PODG #3

     In chapter five of The Picture of Dorian Gray, the reader is introduced to Sibyl Vane and her family. The reader learns of the engagement between Dorian and Sibyl through Sibyl’s point of view. Sibyl tells her brother, James Vane, that Dorian “is called Prince Charming” and asks “Don’t you like the name?” (49). Sibyl calls Dorian Prince Charming because she loves to have drama in her life. Sibyl treats her life as if her life is a scene from a play, and Sibyl expects Dorian to take on the role of Prince Charming. The engagement is all a fairytale to Sibyl Vane, for Sibyl is more infatuated with what Dorian outwardly appears to be than actually getting to know Dorian. Sibyl’s infatuation with Dorian is very similar to Dorian’s fixation with the characters Sibyl acts out in her plays. All in all, the engagement between Dorian and Sibyl is based on love for the characters the two people perceive to be rather than the love between Dorian and Sibyl themselves.