The Picture of Dorian Gray: 7

Passage: (Lord Henry to Dorian) "'You said to me that Sibyl Vane represented to you all the heroines of romance-- that she was Desdemona one night, and Ophelia the other; that if she died as Juliet she came to life as Imogen.'

...

'Mourn for Ophelia, if you like. Put ashes on your head because Cordelia was strangled. Cry out against Heaven because the daughter of Barbantio died. But don't waste your tears over Sibyl Vane. She was less real than they are.'

There was a silence. The evening darkened in the room. Noiselessly, and with silver feet, the shadows crept in from the garden. That colors faded wearily out of things. After some time Dorian Gray looked up. 'You have explained me to myself, Harry' he murmured, with something of a sigh of relief.'"



In the story, the reader observes many changes in Dorian Gray's character. The reader first observed the hedonistic influence of Lord Henry, then the completely different and positive influence of Sibyl Vane. The passage shows the transformation of Dorian not only into the picture, but also the hedonist he was foreshadowed to become. Lord Henry, the emblem of the hedonistic motif of the story, is bitterly belittling Sibyl Vane's suicide. Lord Henry touches on Sibyl Vane's acting. Wilde uses irony to portray the life of Sibyl Vane. She not only acts out Shakespearean tragedies, but also lives one. Lord Henry points out the irony through intertextual references. Henry then says, with a chiding tone, "But don't waste your tears over Sibyl Vane. She was less real than they are." Harry completely debases Sibyl, stating that theatrical characters are more human and real than she was. Directly after Henry's remark about Sibyl the passage says "There was a silence. The evening darkened in the room. Noiselessly, and with silver feet, the shadows crept in from the garden. the colors faded wearily out of things." The imagery of the setting is a response to Harry's offensive words. The diction of the passage, using words like "noiselessly", "shadow", "crept", "darkened", and "silence" bombards the reader. Directly after the dark, mysterious alteration of the scene, Dorian says "You have explained me to myself". Despite the horrific words of Harry, evident in the response from the setting, Dorian has found comfort. When he was with Sibyl, and when he planned to marry her, Dorian was rebellious against Harry, he didn't worship him. After the death of Sibyl, as illustrated in this passage, Dorian is returning to Harry.