Chapter 4 -- Dorian meets Lord Henry’s wife, Lady Victoria

Wotton.

He tells Lord Henry that he has fallen in love with an actress, Sibyl Vane,
because of

her beauty and acting ability. She calls him “Prince Charming”. He is upset
that she is.

forced to work for Mr Isaacs and promises to free her and get her a job at
a proper

West End theatre. Dorian is infatuated with Sibyl because she portrays a
different

woman each night. Lord Henry agrees to meet Dorian and Basil for
supper and to

watch Sibyl Vane in a play, the following evening. Later in the evening
Lord Henry

receives a telegram from Dorian, telling him that he is engaged to Sibyl

Vane.

This chapter shows the development of Dorian’s character. In the first

three chapters

he is in the background but now becomes the focus of the novel. He

allows himself to

be influenced by Lord Henry. Twice, he repeats sayings learned from

Lord Henry.

Dorian has fallen in love with a girl he hardly knows and by end of the
chapter they are

engaged to be married. His goal is not to be in a relationship with her but

to develop

her as an actress, showing that he has become a manipulator just like

Lord Henry.

This also shows how selfish he is.

Chapter 5

The next day Sibyl and her mother discuss her (Sibyl’s) relationship with
Dorian. Sibyl
is deeply in love with Dorian. Mrs Vane hopes that Dorian is wealthy as the
family owes

Mr Isaacs (the theatre manager) 50 pounds. The Vanes still do not even
know Dorian’s.

real name. Sibyl’s 16-year-old brother, James, is leaving for Australia to

seek a

better life. James is very protective over his sister. He hates “the young
dandy” (Dorian)

because he is a “gentleman”. He threatens to kill him “like a dog” if he

harms Sibyl.

Dorian and Lord Henry do not appear in this chapter. Sibyl is innocent and

pure and she is in direct contrast to the characters of Dorian and Lord
Henry. James

Vane is bitter and angry about the class system in England and the life he
and his

family are forced to live. He believes that Dorian will treat his sister as a
slave. His

constant threats to kill Dorian are effective foreshadowing.

Chapter 6

Lord Henry tells Basil, at dinner, that Dorian is engaged to be married.

Basil is shocked

and upset but Lord Henry is not concerned, adding only, that the girl is
beautiful (which

he sees as one of the highest virtues). Lord Henry believes that

“the drawback to

marriage is that it makes one unselfish. And unselfish people … lack

individuality.”

Basil is deeply saddened by the way in which Dorian is changing and feels
that the

marriage is not a good idea.

Chapter 7

Dorian is in high spirits about being in love. He is devastated when Sibyl

acts badly in
the play because her passion is now focused on Dorian. Her poor acting
disturbs him

so much that he breaks up with her, hurting her cruelly. “You have
killed my love”.

She begs him to forgive her, but he refuses.

After the break-up, Dorian notices that the picture has changed. It shows
cruelty in the

face, while his own face remains pure and innocent looking. He
realises that his

strange wish has come true and that he can live a corrupt life without his
face showing

the effects, while the picture will show ageing and the ugliness of his
soul. Dorian

decides to make amends with Sibyl and avoid seeing Lord Henry any
more. But Sibyl

has already killed herself as a result of his cruelty. He pulls a screen in

front of the

painting to hide it.

The novel now focusses on Dorian and the changes in his character start
to become

more dramatic. His feeble idea about making up with Sibyl is selfish. He
only wants to

marry her to protect the painting. By the end of this chapter, we see that
the painting

symbolises Dorian’s soul. Dorian’s wish to escape “the poisonous

theories” of Lord

Henry show that he sees him as an evil, devil-like influence. This

also proves that

Dorian knows that Lord Henry’s influence is evil and that he

chooses to allow this

influence in his life.

Chapter 8
Dorian receives a letter from Lord Henry but does not read it. He starts to
understand

that the change in the picture is a result of his terrible cruelty to Sibyl
Vane. He writes

a long letter begging her forgiveness and feels much better, even though
she has not

even received it yet.

Lord Henry visits Dorian later in the day and Dorian tells him of his plan to
marry Sibyl.

In a twist of dramatic irony it becomes clear that Sibyl has

committed suicide by

swallowing poison and that Dorian does not know yet. Dorian feels
no remorse.

Instead, he is thrilled that his first love letter is to a dead girl.

After Lord Henry leaves, Dorian checks the picture again. For a
moment he feels

remorse about what has happened to Sibyl but then decides to go on

seeking “eternal

youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder
sins,” He covers the painting with a screen and joins Lord Henry at the
opera.

Throughout the novel this pattern persists. Whenever Dorian commits an

unspeakable

act, he can later be found engaging in delightful but shallow social

activities. By

including this detail, Wilde emphasises that Dorian truly does not
feel sorry for his

terrible behaviour.

Chapter 9

Basil visits Dorian the next morning, worried that he may be upset about
Sibyl’s death.

He is shocked and surprised that Dorian went to the opera so soon after
her death.
Dorian remains unsympathetic about Sibyl. He tells Basil that he does not
want to talk

about “horrid subjects” and instead asks him about his paintings. Basil is
deeply upset

by Dorian’s “horrible” attitude. He blames Lord Henry for the changes in

Dorian.

During this visit, Basil asks to see the picture because he is planning to
exhibit it in

Paris. Dorian is horrified and reminds Basil of his promise never to exhibit
the painting.

In this chapter we see that Basil is a caring and decent person. He is

worried about

Sibyl’s mother and Dorian. However, Dorian is now li. g a life of

selfishness and manipulation. Dorian makes a reference to Sibyl’s brother,
James, and the reader is reminded of the brother’s threat to kill anyone
who harms Sibyl. Dorian also says that he will turn to Basil in times of
trouble which foreshadows what will happen later.

Chapter 10

This chapter mainly deals with Dorian hiding the painting in an attic room.
He is aware

that Basil could have saved him from the sins he will commit but decides
that it is “too

late now”. His paranoia begins and he worries that his servant, Victor, has
seen the

painting.

Dorian sends him to Lord Henry to ask for reading material and Lord
Henry sends

Dorian a well-worn book covered in yellow paper. He finds the book very
interesting

and cannot stop reading it. He now embarks upon his double life. At times
he is filled

with worry about being discovered but by hiding the picture, he chooses a
life of vanity

and sin.
Chapters 1 to 10 cover a period of about a month after Dorian and Lord
Henry first

meet. In that time Lord Henry’s influence increases and Dorian changes a
great deal.

Dorian has become self-absorbed and cruel. He becomes fascinated with

the “yellow

book”.