Summary
and
Analysis
Chapter 5
Summary
Sibyl Vane is telling her mother how much she adores her Prince Charming, whom calls Dorian Gray because she does not actually know his name. Her mother warns her to stay focused on acting because they owe Mr. Isaacs fifty pounds. Sibyl is frustrated with her mother and attempts to persuade her to recall a time when she was young and in love with Sibyl's father. Her mother becomes distressed, and Sibyl apologizes for bringing up such a sensitive subject.
James, her brother, enters. It's his final night on land. He's been hired as a sailor on a ship bound for Australia. When Sibyl leaves the room, he inquires of his mother about the person he has heard has been coming to the theatre every night to see Sibyl. His mother informs him that the man is affluent, which may be beneficial to Sibyl. James is not persuaded.
When Sibyl returns, she and Jim go for a walk in the park. Jim interrogates her about the man who has been calling on her. She simply expresses her love for the man and her certainty that he is trustworthy. Jim threatens to kill the man if he returns and discovers that he has harmed her. They continue walking and eventually arrive home.
When Jim is alone with his mother again, he asks her if she was married to his father. For weeks, she had the impression that he was about to ask her this question. She is happy to finally have it out in the open. She claims she was never married to him. He was married, but he adored her. He would have supported her and her family, but he died.
Jim requests that she keep the gentleman away from Sibyl. She assures him that he should not be concerned because Sibyl has a mother, but she herself does not. Her sincerity moves him, and they embrace. But he has to get ready to leave for his ship soon. Mrs. Vane considers his promise to murder Sibyl's Prince Charming, but believes nothing will come of it.
Notes
This chapter transports the reader to a completely different social scene. The Vanes' universe. It humanizes Sibyl for the reader by depicting her as a daughter and sister. She is innocent, as Dorian assured Lord Henry. She is completely unaware of her social standing in regard to Dorian Gray. Her brother and mother are aware. A rich man will use and abandon according to her brother. For her mother, she may be fortunate enough to extract money from the wealthy man before he becomes tired of her. The chapter concludes with the news that James and Sibyl's father was also an aristocrat and that their parents had never married.
Chapter 6
Summary
As Basil Hallward arrives at the Bristol for dinner, Lord Henry greets him. He informs him of Dorian's engagement to Sibyl Vane. Basil is taken aback and can't believe it's true. He can't believe Dorian would do anything so naive as marry an actress given his "birth, position, and fortune." Lord Henry is indifferent to the news, while Basil is concerned.
Finally, Dorian appears, pleased to inform the others of his good news. He tells them over dinner that he proposed to Sibyl the night before after seeing her as Rosalind. He kissed her and told her he loved her, and she told him she wasn't worthy of being his wife. They are keeping their engagement from her mother a secret.
Dorian believes it will save him from Lord Henry’s, wonderful, poisoned, delightful notions about life, love, and pleasure. Lord Henry claims that they are Nature's notions, not his. Basil Hallward begins to believe that the engagement may be beneficial to Dorian after all.
Lord Henry tells Hallward to use a different carriage to the theatre because his is only big enough for him and Dorian. Basil Hallward feels a great sense of loss as he rides in the carriage behind Lord Henry's, as though Dorian Gray will never be the same to him again. He sees that life has separated them. When he gets to the theatre, he realizes he has aged years.
Notes
This chapter has a structural function in the plot by bringing the three men back together before they split up to go their own ways. Basil appears to be nearly completely disconnected from Dorian's feelings. This position is shown when he is told to take his own carriage to the theatre while Dorian rides with Lord Henry. Dorian's engagement to Sibyl appears to be his last chance to reclaim the innocence of youth that he has lost due to Lord Henry's views.
