Contents
CHAPTER VI
Overview
Dorian confirms the portrait has changed, linking his soul to the canvas. Resolved to marry Sibyl and reform, he is shattered by Lord Henry’s news of her suicide. Persuaded to view the tragedy aesthetically, Dorian abandons remorse, embraces a life of pleasure, and leaves the portrait to bear his moral decay.
Summary
Waking late, Dorian basks in morning ease until the screened portrait reminds him of the prior night. After dismissing visitors, he locks the doors, reveals the canvas, and confirms the cruel alteration. Horrified yet fascinated, he resolves to atone by marrying Sibyl, writing her a remorseful letter.
Lord Henry arrives and urges composure. When Dorian declares his intention to marry, Lord Henry reveals Sibyl’s death by poison and warns Dorian to avoid the inquest. Shocked, Dorian oscillates between guilt and detachment, calling the event “wonderfully dramatic.”
Through persuasive paradox, Lord Henry recasts the suicide as a beautiful, theatrical ending, flattering Dorian’s sensibility and minimizing moral consequence. Dorian admits Henry has articulated his own feelings and decides not to grieve conventionally.
After Henry leaves for dinner, Dorian checks the portrait again and notes no further change, speculating that it records inner corruption. Mourning Sibyl as a tragic emblem rather than a person, he accepts eternal youth at the cost of the picture’s degradation and anticipates watching his soul age on canvas.
Choosing sensation over conscience, Dorian screens the portrait, dresses, and joins Lord Henry at the Opera, effectively committing to a hedonistic life while the painting bears his shame.
Who Appears
- Dorian GrayConfirms the portrait’s corruption; learns of Sibyl’s suicide; abandons remorse and embraces a hedonistic path while the painting bears his sins.
- Lord Henry WottonBrings news of Sibyl’s death; reframes it as aesthetic tragedy; persuades Dorian toward detachment and pleasure.
- Sibyl VaneActress and Dorian’s fiancée; commits suicide offstage, becoming Dorian’s catalyst for moral surrender.
- VictorDorian’s valet; attends him in the morning and evening; unwitting witness to Dorian’s agitation.