Picture of Dorian Gray
Picture of Dorian GrayNecessary or Unnecessary
The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1891. The book was first published for a magazine. The magazine version was much shorter than the book version. When Oscar Wilde took to writing the book version he added seven chapters. Certain chapters are seen by some as blatantly unnecessary. Although, the additions of chapters five, seven, seventeen, and eighteen are debatable in their necessity to the book. These four chapters carry important information needed to increase the plot of the story. Not only do they carry information; they add characterization to Sybil Vane. Maybe it is not necessary to keep these chapters in their entirety, but they are necessary for the plot and climax of the story.
The one common trait that is carried throughout all four chapters is the character James Vane. James Vane is the older brother of Sybil Vane who goes away, but promises that if her new Prince Charming, Dorian Gray, was to hurt her he would be back to avenge. Well, Sybil Vane commits suicide because Dorian breaks off their wedding engagement. The brother soon returns and will, at all cost, find Dorian Gray. James Vane is an extra bonus to the book. He is a strong-willed character that allows the reader to remember how horribly shallow and evil Dorian Gray is. If he were missing, since he is only mentioned within these four chapters, the emotions that were felt by the reader at the suicide of Sybil Vane would be lost immediately after Dorian loses his emotion and continues his spree of immoralist acts. James Vane is needed to keep the idea that Dorian Gray is a bad person.
These four chapters also create a character for Sybil Vane herself and help to shed more light upon the character of Dorian Gray. Sybil is mainly touched upon in chapter five. Before this chapter is added not much is known of Sybil except that she is a great actress and is not from the best of breeding. We find that she has a mother who experienced the same courting that Sybil is receiving from Dorian. We also find that she has a brother, no father, and her family is in extreme debt. We also find that she is still very young and has no real idea of what love is. By allowing Sybil Vane to shine through in her own chapter the reader knows more about her and came come to sympathize with her when she is dumped by Dorian and pain when she commits suicide. As for the other three chapters they discuss Dorian’s morals, virtues, values, and the idea of love. We see him for what he is, a “playboy”, and a scoundroul. We don’t need these chapters to know that about Dorian Gray. Therefore, the omitence of a few common placed paragraphs would be unharmful to the reader.
Identifying Dorian Gray as Prince Charming is only seen within these chapters. This is important because it allows the reader to see what slime Dorian Gray is. This name leads James Vane to find him because that was what Sybil had called him when she was alive. It is also very contradicting because Dorian Gray is charming, but is definitely no “Prince Charming”. He is very sly and he knows that he is and that allows for the idea and the name of him being called Prince Charming to be used in a contradictory sense.
On a whole the ideas within these chapters are needed for they help add to the climax and the excitement within the story. Oscar Wilde, I believe, thought these chapters out rationally. They were not thrown in for extra padding to the book, but with a thoughtful purpose to enhance the story. The chapters are a bit on the dull and tedious side. They helped the book in creating a more solid character formation and plot sequence. The character formation of Sybil and James Vane are especially important to the story and were well developed through the extra chapters. Oscar Wilde had a purpose for the chapters, but they could have been condensed.