Theatrics

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In the beginning of The Picture of Dorian Gray, we see Basil Hallward become drawn to Dorian Gray as he is the perfect model for Basil's portraits. He is the most beautiful man Basil has seen and is perfect in every manner. Later on, Dorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane after seeing some of her theater performances. This is a parallel as Dorian doesn't fall in love with Sibyl -- he falls in love with Juliet, Rosalind, and Imogen. This is made apparent as seen in the conversation Lord Henry has with Dorian. When Henry asks "When is she Sibyl Vane?" Dorian responds with "Never." Thus, Dorian hasn't fallen in love with Sibyl herself, but the characters she becomes when she performs on stage. Relating it back to the preface, "to reveal art and conceal the artists is art's aim." Sibyl embodies her roles so well that on stage, none of her actual personality is there. Rather, only her art of acting shines through. 

Before meeting Dorian, Sybil knew life as it was on stage. She felt the emotions her characters felt and admired the painted sets as if they were real. Outside of the theater, she did not really live her own life. After she fell in love with Dorian, she realized that she could lead her own life instead of just play the lives of fictional characters made by Shakespeare. However, this leads her to abandon her great acting skills and put on a terrible show for Dorian and his companions. Dorian comes to the realization that he never loved Sybil Vane, but the actor and artist inside Sybil Vane, and he harshly leaves her. Sibyl takes her own life later that night. Ironically, Dorian compares this turn of events to a dramatic Shakespearean play, and moves on with his own life.

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