Modern morality consists in accepting
the standard of one’s age. I consider that for any man of culture
to accept the standard of his age is a form of the grossest immorality.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Summary: Chapter Five
At the Vane household, Sibyl Vane is deliriously
happy over her romance with Dorian Gray. Mrs. Vane, her mother,
is less enthusiastic, and she alternately worries over Dorian’s
intentions and hopes that her daughter will benefit from his obvious
wealth. Sibyl’s brother, James, is also rather cautious regarding
the match. As a sailor preparing to depart for Australia, James arrives
to say his good-byes and warns his mother that she must watch over
Sibyl. Mrs. Vane assures him that admirers such as Dorian Gray are
not uncommon to actresses, and that there is no reason not to “contract
an alliance” with one so wealthy. Impatient with his mother’s “affectations,”
James takes Sibyl on a walk. Rather than discuss her Prince Charming,
Sibyl chatters on about the adventures James is certain to find
in Australia. She imagines him discovering gold but then, thinking
this life too dangerous, states that he will be better off as a
quiet sheep farmer.
James cannot shake the feeling that he is
leaving his sister at an inopportune time. He doubts both Dorian’s
intentions and his mother’s ability to protect Sibyl from them.
Finally, James asks Sibyl about her suitor. He warns her against
Dorian, and Sibyl carries on about the ecstasy of her new love.
As the two sit and watch “the smart people go by,” Sibyl sees Dorian
pass in an open carriage. She points him out, but he is gone before
James sees him. James swears fiercely that if Dorian ever wrongs
her, he will track down her “Prince Charming” and kill him. Sibyl pledges
undying devotion to Dorian. Later that night, James confronts his
mother, asking her whether she was ever married to his father. Mrs.
Vane answers no, and James begs her not to let Sibyl meet the same
fate. Before departing, James again pledges to kill Dorian should
Sibyl ever come to harm by him.
Summary: Chapter Six
That evening over dinner, Lord Henry announces to Basil
Dorian’s plan to marry Sibyl. Basil expresses concern that Dorian
has decided to marry so far beneath his social position. Lord Henry
claims that he himself cannot pass such judgment and that he is
simply interested in observing the boy and his experiences, regardless
of the outcome. Basil doubts that Lord Henry would be so cavalier
if Dorian’s life was, in fact, “spoiled,” but Lord Henry insists
that “no life is spoiled but one whose growth is arrested.”
Dorian enters, and he relates the story of his engagement,
which was precipitated by his seeing Sibyl play the Shakespearean
heroine Rosalind (in As You Like It). Dorian, in
a state of tremendous excitement, remarks that his love for Sibyl
and his desire to live only for her have shown him the falsehood
of all of Lord Henry’s seductive theories about the virtues of selfishness.
Lord Henry, by no means discouraged by Dorian’s speech, defends
his point of view by claiming that it is nature, not he, who dictates
the pursuit of pleasure. The three men make their way to a theater
in the slums where Sibyl Vane is to perform that night.
Analysis: Chapters Five–Six
Critical reception of The Picture of Dorian Gray was
mixed, with many readers condemning the novel as decadent or unmanly.
The relationship between Lord Henry and Dorian, as well the one
of Basil and Dorian, is clearly homoerotic, and must have shocked readers
who valued Victorian respectability. Although Wilde stops short
of stating that Basil and Lord Henry have sexual feelings for Dorian,
the language he uses to describe their devotion to Dorian is unmistakably
the language of deep, romantic intimacy. Wilde’s language of irony
facilitates dodging direct statements; in one scene, for example,
although the ostensible topic of conversation is Dorian as a subject
for portraits, the exchange between Basil and Lord Henry betrays
the romantic nature of Basil’s feelings:
[Lord Henry:] “Tell me more about Mr Dorian
Gray. How often do you see him?”
[Basil Hallward:] “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if
I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me.”
Men do have relationships with women in the
novel—Dorian falls in love with Sibyl and Lord Henry himself is
married—but the novel’s heterosexual relationships prove to be rather
superficial and short-lived. If the novel is homoerotic, it is also
misogynistic. Victoria Wotton, like most of the women in the novel,
is depicted with no real depth: she is briefly (and not kindly)
introduced, never to be heard from again. The most significant female character
in the novel is Sibyl, who seems to fulfill Lord Henry’s observation
that “[w]omen are a decorative sex.” There is precious little substance
to Sibyl’s character, as becomes clear in following chapters when
she so easily gives up her greatest talent in order to pursue a
relationship with Dorian. In this section, as she strolls through
the park with James, she emerges as a rather foolishly romantic
young woman. She is perfectly content to fall in love with a stranger
whom she knows only by the fairy-tale name with which she has christened
him. Indeed, Sibyl is little more than a placeholder in a prefabricated
romance. Dorian says nearly as much when he describes the thrill
of seeing her placed “on a pedestal of gold . . . to see the world
worship the woman who is mine.” This sentiment confirms Lord Henry’s
ego-driven philosophy of women as ornaments as well as the male-centered focus
of Wilde’s narrative gaze: men—particularly their relationships
and the influence they bring to bear upon one another—matter most
in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
