A name contains a wealth of meaning, especially in this case. Sibyl Vane is a relatively minor character in Dorian Gray \u2013 or seems to be at first. She is Dorian\u2019s first love, a wonderful actress he insists on marrying despite their large status gap. However, his rejection of her after her lackluster performance as Juliet ends up beginning his descent into sin \u2013 her suicide after his rejection is the first sin to mar the painting that reflects his soul. With that in mind, the name given to this actress \u2013 Sibyl Vane \u2013 suddenly reveals the importance of her role.<\/p>\n
According to the OED, the word Sibyl means: 1. one or other certain women of antiquity who were reputed to possess powers of prophecy and divination; 2. A prophetess; a fortune-teller, a witch (OED).<\/p>\n
As an actress, Sibyl is described as \u201cdivine beyond all living things. When she acts you will forget everything\u201d (79). This description sounds like Sibyl casting a spell over the audience with her ability to act \u2013 aligning with the \u201cwitch\u201d aspect of her name.<\/p>\n
She \u201cmove[s] like a creature from a finer world\u201d (81), fitting for a prophetess chosen by the gods (usually Apollo, the god of foresight) to see the future; thus, someone connected to deities and not fully of this earth.<\/p>\n
Ironically, as someone who is supposed to see more clearly than the rest of the world, Sibyl explains \u201cIt was only in the theatre that I lived. I thought that it was all true. I was Rosalind for one night, and Portia the other\u2026The painted scenes were my world\u201d (84). However, Dorian\u2019s love \u201ctaught her what reality is [and she] saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness of the empty pageant\u201d (84). In continuing the irony, the role she finally acted falsely was Juliet \u2013 and by the end of the night, Sibyl commits suicide after the death of her love (that is, the rejection from Dorian) just as Juliet does. Sibyl\u2019s last role foretold the manner of her death \u2013 that is, a prophecy. Fitting for a Sibyl.<\/p>\n
Sibyl\u2019s last name, Vane, is also important. A vane is: 1a. A plate of metal, usually of an ornamental form, fixed at an elevation upon a vertical spindle, so as to turn readily with the wind and show the direction from which this is blowing<\/strong>; a weather-cock; 1b. (fig): An unstable or constantly changing person or thing (OED) (the bold is my addition, for emphasis).<\/p>\n On a literal level, Sibyl Vane is an actress, constantly changing her identity; night to night she is different Shakespearean female leads \u2013 \u201cRosalind for one night, and Portia the other\u201d (84)).<\/p>\n On a metaphorical level, Dorian\u2019s treatment of Miss Vane is overly cruel, marking the beginning of the downward spiral (or slippery slope, whichever metaphor you prefer) of his demise. His callous treatment leads to her suicide, staining his soul irredeemably and indicating the beginning of the end. Miss Vane is the metaphorical wind vane revealing the direction the wind of Dorian Gray\u2019s fate is blowing.<\/p>\n Names have power. Sibyl Vane\u2019s name gave her the power to suggest the course of people\u2019s fates \u2013 both her own and that of Dorian Gray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A name contains a wealth of meaning, especially in this case. Sibyl Vane is a relatively minor character in Dorian Gray \u2013 or seems to be at first. She is Dorian\u2019s first love, a wonderful actress he insists on marrying despite their large status gap. However, his rejection of her after her lackluster performance as … Continue reading Sibyl Vane: What\u2019s In a Name?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2255,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123782,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-blog-post","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2255"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}