The Picture of Dorian Gray: Character Mind Map & Summary
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: the key characters, the portrait, Aestheticism, famous lines, a quick summary and the exam facts.
The Character Mind Map
Tap any name to open the details.
Dorian Gray
A young man of extraordinary beauty. When Basil paints his portrait and Lord Henry fills his mind with a philosophy of youth and pleasure, Dorian wishes that the picture would grow old instead of him. His wish comes true: he stays young and lovely while the hidden portrait records every sin. He ruins others, commits murder, and at last stabs the painting.
If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!Fate: dies stabbing the portrait
🎨 The Two Influences
Art vs temptationBasil HallwardThe painter
Role: Pure, devoted admirer of Dorian, who puts too much of himself into the portrait. He urges Dorian to pray and repent; Dorian murders him.
Lord Henry WottonThe witty tempter
Role: Preaches a “new Hedonism”. He never acts wickedly himself; he only talks, but his words and the “yellow book” corrupt Dorian.
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
🥀 The Victims
Destroyed by DorianSibyl VaneA young actress
Role: Dorian loves her art as Juliet and Rosalind. Once in love, she acts badly; he cruelly rejects her and she kills herself.
James VaneSibyl’s sailor brother
Role: Swears revenge on “Prince Charming”. He is accidentally shot at a shooting party at Dorian’s country house.
Alan CampbellA chemist, once Dorian’s friend
Role: Blackmailed into destroying Basil’s body; he later shoots himself.
Memory Hook: Painter, Tempter, Picture
Wilde said: “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be.”
Famous Lines
Often quoted in exams.
Quick Summary
The plot in five lines.
Stage 1The Portrait
- Basil paints Dorian; Lord Henry’s talk awakens him; Dorian wishes the picture could age instead of him.
Stage 2Sibyl Vane
- Dorian falls for Sibyl, rejects her after a poor performance, and she kills herself. The portrait shows a cruel mouth.
Stage 3Eighteen Years
- Hidden in the old schoolroom, the picture ages. Dorian, inspired by the “yellow book”, lives a life of secret vice.
Stage 4Murder
- Dorian shows Basil the portrait and stabs him; he blackmails Campbell to get rid of the body. James Vane hunts him but is killed.
Stage 5The End
- Dorian stabs the picture. Servants find a withered old man with a knife in his heart, beside a perfect portrait.
Must-Know Exam Facts
Quick points for UGC NET, SET and PGT.
Publication
First in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine (1890, 13 chapters); revised and enlarged book of 1891 (20 chapters) with the Preface.
The Preface
A set of epigrams defending art for art’s sake, Wilde’s answer to critics who called the book immoral.
Aestheticism
Shaped by Walter Pater; the “yellow book” is usually linked to Huysmans’ À rebours.
Genre
A Gothic novel and a Faustian bargain, with doubles like Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde.
Later Life
The novel was used against Wilde at his 1895 trials.
100+ Key Works of English Literature
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