Throughout ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ the reader is shown two sides to the character of Dorian. Whilst a strong dislike from the reader emerges as a result of the decisions he chooses to make, one can also sympathise with the character due to him being perceived as weak and easily influenced.
One could argue that Oscar Wilde presents Dorian Gray as a selfish and self-centred character. This is shown through his constant disregard of other people’s feelings and his ignorant nature to put his needs first. Dorian’s interaction with Sibyl Vane supports this as Sibyl purposely refuses to act her role in Romeo and Juliet well to show “infinite joy” toward Dorian. He, however, finds this to be extremely humiliating despite claiming moments before that he was in love with her. This is a prime example of how Dorian puts his self before the one he supposedly loves. Sibyl claims that by finally committing herself to Dorian, she has no desire to pretend to be anybody else and so therefore she cannot perform her role. She claims that Dorian has “freed my soul from prison” and cannot “mimic” another person’s persona. Instead of seeing this as a gesture of love, Dorian feels betrayed and states that Sibyl is nothing without her art. He believes that he will now suffer because of this which portrays the characters selfish and egotistical nature for Sibyl is actually the one who is left without a career and without love. However, one could argue that at times Dorian’s love for Sibyl is genuine and he does truly believes that he has found the “greatest romance” of his life.
Dorian’s love for Sibyl Vane can be shown through his want and desire for her to achieve the best that she can. The quote “She will make the world as mad as she has made me” suggests that Dorian is committed towards Sybil Vane and has confidence in her talent. It infers that Dorian believes Sybil’s talent