A Snowflake Falls Where will a snowflake land? A snowflake flutters from the skies above and is pure and untouched until its final destination, which may be a glorious meadow or a dirty gutter. Staying pure, according to The Picture of Dorian Gray, may be impossible, as it is unknown where that snowflake may land. The fictional novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, takes place in the Victorian era and is an example of Gothic fiction combining horror and Romanticism. The theme that resonates throughout is eternal youth as Dorian Gray is willing to sacrifice anything to stay young and beautiful. Sibyl Vane represents the theme beautifully as a character with unspoiled purity. Her innocence and amazing talent make her most …show more content…
desirable to Dorian. She's the mirror image of him, only better, since her purity is totally pristine. Her only experience up to this point is a fantasy life on the stage. Sadly, when real life gets in the way, it proves too much for Sibyl and she ends her life. Her suicide is the great heartbreak of this novel and the turning point for Dorian. Like freshly fallen snow Sibyl Vane is pure, however her innocence makes her susceptible to just about everything. She is a perfect floating snowflake that is intricate and beautiful and untouched until she falls into the hands of Dorian Gray and quickly disintegrates. Through her encounter with Dorian and him falling in love with her, Sibyl decides to be her true self, which is her ultimate demise. There are people that find it difficult to distinguish the difference between real life and fantasy. So much so that fantasy can sometimes become a person’s reality leading to major problems in a relationship. With Dorian Gray and Sibyl Vane they both seem to have a skewed sense of reality and base their lives on unreal expectations and desires. They confuse life and art and base their feelings for each other on whom they perceive the other to be instead of actually getting to know who the other person is. An example of this is when Sibyl first meets Dorian and she tells him that, “You look more like a prince. I must call you Prince Charming” (Page 58). The very name “Prince Charming” refers to fairy tales, which are make-believe. From the beginning, Sibyl’s relationship with Dorian is based on fantasy. She does not see him as a person, but instead a character from a play that she hopes will take her away on his white horse to live in a beautiful castle. Sibyl tells her mother, “I am so happy, and you must be happy too!” (Page 64).
She goes on to tell her mom about a dream she had and how her prince would take her away and care for her forever. She says, “Prince Charming rules life for us now” (Page 64). Her mother gives her a hard time and tells her that she is a foolish child. Sibyl laughs and really doesn’t care about the reality of the situation because she is in love and that is all that matters to her. She is living life like she is on stage and rehearsing for the marriage scene. Sibyl really thinks she loves Dorian and tells her mom, “I love him because he is like what Love himself should be” (Page 65). Sibyl’s mom reminds her daughter that she doesn’t even know his real name, but Sibyl is very naïve and innocent and although she knows very little about who Dorian really is, she doesn’t really care. She knows he is rich and she knows he is beautiful and she is hopeful that he can save her and care for her. These fantasy-based ideas are obviously not founded on real …show more content…
love. Sibyl’s life-long career has been acting.
It is all she is and pretending to be another person is what she is good at. She is not good at real life. On the night that Sibyl realizes that she really loves Dorian, she can’t continue in her play to act like she loves someone else. She tells Dorian, “Even if I could do it, it would be profanation for me to play at being in love” (Page 91). She cannot find a balance between real life and acting. Now that Sibyl chooses reality over make-believe, Dorian is faced with choosing to love who she really is or a character that he finds interesting. She is just a normal, beautiful, real person and not Juliet or Rosalind. Dorian decides that he really does not love Sibyl Vane and he tells her this. Sibyl pleads with him to stay, but he is done and leaves her with his last hurtful comment, “You have disappointed me” (92). Sibyl’s dreams are shattered. Her prince is not going to save her. She is not going to live happily ever after. Sadly, Sibyl feels lost and empty and that she has no other choice but to end her life. The next morning, Dorian changes his mind and writes a passionate letter of apology, but it is too late…Sibyl has committed
suicide. Throughout the novel, beauty and death are connected. Sybil's actual death by suicide is tragic, but it also gives her a kind of eternal angelic beauty because she will never grow older then seventeen. The climax follows Sibyl Vane’s horrible performance on stage when Dorian Gray tells her he has fallen out of love with her because she has made something ugly. In the end, Dorian rejects Sibyl’s love for the ideal of beauty and ironically, Sibyl’s desire to live in the "real world" and experience true love eventually leads to her death.
In the article, “Fairy Tales and a Dose of Reality,” Catherine Orenstein attempts to show the contrast between the modern romanticism of marriage and the classic fairy tale’s presentation of them (285). She looks at the aristocratic motivations for marriage and the way these motivations are prominent in Cinderella. She then looks at the 20th century to highlight the innate difference of our mentalities, showing a much more optimistic and glorified relationship. In the article, “Cinderella: Not So Morally Superior,” Elisabeth Panttaja claims that Cinderella’s success can be attributed to her craftiness (288). She shows her and her mother as an equal to the stepfamily, analyzing each family’s goals and values. She attempts to show their similarities,
(…) I pity any poor woman whose husband is not called Ernest” (p. 912). This ridiculous requirement causes the reader to realize that the characters’ strange concept of a functional relationship and the simplified view of love is somehow a social norm in that period. Another evidence of a foolish behavior is when Gwendolen and Cecily first meet. Wilde problematizes a social norm that corresponds to women’s behavior which is that women are known to change their minds. Once Gwendolen meets Cecily she immediately says “Something tells me that we are going to be great friends. I like you already more than I can say” (p. 913). After a short conversation and realizing that they are both engaged to Ernest Worthing, instead of being furious at the man who, as they thought, had proposed to both of them, they argue about whose right it is to marry the liar. Then, ironically, Gwendolen says “From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt that you were false and deceitful” (p. 916). The reader recognizes both humor and hopelessness in the situation. This
Dorian uses his appearance as a facade of masculinity. Because he lacks self confidence in who he is as a person, he sells his soul for a lifetime of youth. He offers the one part of himself that makes a human an individual in order to save the wrapping paper that masks the true gift of personality. He becomes so focused on hiding his lack of self confidence that he wastes the time he could have discovering inward manly traits such as trust, compassion and loyalty. This lack of inward traits allows him to only see the outward beauty of those around him. As he “falls in love” with Sybil Vane, he is mesmerized by her art of acting, not her as a person. Because she searches for love in Dorian in ways not involving only appearance, she loses her ability to act. Her ability to act is the aspect that Dorian falls in love with: not her personality. She loses the trait Dorian has fallen for causing a loss of attraction; “unlike Dorian she prefers the real to the artificial .
In Perrault’s story, the young prince immediately falls in love with a young woman who “…was dressed like his great-grandmother” (11) and marries her immediately. The story was to be a shock, however, the young prince did not tell about it. Perrault says, “The Prince told him: That he lost his way in the forest as he was hunting, and that he had lain in the cottage of a charcoal-burner, who gave him cheese and brown bread” (12).Being so blinded by his love, it conquered his life enough to tell a lie, in which Perrault says, “The King, his father, who was a good man, believed him; but his mother could not be persuaded it was true…” (12). The King is so blinded by the happiness from his son’s love to ignore what may have happened. Blinding love, however, can come in multiple different ways. Many times this love comes as the love for materialistic goods. The King is never truly in love with his queen but instead her money, in which Perrault says, “… The King would never had married her had it not been for her vast riches…” (12). ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬The King only saw the money before him and that’s all. He never saw the queen and that’s why they are so different. With the money in sight, he lost the view of true
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story takes place in England, where the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. During his stay at the artist’s studio, he gets introduced to Lord Henry who later becomes one of the most influential people in his life. Dorian Gray becomes aware of his amazing beauty and youthfulness due to the portrait and wishes that the portrait ages instead of him. His wish comes true, Dorian remains beautiful and youthful while the portrait changes. Lord Henry becomes his best friend and motivates him to live in abundance, to sin and always strive for beauty. After a while, Dorian discovers that his portrait doesn’t only age, but also changes face expression as a result of all his sins and evil deeds. Dorian gets anxious by the fact that the portrait shows his evil soul and is scared that somebody will see it, therefore he hides it. The portrait haunts Dorian although it’s hidden. As Dorian’s sins gets worse, he feels that he can’t handle the pressure anymore and decides to destroy the portrait that shows his true self.
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is written in an entertaining and adventurous spirit, but serves a higher purpose by illustrating the century’s view of courtly love. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other pieces of literature written in the same century prevail to commemorate the coupling of breathtaking princesses with lionhearted knights after going through unimaginable adventures, but only a slight few examine the viability of such courtly love and the related dilemmas that always succeed. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that women desire most their husband’s love, Overall, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that the meaning of true love does not stay consistent, whether between singular or separate communities and remains timeless as the depictions of love from this 14th century tale still hold true today.
However, the nature of this love is different in each story. In “Araby”, it is an innocent, pure, platonic feeling that completely changes the life of the character exerting an enormous influence on his psychological state. The boy has lost interest in everyday life. He cannot concentrate on his studying; he does not play with his friends; he can think about nothing else except for his beloved. For him, the lady is like a symbol of blissful happiness, a goddess; his love to her is sacred: “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand” (108).It explains the strong feeling of the boy for the girl. With Eveline, the situation is different. It is difficult to say for sure whether she indeed loves Frank or not. She thinks about him only as about a person who will help her to achieve her aim. She does not feel any tenderness, any passion to him –any of those feelings that are associated with real love. For her, the young man is a means, although she does not consciously treat him like that. She praises his virtues seeing that Frank is “kind, manly, open-hearted” (3), that he is interesting as a personality; she is proud to be his beloved. Still, it seems that Eveline is not in love with him. She admits that “it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like him” (3). She is simply pleased to have a
Dorian Gray inflicts his first and most important act of evil upon Sibyl Vane, a third rate actress he falls in love with, when he confronts her about the performance. His reaction towards Sibyl demonstrates his the lack of care towards what women have to say and their opinions. Dorian claims of Sibyl to be shallow and stupid as regards to her feelings towards him and her reason for the careless performance. The realization of Dorian finally recognizing his love for her acting rather than her as a person reveals the frequent ill treatment of women in the Victorian Era. Due to his first real infliction of evil towards another person, his soul alters and reflects in the painting. As Davis recalls, “His rejection of Sibyl is cruel, and it is this cruelty that he first notices on the alerting portrait,” (Davis 214). Because he did not care about how Sibyl felt at the moment, he becomes selfish and would later become evil. The treatment of Sibyl results in her committing suicide but rather than Dorian grieving, Lord Henry teaches him ...
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a rich story which can be viewed through many literary and cultural lenses. Oscar Wilde himself purposefully filled his novel with a great many direct and indirect allusions to the literary culture of his times, so it seems appropriate to look back at his story - both the novel and the 1945 film version - in this way.
Vane - Sibyl and James’s mother. Mrs. Vane is a faded actress who has consigned herself and her daughter to a tawdry theater company, the owner of which has helped her to pay her debts. She conceives of Dorian Gray as a wonderful alliance for her daughter because of his wealth; this ulterior motive, however, clouds her judgment and leaves Sibyl vulnerable, In The Picture of Dorian Gray mrs. van is Sybil mother and she is portrayed as a selfish golden gold digging mother. She wants her daughter symbol to marry a man for his social status and money which is wrong because she had married a man for love and comfort. It is always wrong to marry someone for their money because there 's more to a person than just materialistic
Wilde begins setting the mood of the text with excessive descriptions of nature, and natural beauty: “The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn” (Wilde 5). While this description hardly sounds like the language of the gothic, the use of nature sets up a contrast to the darker tones which appear later in the text. The nature theme is also present in the descriptions of Dorian Gray, whom at this point in the text has not been corrupted by the influences of Lord Henry Wotton or his search for pleasure and experience. Not only is Gray described as someone who encompasses flower like beauty, he is a representation of a flower himself. As Lord Henry describes, Gray is “some brainless, beautiful creature, who should be always here in winter when [there are] no flowers to look at” (7). Wilde extends this flower allusion with the metaphor of the aging man, and the beauty which dies with age. Like a flower Dorian’s beauty will fade, wither, a...
Oscar Wilde’s 19th century The Picture of Dorian Gray portrays a young, naïve man, Dorian Gray, who begins to change because of Lord Henry Wotton’s negative influence on him; likewise, Dorian influences Sibyl Vane as a result of Henry’s influence on him. Because of Henry’s influence, Dorian’s attitude towards women and his respect for women change for the worse. Because of Dorian’s influence on Sibyl, she commits suicide.
...on Dorian has resulted in him to influence Sibyl’s actions. Once Dorian claimed that he no longer wanted to be with Sibyl, she got on her knees and begged him to not leave her. Regardless of her attempt to make him stay, she failed and later committed suicide by taking drinking prussic acid. Dorian was a strong influence on Sibyl. She loved him and admired him, and as soon as he rejected her, she took made irrational decisions because he had such a strong impact on her.
Oscar Wilde was a writer that appreciated writing style more than the actual substance in literary pieces. In his only finished piece, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde accomplished perfection. He shows his skillful ability to poignantly use figures of speech, we can also infer that he has astonishing mastery in his wording and use of vocabulary when he describes different characters, places, and settings. Something that is also noticeable in this novel is the point of view that allows the reader to dip into the minds of the characters and see the full picture of the story.
Vane, presents herself as one who feeds off her daughter’s youth to feel young. She pertains a strong desire of living her life through Sibyl’s young life as an actress who has a secret relationship with young, wealthy Dorian Gray, which disconnects her from protecting or paying any acknowledgment to her children. Oscar Wilde describes her obsessive response about the great things of youth during her discussion with James about Dorian Gray when she remarks, “…if this gentleman is wealthy, there is no reason why she should not contract an alliance with him. I trust that he has all of the aristocracy. He has all the appearance of it, I must say… his good looks are really quite remarkable; everybody notices them” (Wilde 47). With the remarks made by Mrs. Vane, Oscar Wilde’s attempt to express the thought of youth, with even those in the slumps, as a lifestyle worth looking forward too and how an appealing, physical appearance of youth is something that everyone wants as an expression for high