In one point he was more fortunate than the novel’s fantastic hero. He never knew – never, indeed, had any cause to know – that somewhat grotesque dread of mirrors, and polished metal surfaces, and still water which came upon the young Parisian so early in his life, and was occasioned by the sudden decay of a beauty that had once, apparently, been so remarkable. It was with an almost cruel joy – and perhaps in nearly every joy, as certainly in every pleasure, cruelty has its place – that he used to read the latter part of the book, with its really tragic, if somewhat overemphasized, account of the sorrow and despair of one who had himself lost what in others, and the world, he had most dearly valued.
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 11. Dorian’s good fortune in staying young and beautiful is contrasted with the fate of the decadent young Parisian man in the yellow book. The Frenchman suffers the sudden loss of his remarkable beauty, bringing him sorrow and despair. The narcissistic Dorian admits to "an almost cruel joy" in reading the latter part of the book about the decay of the hero’s youthful looks. Unlike him, Dorian knows no dread of mirrors or polished surfaces. The next line after this passage tells us: "The wonderful beauty that had so fascinated Basil Hallward, and many others besides him, seemed never to leave him."