Sibyl Vane Analysis

With the many multifaceted characters in both The Picture of Dorian Gray and Jane Eyre, the theme of love takes on a variety of different roles. Love is the notion of feeling affection or admiration for either oneself or another individual. The idea of love is a universal concept that can prove both an inspiration but also can result in the demise of a character. Interestingly, not only do the characters experience these feelings of love, but the authors as well. There is romantic love, self-love, homoerotic love, agonizing love, destructive love and even emotional repercussions of deprived love. Despite originating from Irish middle class, Oscar Wilde uses his wit and intellectual prowess to become a defining Victorian author as he pens The

Picture of Dorian Gray. As a result of this wittiness and literary popularity, Oscar Wilde becomes a celebrated artist incorporated into the elite “ivy league” of Great Britain. After marrying Constance Lloyd and having two boys, his life takes an unexpected turn. Wilde discovers his homosexual desires and falls in love with a young boy by the name of Lord Alfred (Allingham). He uses his experiences to parallel the lives of two main characters, Basil and Dorian. Similar to Wilde, Basil is accepted into the higher class because of his intellect and artistic abilities. Dorian can be compared to Lord Alfred in that they both have already been accepted into a higher social class because of a prominent family background. Incorporating love in the autobiography, Jane Eyre, English novelist, Charlotte Brontë, develops the protagonist, Jane, as a child never experiencing or even actually knowing what love truly is. As she matures, Jane begins to understand and acknowledge her own emotions directly through her relationship with Rochester. In this epic, Saint John Rivers wants to marry Jane. However, Jane is able to recognize her love for Rochester and begins to truly understand the importance of this emotion. This situation directly parallels Charlotte Bronte’s love life. As a young women traveling through Brussels with her sister, she experiences first hand a deep but unrequited love with an older man (The Brontë Sisters). These two novelists introduce alternate dimensions of adoration. As two novels of the Victorian period, both Jane Eyre and The Picture of Dorian Gray serve as vehicles by which the authors use their characters to convey their thoughts on romanticism.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, exemplifies the various forms of love that exist. In the literary masterpiece, the reader is introduced to a painter, Basil Hallward who has an unrequited homosexual attraction towards his magnificent painting subject, Dorian Gray. His affinity for Dorian is best exemplified when Basil states, “I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself” (Wilde 9). Basil falls in love with Dorian, not for who he is, but for what he represents. Dorian’s youth and beauty, a symbol of purity and innocence, becomes an attracting force for Basil. His love for Dorian is more of a vicarious experience. The initial image of Dorian produces a fixed impression on his moral character. He tries to live through the self-imposed ideas he attaches to Dorian. Basil’s love for Dorian is best portrayed through his artwork, while Dorian’s beauty is portrayed on Basil’s canvas. However, Basil is too obsessed to realize that Dorian is the antithesis of innocence. Oscar Wilde masterly develops the theme of homosexual love but also uses the relationship of Dorian Gray and Sibyl Vane to reveal another facet of endearment.
The concept of destructive love is portrayed through Dorian and Sibyl.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sibyl Vane represents purity and innocence and the perfection of a human being. She is a living, breathing piece of art in part due to the work she does. Because of the songs she sings and the characters she portrays, Dorian falls madly and deeply in love with her. At first, Dorian believed he was infatuated with her, however, once he began to see her without the theater or music, he realized that she was not really what he was looking for. Dorian, took everything away from Sibyl, her dignity, her love, and even her life. Striving to love him, she surrendered parts of herself. Then, she began to think he was someone different, someone who did not just love her for the way she sang and acted. When Sybil found out Dorian did not love her for who she really was, she was destroyed and commits suicide. As seen by the relationship of Sibyl and Dorian, love is something that can be very

destructive.
Another type of love is self-absorption or self-adulation. Dorian Gray is compared to Narcissus, “a youth who fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool and wasted away from unsatisfied desire” (Dictionary). Dorian exemplifies these qualities when he becomes so self-absorbed with his painting. Because the book intimately revolves around the picture, it shows the extent that his narcissism plays as the most dominant love of his life. Dorian has this desire for vanity, immortality, and youth for which he gives up his soul and humanity to look beautiful. Dorian’s self-love is different than other love seen throughout the novel. Had Dorian not loved himself so much, there might not have been a story to tell. Despite adoring himself, Gray went to opium bars and constantly had sex as a way to make himself feel better. Similar to Narcissus, the vanity and the excess never made him feel fulfilled. He always stays unsatisfied.
Much like Wilde’s text, Charlotte Brontë’s bildungsroman, Jane Eyre, attempts to redefine love by introducing other means by which one can achieve it. Brontë uses romance to strengthen relationships between characters. She also presents friendship as another potential type of love. Bessie Lee, the maid at the Reed’s Gateshead estate, is the first character that helps Jane understand the concept of friendship. Bessie is sympathetic towards Jane because, unlike other characters who struggle with emotional observations, she detects hopefulness in her. With admirable role models in Jane’s life being absent, Bessie serves as her caretaker. She aids by treating her illnesses as well as acknowledging Jane’s mistreatment in the home. This friendly love fills a nurturing gap that Jane desperately needs. Bessie aids Jane in feeling justified and valuable, something of major importance to her self-esteem. This kind close friendship is not exclusive to Jane and Bessie, but is prevalent through the text between multiple characters.
While at Lowood, a state – run orphanage and educational facility, Jane’s first friend, Helen Burns, teaches her the importance of friendship along with skills that will help Jane mature in the future. She serves as a role model for Jane. Helen’s intelligence, commitment to her studies, and social graces all lead Jane to discovering positive attributes in Helen. Helen is treated quite poorly, however, “her ability to remain graceful and calm even in the face of (what Jane believes to be) unwarranted punishment makes the greatest impression on the younger girl” (Victorian Web). Brontë uses this character as a way to exemplify the love Jane deserves. This relationship allows Jane to understand what it is like to have a real friend. Given Jane’s history at Gateshead, finding someone like Helen, is monumental in her development as a person. Helen gives, through honest friendship, a love that is devastatingly absent through most of Jane’s young life. When Jane is shunned by Mr. Brocklehurst in front of the entire Lowood population, Helen is the one friend that does not immediately judge Jane and in fact, makes her feel more comfortable in a place filled with punishment and hypocrisy. Though Lowood does not feel like home, Helen is able to give Jane all the love she needs with support and respect. This is one of the first loves Jane experiences on her journey and it allows her to be more open to the love she finds in the future.
Edward Rochester, the later love interest of Jane and owner of the Thornfield estate, has dynamic relationships throughout this bildungsroman novel.

Rochester, a powerful, but unusual man uses his authority to assert his position through his relationship with Bertha and Jane Eyre. Bertha was his first wife with whom he had an arranged marriage revolving around preserving economic stability. Due to unfortunate events, Bertha inherits insanity from her mom. During this time, it was inhumane to admit people to insane asylums. Rochester decides how she lives the rest of her life by deciding to keep her in the attic. Though this shows that their marriage has fallen apart, Edward shows his loving attributes which is a different type of love. By keeping her in the attic, Rochester shows immense empathy for Bertha because he keeps her from the lack of attention she would receive in an insane asylum. He knows that in his home, she is safe and will be taken care of. Rochester has a more dynamic love for Jane. He finds substance in Jane and this allows him to have a new type of intimacy that revolves around character. They have a mental connection that shows the reader that they are in love because of their minds and not because of a superficial aspect like money, such as seen with Bertha. Rochester loves Jane because she is so independent but he still tries to make her less than who she really is. He tries to define her by proclaiming who she should be and trying to change her

morals. Unlike many of the other “loves” readers have encountered, this one is real, however quite unique.