The Picture of Dorian Gray characters

Appears from the start

A strikingly handsome young man of wealth and leisure in London, the subject of a portrait his friend the painter Basil Hallward considers his finest work. At first innocent and unformed, Dorian becomes fascinated by the artist's circle and especially by the clever, cynical talk of Lord Henry Wotton, who convinces him that youth and beauty are the only things worth having and that both fade cruelly with time. Confronted with his own painted image at the height of his looks, Dorian is seized by envy of the picture and by dread of growing old and ugly while the portrait stays young.

Also known as Harry

Appears from the start

An aristocratic friend of Basil Hallward, witty, idle, and delighting in paradox. He treats conversation as a performance and enjoys shocking others with elegant cynicism, preaching a philosophy of pleasure, self-development, and the pursuit of new sensations while dismissing conventional morality and duty. Struck by Dorian Gray's beauty and impressionable nature, he sets out to influence the young man, offering him a view of life in which giving in to temptation is wisdom and resisting it is weakness. He observes the effect of his own ideas on Dorian with the detached curiosity of a spectator.

Appears from the start

A gifted, earnest painter who has become devoted to Dorian Gray, in whom he finds an ideal of beauty that has renewed his art. He has poured so much of his own feeling into the portrait of Dorian that he is reluctant to exhibit it, fearing it exposes too much of himself. Sincere, generous, and troubled by his friend Lord Henry's careless cynicism, Basil worries about the influence Henry may have on the young man he admires, and he hopes Dorian will keep the goodness that his beauty seems to promise.

First appears in chapter 4

A young, poor, and gifted actress who performs Shakespeare's heroines at a shabby London theatre, where Dorian Gray discovers her and falls in love. Sheltered and romantic, she lives for the stage and for the roles she plays, and she comes to call Dorian her Prince Charming without knowing his real name. Her talent and freshness enchant Dorian, and she believes his love has shown her a truer life than the make-believe of the theatre.

First appears in chapter 5

Sibyl Vane's younger brother, a rough, sullen sailor about to leave for Australia. Fiercely protective of his sister and suspicious of the wealthy admirer courting her, he presses her to reveal the man's identity and swears that he will hunt the gentleman down and kill him if he ever brings her to harm. Blunt and awkward where Sibyl is dreamy, he loves her deeply and leaves for his voyage burdened by a sense of foreboding.

First appears in chapter 5

The worn, faded mother of Sibyl and James Vane, once an actress herself and now performing at the same shabby theatre while burdened by debt to its manager. Given to melodramatic gestures and vague, theatrical sentiment, she is more concerned with the advantages her daughter's rich suitor might bring than with the young man's true intentions.

First appears in chapter 14

A chemist and man of science who was once a close friend of Dorian Gray, sharing an interest in music, before a coldness grew between them. Serious and reserved, he has withdrawn from Dorian and wants nothing more to do with him. When Dorian summons him and asks him to use his scientific skill for a grim task, Campbell refuses in horror, until Dorian applies a private threat that leaves him no choice.