Sybil And Mrs. Vane In The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

Improved Essays
During the nineteenth century, many women were portrayed as victims. Throughout this time period, ladies were relied upon to run the house and acquire an uninvolved part, while the male figure was the dominant provider. In Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, this custom of male and female roles is portrayed. A major character in the novel is the beautiful Sybil Vane. She is Dorian’s love interest and an actress at the nearby theater. She is one of the leading female characters who is portrayed as a victim. Sibyl rejects her acting and even expresses that she would loathe 'to be free'. She is in this way spoke to as a casualty of society who has been caught for so long that she would not realize what to do in the event that she was genuinely free. Mrs. Vane is excessively spoken to as a casualty and it is just James Vane who effectively leaves and seeks after his own life. Sybil and Mrs Vane are liable to playing parts and it is likewise critical to take note of that the greater part of the Shakespeare subjects that Sibyl play are casualties of men and this further fortifies the idea that ladies are sentenced to a man centric culture. …show more content…
This ideal created the desire to further keep up a ‘maternal’ and minding nature. This is shown when Lord Henry doesn’t assume Dorian will need his spouse to act once they are married. This fortifies the prevailing philosophies of the part of ladies in the nineteenth century. Incidentally, it is Sibyl’s resignation and powerlessness to act or perform which might be viewed as a male part: working and earning a salary. This is what executes Dorian’s

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    While Abbott’s, “Flatland” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper” both illustrate critiques towards gender roles, such as women being treated unfairly, and man’s role being superior to women, these authors reveal numerous approaches and techniques toward the narratives’ critiques. Due to the methods and techniques to critique gender roles throughout these two texts, it supports the authors main theme of a typical gender role during the Victorian period. Additionally, Rosemary Jann’s, “Flatland Introduction” assists readers to uncover why the authors use the methods they do in order to offer a critique to gender. Exploring Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” this text criticizes traditional notions of gender…

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    William Shakespeare captivates the audience in the comedic play The Taming Of the Shrew by raising awareness of gender inequality and the significance of money during the Elizabethan context. Themes of sexism and money are still relevant in today's society. The Taming of the shrew deeply explores the relationships of men and women creating opportunities for Shakespeare to confront the responder with questioning thoughts of the power of money and the view of sexism in the Elizabethan era. The beliefs of women and men in the Elizabethan times where very patriarchy, regarding the women as the weaker sex.…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women at the end of both the 18th and 19th centuries had very little say in what happened in their lives. This was particularly true in the area of romantic relationships and marriage. Eliza from The Coquette and Edna from The Awakening both face dilemmas in this area as a single and married woman respectively. Although each dies a tragic death, they demonstrate a shift in the moral fiber of society not to occur for many years. These women challenge their era’s standards about relational morality and personal autonomy through making independent choices based on their emotions.…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women at the end of both the 18th and 19th centuries had very little say in what happened in their lives. Particularly, this became true in the area of romantic relationships and marriage. Eliza from The Coquette and Edna from The Awakening both face dilemmas in this area as a single and married woman respectively. Although each dies a tragic death, they demonstrate a shift in the moral fiber of society not to occur for many years. These women challenge their era’s standards about relational morality and personal autonomy through making independent choices based on their emotions.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    There are not many short books that can leave a memorable and lasting impression on the reader, but The Picture of Dorian Gray is certainly among one of them. First published in 1890, the book tells the tale of A young man, Dorian Gray, who becomes infatuated with his beauty after a conversation with Lord Henry Wotton, who he met through his friend, Basil Hallward, the true culprit of the tragedy, for he was the one who painted the portrait of Dorian, which became the symbol of corruption within the youth’s own soul. The author, Oscar Wilde, has managed to contrive a unique story, considered indecent for its time due to its plot as well as elaborate metaphorical allusions and character depiction that violated public morality. While it may seem…

    • 1851 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Oscar Wilde does an excellent job utilizing Heteronormativity and Homosocialality to portray masculinity throughout his book, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Heteronormativity is the idea that heterosexuality is the only established sexual orientation. While, Homosocialality focuses more on the idea that men can bond with men without being labeled homosexual. The three main characters, Basil, Lord Henry and Dorian, experience many situations that illustrate these two theories. There is also an erotic triangle that links the two enemies, Basil and Lord Henry, to a romance which is Dorian.…

    • 1684 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, demonstrates the relationship between a man and a woman in the mid nineteenth century. In modern day relationships, the husband and wife are treated as equals, but during the nineteenth century, the man is seen as powerful and the wife as weak. Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper”, there are clear examples of the roles men and women fall into, the power difference between men and women, and the effect it causes on the relationship. During the mid nineteenth century, there are typical roles that men and women fall into. Men are the ones that make money and pursue careers, while the women are left to sit at home and care for the children.…

    • 1008 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many people think that males in our society today are brought up to define who they are as a person through the idealized version of heroics, the glory of competition, and, above all else, the idea that only winners are successful. Females, on the other hand, are brought up to define their identities through assembly, collaboration, unselfishness, home life, and community. This view of different male and female roles can be seen throughout literature. However, though both men and women have been represented throughout literature there is a clear commentary thread on the roles of women in society.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Victorian Era was the mid nineteen centuries to the early twentieth century when a woman’s role was to be at home having nothing to do with work or out of home things. The feminine side was looked to as powerless. It kept women from having any sort of power and made sure that women were not look at as normal people not only in the eyes of men but women as well. The Picture of Dorian Gray displays the aftereffect of disregarding women. In this novel, the way the male characters treated the women it was as if the women were not important and this was shown through the evil acts of Dorian Gray.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For centuries, mankind has had a propensity to utilise the biological distinctions of the sexes in order to enforce a societal distinction between the sexes, which is known as gender. Gender, as the socially imposed division of the sexes, allowed societies to delineate certain characteristics to each of the sexes, and thus assign different roles, moral codes, and, in certain societies, thoughts and emotions to them. As such, the study of gender is of profound importance to the manner in which one reads and studies literature. For instance, the delineation of the sexes prior to the 19th century, women were educated to a lesser extent than men, having an education limited to that of moral virtues, modern languages, and societal accomplishments…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Monsters have been involved in society since the beginning of time. A monster is the physical embodiment of everything that humans are afraid of. Monsters are featured in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. There is a discrepancy, however, in what makes a man a monster. In both Shelley and Wilde’s novels, it is the creators, not the creations, who are the real monsters.…

    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, sin and redemption is an occuring theme. The main character, Dorian Gray, commits plenty of sins and has the opportunities for redemption, however, when Dorian tries to atone for his wrongdoings he is unsuccessful. Dorians’ underlying intentions keeps him from redemption, due to his hedonistic views. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian is portrayed as a young and innocent boy that is easily influenced by Lord Henry, a character with a hedonistic view. Hedonism is described as the “theory of ethics in which pleasure is regarded as the chief good, or the proper end of action.”…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Consequently, women in Shakespeare’s plays were often depicted as helpless and confined characters left wishing they could do something, but not able to follow through with their desires. This ultimately reinforced the unequal distribution of power to men because women had to rely on men to accomplish anything of…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dorian’s life of appreciating art rather than the individual eventually leads to the decay of Sybil Vane, Lord Kelso’s strict Victorian standards towards his daughter lead to the murder of her loved husband, and finally Lord Henry’s incessant poor comments on the virtues of marriage and women lead to his wife’s separation. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a misogynistic novella highlighted by the three men’s attitudes toward the women in their lives; rather than appreciating their redeeming qualities, the men have been accustomed to denigrating them as lower class people. This novella becomes an illustration of exactly how Victorian women were treated in that society; unfairly, cruelly and rudely. Word count: 1487 words Bibliography Caird, Mona. “Marriage.”…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Not many of Shakespeare’s plays contain a female character in the lead role position. Therefore, when female characters have a prominent role in plays it is something to pay attention to. For instance, in Measure for Measure, Isabella’s character serves to break down the patriarchy by using their own constructs to emphasize how outrageous their ideas are. Isabella does this by falling into one of the three categories that the patriarchy says women belong to. In this society, women are either maid, widow, or wife and problems occur when women do not fall into one of the three defined categories.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays