The Picture of Dorian GrayThe Role of Women

Victorian SocietyMen were considered the active character.

This society had an idealised and unrealistic view of women.

Women were supposed to demonstrate a ‘femenine delicacy’

They were limited to certain hobbies such as drawing or singing.

Industrialism sparked at the end. Men worked and those wives of the rich were dressed very well and were a type of decoration.

Sybil VaneA poor, beautiful, and talented actress with whom Dorian falls in love.

Sibyl’s love for Dorian compromises her ability to act, as her experience of true love in life makes her realize the falseness of affecting emotions onstage.

Women are easily blinded by love.

Sibyl falls head over heels in love with Dorian Gray, willing to commit her life to him after only two weeks.

Sybil’s death is minor and of no importance to Dorian.

Mrs. VaneSibyl and James’s mother.

Mrs. Vane is a faded actress who has consigned herself and her daughter to a tawdry theater company, the owner of which has helped her to pay her debts.

She conceives of Dorian Gray as a wonderful alliance for her daughter because of his wealth;

Women gold-diggers. Since they can’t provide for themselves all they do is depend on men.

take drastic measures to move on.  

Duchess of Monmouth

A pretty, bored young noblewoman who flirts with Dorian at his country estate.

Women are pretty but just there for men.

They are seductive and symbols of temptation.

Victoria WottonVictoria appears only once in the novel, greeting Dorian as he waits for Lord Henry.

She is described as an untidy, foolishly romantic woman with “a perfect mania for going to church.”

Just another pretty thing to look at.

hardly knows her husband, to whom she has been married for some time. 

She admits to Dorian that she "always hear[s] Harry's views from his friends." (42)   Not only does Lady Henry act as a naive wife, but also a submissive one.  

She tells Dorian how much she worships pianists, "sometimes two at a time, Harry tells me." (42)  

Therefore, the woman has now admitted that she can not think for herself

She is described as “untidy”, with a “nervous staccato laugh” and “vague” eyes

Instead of only stating facts, she ends some sentences with “isn’t it?” “doesn’t it?” and “don’t they?”

Mrs. Leaf Dorian Gray’s housekeeper.

Mrs. Leaf is a bustling older woman who takes her work seriously.

So…Women are depicted as emotional, and inferior to men.

Three main characters being male and all three being so involved in their mutual relationships in which women play no role.

One mistake can cause this woman to lose everything

Men are forgiven for their mistakes but women are condemned for committing a small error.

Women take drastic measures to move on.

Women are shallow and easily manipulated.

Women are like paintings and objects.