Dorian Gray's Perception of Sibyl Vane as a Woman in Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray

1. Introduction

In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde deals, among other topics, with Gothic gender concepts and gender relationships. He is mainly concerned with the relation between the protagonist Dorian Gray and the two other male main characters Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward. Even so, Gray's short affair with the actress Sibyl Vane and his change in character thereafter make this woman essential for the course of the entire novel. However, Dorian never actually loves Sibyl Vane as the woman she is in real life. He only sees the women she personifies when acting on stage and therefore solely perceives her as an incarnation of beauty.

In order to fully understand Dorian Gray's perception of Sibyl Vane, one first has to take a closer look on how he talks to his friends about her before the fatal night of her failure as an actress. One particular conversation between Dorian and Lord Henry shows that Dorian does not care at all about who Sibyl really is - he admires her for certain qualities, but not for her personality. The second step is to examine Dorian's attitude towards Sibyl after her last performance. As soon as she loses her talent for acting, Dorian immediately ceases to care for her because she does not interest him without her art. Lastly, considering Terence Dawson's analysis of Dorian Gray (based on Jung's theory of psychological types) will provide a psychological explanation for his behavior.

This paper will conclude that Dorian Gray does not see Sibyl Vane's real self in her; instead, he imagines her to be something far beyond her reality.

2. Dorian's behavior before the fatal event

Lord Henry Wotton is the first of his friends to learn that Dorian is in love. The conversation during which Dorian tells him about Sibyl for the first time is crucial for understanding his feelings towards the actress. It reveals that Dorian does not love Sibyl for the woman she is in real life but for the women she represents on stage. So, while Dorian is indeed convinced to be in love, he does not really experience love but rather fascination and ardor.

What makes Dorian want Sibyl are her beauty and her skills as an actress; they move him enough to make him say "Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life." (Wilde 62). In fact, since Sibyl's graceful appearance, her charming innocence (65) and her way of moving him by means of her acting (62) are everything he talks about to Lord Henry it appears that these superficial qualities are quite enough for him. Anything beyond Sibyl's existence on stage is of no interest to him, least of all her past (65). Dorian's reaction to Lord Henry's question "When is she Sibyl Vane?" (66) clearly point his attitude out. Not only does he answer "Never.", he also makes it quite clear that the way she is "more than an individual" because she is "all the great heroines of the world in one" (66) means more to him than her real self ever could.

Sibyl is not only looking beautiful, she also incorporates beauty when performing on stage. Therefore, she is a perfect example of Gothic gender concepts which assign to women the role of the beautiful sex (as opposed to men being of the sublime sex). Sibyl as a professional performer embodies beauty at its finest; the beauty of a human body and the beauty of art merge into one. In all likelihood, Dorian Gray is attracted by her because to him she is the epitome of beauty. If it were not for her appearance and her profession, however, he probably never would have developed feelings for her in the first place. One can most definitely say that Dorian does not love Sibyl Vane, but he is intrigued with her appearance and her skills.

3. Dorian's attitude after the critical incidence

When Dorian finally brings Basil and Lord Henry to the theater to see Sibyl act, they witness a disastrous performance. While Basil and Lord Henry are disappointed by Sibyl's bad acting, Dorian is completely devastated. Immediately after the play he terminates his relationship with Sibyl. Dorian's rude and cold behavior towards Sibyl show that her art was what made him love her; now that she has failed to fascinate him, he is no longer interested in her.

Sibyl is downright proud of her bad

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