the Duchess and the Duchess’s brother, Sir Geoffrey, who has been hunting. Being outside amongst nature and...
(full context)
...him behind a tree, but it is only the gardener with a note from the Duchess.
(full context)
...for a woman anymore. He would rather escape on his own and forget everything. The Duchess comes out to greet them, asking about the strange incident and why Dorian had asked...
(full context)
With Dorian gone, Henry asks the Duchess about her feelings for Dorian. She isn’t sure how she feels. They banter about it,...
(full context)
