Dorian Gray Greek Mythology

This dossier will illustrate how Greek and Roman mythology was a foundation that Oscar Wilde used in creating the protagonist Dorian Gray from the novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. It tells of a beautiful young man who falls into the temptation of exchanging his soul for the preservation of youth. An important aspect of the novel is the encounter between Dorian and the actress Sibyl Vane. It is this relationship that can been seen to be influenced by the myths of Actaeon and Artemis, Narcissus and Echo, and Adonis and Venus.

The myth that best connects the relationship between Dorian and Sibyl is that of Actaeon and Artemis. Actaeon was a hunter who saw the goddess Artemis bathing. As punishment for looking upon the nude goddess, Actaeon

was transformed into a stag and was devoured by his own hounds without them realizing it was their master (Source 1).
Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and moon, a virgin armed with a bow and arrow (Source 2). Virgin indicates no attachment to anything, and huntress implies the search for one’s identity. Therefore, the goddess is the personification of youthful females on the threshold of discovering their sexuality. Similarly, Actaeon’s curiosity symbolizes a man’s unaware discovery of sexuality.
It is being on the edge of womanhood that attracts Dorian towards Sibyl, who is associated with Artemis and the subject of several references to the forest throughout the novel. The actress unconsciously seduces the protagonist after her performance in forest based play, ‘As You Like It’. The act of allurement is seen in Sibyl’s eyes , signifying her realization of her sexuality, which is further emphasised in Chapter VII of the novel.
The use of the colour silver further suggests a reference towards Artemis and the moon, which in mythology represents rebirth, therefore, footnote 6 implies the character’s step from childhood into womanhood.
In Source 3, Actaeon stumbles upon Diana by chance, having lost his way in the forest. Similarly, in Wilde’s novel the young couple’s encounter was said to have been a coincidence.
Not only is the goddess Diana the foundation for the character of Sibyl, even their chance meeting parallels with the myth of Actaeon and Artemis.
Another myth that reflects the relationship is Narcissus and Echo. The portrayal of Echo in Source 4 highlights wild, passionate sexual attraction. This relates with Sibyl’s experience of love towards Dorian. However, just as Narcissus rejects Echo’s love, Dorian heartlessly rejects Sibyl’s love.
Both Echo and Sibyl shared the fate of dying with a broken heart; Echo spent the remainder of her life in lonely caves, until only her voice remained, whereas Sibyl commits suicide. Likewise, Narcissus also suffered an unfortunate fate: Nemesis curses Narcissus to love someone who could never love him back, himself.
Source 5 parallels Dorian’s growing infatuation with his own beauty and desire to be released from his fate. Both heroines attempt to attract their partners to Eros. However, Narcissus and Dorian present male protagonists who withdraw from sexual relationships and even the mentality of loving another for they are exaggeratedly engrossed in their own interests.
The final myth is that of Adonis and Venus, which connects all three myths together. The first association to the myth was when Basil had likened Dorian with Adonis.
Venus is the Roman goddess of love. Whereas Adonis is a mortal with whom the goddess becomes infatuated. It is a myth of lust and rejection.
In Source 6, even though Venus had warned Adonis of the danger of wild beasts, he had ignored the goddess’ advice and hurried to his death.

This myth also parallels with the story of Narcissus and Echo. Both Narcissus and Adonis are troubled with sexuality, therefore illustrating Dorian’s relationship with Sibyl. Adonis avoids Venus and the myth suggests that such behaviour leads to death.

When Sibyl confesses her love to Dorian, his response is to abandon her and to search for new passions. This suggests that Sibyl no longer evokes a romantic curiosity for him. Dorian had only appreciated Sybil as an aesthetic object; she was a breathing piece of artwork.

Source 7 states that Adonis’ death was caused by Artemis. The myth of Adonis and Venus is narrated from a male perspective, which suggests that Adonis considers hunting more interesting than the company of the goddess. It is also ironic for hunting symbolizes the pursuit to understand one’s identity. Nonetheless, Adonis is not prepared to commit to a sexual relationship, therefore it becomes a contradiction. He convicts himself to a never-ending search of self-discovery with the objective of realising the value of such a relationship. Adonis’ fate resulted from his lack of desirable response to the sexual image of

Venus.
This idea of the male protagonists being unprepared to acknowledge sexuality is presented in all three myths.

Actaeon, Narcissus, and Adonis, are likened to Dorian to reveal a particular aspect of his character and his dilemma. Actaeon’s curiosity reflects Dorian’s unaware discovery of sexuality within the pure Sibyl. Whereas, both Narcissus and Adonis (as seen in Sources 8 and 9), echo his beauty and disinterest in the opposite gender. Furthermore, Narcissus emphasizes the character’s vanity and Adonis represents the portrait. This is because Adonis’ death and resurrection represents the decay and recovery of the plant year, which is similar to how the ugliness of aging had been transferred into Dorian’s portrait and restored his

beauty.
Sibyl's passionate love reflects Dorian's unvalued desire; he shies away from the woman’s exposure of sexual attraction towards him, which the myth of Adonis and Venus explains why. It denotes how a male deviates from the responsibilities attached towards a sexual relationship, because he is more captivated by his own interests.
After abandoning Sibyl, Dorian sees her love confession as pitiful and fearsome. Similarly, Actaeon is troubled by Artemis; Narcissus by Echo; and Adonis by Venus; Dorian is troubled by Sibyl, and so concludes the young couple’s relationship.