# The Picture of Dorian Gray — Character guide

> Key figures in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

- [Dorian Gray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/dorian_gray.md): Dorian arrives as Basil's muse and Lord Henry's most promising experiment, a beautiful blank page on which both men want to write. He craves a life of sensation without consequence, and the portrait grants him exactly th
- [Lord Henry Wotton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/lord_henry_wotton.md): Lord Henry drifts through drawing rooms dispensing paradoxes, and finds in Dorian a listener willing to test them on a real life. He claims all influence is immoral, yet his own words reshape Dorian more thoroughly than 
- [Basil Hallward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/basil_hallward.md): Basil is the artist whose devotion to Dorian's beauty produces the painting at the heart of the book. He worships Dorian with a reverence he can barely admit aloud, and he fears the world will see too much of himself in 
- [Sibyl Vane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/sibyl_vane.md): Sibyl performs nightly in a shabby theatre, transforming cheap stages into worlds of romance, and Dorian falls for her through her art. When he brings friends to see her, her love for him makes her acting collapse — she 
- [James Vane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/james_vane.md): James is Sibyl's older brother, rough-mannered and suspicious of the gentleman who calls her a princess. Before sailing away, he extracts a promise from their mother to guard Sibyl, and vows that if anyone harms her he w
- [Alan Campbell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/alan_campbell.md): Alan once shared Dorian's opera box and his fascination, until something unspoken ended their friendship and left him melancholy and withdrawn into science. He is a man of real talent, respected for his experiments, and 
- [Lady Narborough](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/lady_narborough.md): A society hostess who entertains Dorian and Lord Henry at dinner parties.
- [Victor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/victor.md): Dorian's loyal and discreet servant who manages his household.
- [Mr. Erskine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/mr_erskine.md): A friend of Lord Henry who discusses art and morality with the group.
- [Lady Henry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/lady_henry.md): Lord Henry's wife, who appears briefly in social scenes.
- [Prince Charming](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/prince_charming.md): Sibyl's pet name for Dorian, used in her romantic fantasies.
- [Mr. Isaacs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/mr_isaacs.md): The manager of the theater where Sibyl performs.
- [Hetty Merton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/hetty_merton.md): A young country girl whom Dorian briefly courts before abandoning.
- [Adrian Singleton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/adrian_singleton.md): A dissipated young man who frequents opium dens with Dorian.
- [Duchess of Monmouth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters/duchess_of_monmouth.md): A beautiful society woman who becomes fascinated with Dorian.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_picture_of_dorian_gray_se/characters