Characters (Grade 12 NSC Matric English HL): Revision Notes
Characters
Understanding character types
When studying literature, it's essential to understand the different types of characters and their roles in the story. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde creates a rich cast of characters who each serve important purposes in exploring themes of beauty, morality, and corruption.
Protagonist: This is the main character around whom the story revolves. In this novel, Dorian Grey serves as the protagonist - the central figure whose journey we follow throughout the narrative.
Antagonist: This character opposes or conflicts with the protagonist. Lord Henry Wotton functions as the primary antagonist, though it's worth noting that some literary scholars also view Dorian himself as an antagonist due to his destructive behaviour.
Main characters
Dorian Grey - the beautiful protagonist
Dorian Grey stands at the centre of this dark tale as both protagonist and, arguably, antagonist. When we first meet him, he's a stunningly beautiful and wealthy young man having his portrait painted by the artist Basil Hallward.
Key characteristics:
- Obsessed with youth and beauty: Under Lord Henry's toxic influence, Dorian becomes terrified of ageing and losing his physical perfection
- Lacks intellectual depth: Rather than developing his mind, Dorian focuses only on superficial pleasures and beautiful things
- Narcissistic and destructive: His self-obsession leads him to hurt others without remorse
- Morally corrupted: He embraces hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure above all else) and commits increasingly terrible acts
Dorian's character represents the dangers of vanity and moral corruption. His journey from innocent youth to depraved villain forms the heart of the novel's exploration of aestheticism and morality.
Basil Hallward - the principled artist
Basil Hallward serves as Dorian's moral opposite and represents the voice of conscience in the novel. As an artist, he becomes fascinated by Dorian's beauty and paints the fateful portrait that drives the story.
Key characteristics:
- Sensitive and principled: Unlike Lord Henry, Basil maintains strong moral standards throughout the story
- Genuinely cares for Dorian: He tries to protect Dorian from Lord Henry's harmful influence, showing real friendship and concern
- Represents artistic integrity: His obsession with Dorian's beauty comes from an artist's appreciation, not shallow vanity
- Becomes a victim: His principled nature ultimately leads to his death when he confronts Dorian about the truth behind the portrait
Basil functions as Dorian's conscience and shows what Dorian could have become if he had chosen virtue over vice.
Lord Henry Wotton - the corrupting influence
Lord Henry, known to his friends as "Harry," serves as the novel's primary antagonist. He's a member of London's aristocratic society and a friend to both Basil and Dorian, but his influence proves devastating.
Key characteristics:
- Hedonistic philosopher: He promotes the pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence above moral considerations
- Charming but dangerous: Lord Henry uses clever, eloquent speech to make his immoral ideas sound attractive
- Treats people as experiments: He deliberately corrupts Dorian to see what will happen, showing a cruel disregard for human consequences
- Speaks in paradoxes: His contradictory statements confuse and manipulate others
The Duchess of Harley recognises his dangerous nature, telling him: "Lord Henry, you are quite delightful and dreadfully demoralising." This quote perfectly captures how his charm masks his destructive influence.
Sibyl Vane - the tragic actress
Sibyl Vane represents innocence destroyed by Dorian's selfishness. She's a young actress who falls deeply in love with Dorian, calling him "Prince Charming."
Key characteristics:
- Young and vulnerable: At only sixteen, she's naive and easily manipulated
- Dedicated to her craft: Initially an excellent actress who finds escape from her poverty through theatre
- Genuinely loving: Her pure love for Dorian contrasts sharply with his shallow infatuation with her beauty
- Destroyed by rejection: When love affects her ability to act, Dorian cruelly abandons her, leading to her suicide
Sibyl's tragic fate demonstrates the real-world consequences of Dorian's selfish actions and marks his first major moral failure.
Supporting characters
The Vane family
James Vane serves as Sibyl's protective older brother who suspects Dorian's true nature from the beginning. He vows to avenge his sister's death but is accidentally killed at one of Dorian's hunting parties.
Mrs Vane, the mother of Sibyl and James, represents the working-class perspective. She initially sees Dorian as a good match for Sibyl because of his wealth, showing how money can blind people to moral character.
The Wotton family
Victoria Wotton is Lord Henry's wife, though they live essentially separate lives and eventually divorce. Her absence from Lord Henry's daily life reflects the shallow nature of upper-class marriages.
Lady Agatha is Lord Henry's aunt who involves herself in charity work in London's slums, though most people pay little attention to her efforts.
Other aristocratic characters
Lord Fermor is Lord Henry's uncle and an influential member of society. He provides Lord Henry with information about Dorian's family background, helping to establish the young man's social credentials.
Duchess of Monmouth appears as a young woman who flirts with Dorian at his country estate, Selby Royal, representing the superficial romantic entanglements of high society.
Household staff and servants
Victor is Dorian's loyal valet (personal servant). Though trustworthy initially, Dorian becomes suspicious of him and eventually dismisses him, fearing he knows too much about the portrait's secret.
Mrs Leaf serves as Dorian's housekeeper at his London townhouse in Grosvenor Square, representing the working-class people who serve the wealthy but remain largely invisible to them.
Other significant figures
Alan Campbell is a young chemist and former friend of Dorian's. When their friendship ends, Dorian later blackmails him into helping dispose of Basil Hallward's body, showing how Dorian's corruption spreads to others.
Lady Narborough is a London society hostess who entertains Dorian at dinner parties, representing the shallow social world that enables Dorian's double life.
Sir Geoffrey Clouston is a member of Dorian's social circle who accidentally shoots James Vane during a hunting party at Selby Royal.
Dorian's victims
The novel includes a long list of people whose lives Dorian destroys through his selfish actions, including:
- Lady Gwendolen (Lord Henry's sister)
- Sir Henry Ashton
- Lord Kent's son
- Adrian Singleton
- The young Duke of Perth
- Lady Gloucester
- The Duke of Berwick
- Lord Stavely
- A young soldier who commits suicide
These characters demonstrate the far-reaching consequences of moral corruption and show how Dorian's evil spreads throughout Victorian society like a contagion.
Character relationships and conflicts
The relationships between characters drive the novel's central conflicts and create the dramatic tension that propels the narrative forwards.
Key Character Dynamics:
- Basil vs Lord Henry: These two represent opposing influences on Dorian - moral conscience versus hedonistic corruption
- Dorian vs James Vane: This conflict represents justice pursuing evil, though it ultimately fails
- Dorian vs his victims: These relationships show the real human cost of selfishness and moral decay
The triangular relationship between Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry forms the novel's emotional core, with each character representing different aspects of human nature and moral choice.
Key Points to Remember:
- Dorian Gray serves as both protagonist and antagonist - beautiful but corrupted by vanity and Lord Henry's influence
- Lord Henry Wotton is the charming but dangerous philosopher who promotes hedonism and treats people as experiments
- Basil Hallward represents artistic integrity and moral conscience, serving as Dorian's opposite
- Sibyl Vane symbolises innocent love destroyed by Dorian's selfishness, marking his first major moral failure
- Supporting characters each serve specific functions in showing different aspects of Victorian society and the consequences of moral corruption