In both stories there are magic "talismans-, possessions, of which confess upon its owner the fatal power of having all his wishes granted. The talisman can symbolise an idea of the destructive power of thought, a term embracing not only celebration, but also passion, emotion, imagination and exercise of the will.
The environment changes in accordance with Dorian's mood. At the beginning we can see Dorian as a happy, vigorous young man so the surroundings adapt to this state. "The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering room. Lord Henry went to the garden and found Dorian Gray burying his face in the great cool lilac-blossoms, feverishly drinking in their perfume as if it had been wine."" The novella starts in spring and ends in winter, so the environment becomes as old as the portrait and Dorian. Chapter 16 shows rainy, autumnal days but mortality is also present: "The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull. From time to time a huge misshapen cloud stretched a long arm across and hid it."" Chapter 17 shows already the dead nature in wintertime. .
The demonic Lord Henry belongs to the great tempters known from Faust by Goethe, Peter Schlemil's Wonderful Story by Chamisso or The Wild Ass's Skin by Balzac. This seducing figure sometimes stays in the background and appears to give advice to his protégé when that really needs him, when weak and helpless. He knows his victim very well, his secret desires and his failings and he makes use of them. Its original model is Satan from the Bible. The tempter makes his prey believe that he does not need anything neither laws nor God to achieve his own aims. "The terror of society, which is the basis of morals, the terror of God, which is the secret of religion - these are the two things that govern us.