The Picture of Dorian Gray

Lord Henry Wotton

Also known as Harry

A witty, influential aristocrat and old Oxford friend of Basil Hallward. Fascinated by Dorian Gray, he urges him to prize youth, beauty, and sensation, and treats Dorian’s life as a study.

Basil Hallward

Also known as Hallward · the painter · the artist

A painter whose portrait of Dorian Gray reflects Dorian’s corruption and aging while he remains youthful. Dorian murders him after Basil urges him to repent.

Dorian Gray

Also known as Mr. Gray · the lad · the young man · Prince Charming

A strikingly handsome young man whose portrait reflects his sins and aging while he remains youthful. Influenced by Lord Henry, he pursues sensation, hides his corruption, and murders Basil Hallward; at the end, he dies after stabbing the portrait.

Lady Brandon

A society hostess who introduces Basil Hallward to Dorian Gray at a party.

Lady Agatha

Also known as Aunt Agatha

Lord Henry’s aunt and a philanthropist who has enlisted Dorian Gray to help in the East End.

Parker

Basil Hallward’s butler, who announces Dorian’s arrival and serves refreshments.

Lord Goodbody

A man Lord Henry expected to meet at his aunt’s luncheon; he does not appear in the scene.

Lord Fermor

Also known as Uncle George

Lord Henry’s uncle, an old bachelor who tells him about Dorian Gray’s family history.

Dorian Gray’s mother

Also known as Lady Margaret Devereux · Margaret Devereux

A beautiful woman and daughter of the last Lord Kelso. She eloped with a penniless young army officer, was widowed soon after, returned to her father, and died within a year, leaving Dorian.

Dorian Gray’s father

A penniless young subaltern who married Margaret Devereux and was killed in a duel at Spa a few months later. Lord Fermor reports that Lord Kelso arranged for him to be insulted publicly, leading to the duel.

Lord Kelso

Also known as the last Lord Kelso

Dorian Gray’s maternal grandfather, who brought Dorian’s mother back after her elopement. Lord Fermor describes him as mean and says he arranged the insult that led to Dorian’s father’s death.

The Belgian duellist

Also known as the Belgian brute

An unnamed man whom Lord Kelso allegedly paid to insult Dorian Gray’s father publicly; he killed him in a duel at Spa.

Carlington

A man who was deeply in love with Margaret Devereux and proposed to her; she refused him.

The Duke of Dartmoor

Also known as Dartmoor

A man whom Lord Henry’s family says wants to marry an American woman.

The American woman pursued by Dartmoor

Also known as the fascinating young person

An unnamed American woman who has decided to propose to the Duke of Dartmoor. Her father is said to keep an American dry-goods store.

The father of the American woman pursued by Dartmoor

An unnamed man said by Sir Thomas Burdon to own an American dry-goods store.

The Duchess of Harley

Also known as the duchess

A good-natured society woman at Lady Agatha’s luncheon. She invites Lord Henry to dine and is amused by his ideas.

Sir Thomas Burdon

Also known as the Radical member · the baronet

A Radical member of Parliament at Lady Agatha’s luncheon, known for following his political leader and for his interest in America.

Mr. Erskine of Treadley

Also known as Mr. Erskine

An elderly, cultured guest at Lady Agatha’s luncheon, known for his charm and habit of silence. He invites Lord Henry to visit him at Treadley and discuss his philosophy.

Mrs. Vandeleur

An old friend of Lady Agatha’s and a guest at her luncheon, described as a pious woman.

Lord Faudel

A middle-aged guest at Lady Agatha’s luncheon, seated beside Mrs. Vandeleur.

Lord Henry’s father

Also known as The Lord Henry’s father

A diplomat who served as ambassador in Madrid and resigned after not receiving the Paris embassy. Lord Henry resigned from the diplomatic service with him.

Lord Henry’s elder brother

An unnamed elder brother of Lord Henry whom he jokes will not die.

Lord Henry’s younger brothers

Lord Henry’s unnamed younger brothers, whom he jokes seem always to die.

Lady Henry

Also known as Victoria

Lord Henry’s wife, whose name is Victoria. A nervous, untidy society woman who loves music, attends church, and is often in love with someone whose feelings she does not share. She later runs away with a man who plays Chopin.

Sibyl Vane

Also known as Sybil

A young actress, less than seventeen, who plays Shakespearean heroines and is the object of Dorian Gray’s intense love and secret engagement. After Dorian rejects her, she dies by swallowing poison at the theatre; her death is later ruled misadventure.

The theatre manager

Also known as the Jew · the fat Jew manager · Mr. Isaacs

A Jewish manager of the shabby theatre where Sibyl Vane acts. He has advanced money to the Vane family and holds Sibyl to a stage contract.

Romeo

A role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, played by an elderly actor at Sibyl Vane’s theatre.

Mercutio

A role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, played by the theatre’s low comedian.

Sibyl Vane’s mother

Also known as Mrs. Vane

A faded former actress who plays supporting roles and depends on Mr. Isaacs’s financial help. She is the mother of Sibyl and James Vane and says she was not married to their father.

James Vane

Also known as Jim

Sibyl Vane’s sixteen-year-old brother, a stern, protective young man preparing to sail to Australia. He distrusts Dorian and vows to kill him if he wrongs Sibyl; years later he tracks Dorian down but mistakes his youthful appearance for proof he is the wrong man. He is later accidentally shot during a hunt and identified by Dorian at the Home Farm.

Sibyl and James Vane’s father

Also known as their father

An unnamed gentleman who was not free when he loved Mrs. Vane; she says he would have provided for the family if he had lived and that he was highly connected.

Tom Hardy

A friend of James Vane who gave him a pipe.

Ned Langton

A friend of James Vane who teases him about smoking his pipe.

Lord Radley

One of Dorian Gray’s guardians, whom Dorian expects to be furious about his engagement.

The valet

Also known as Lord Henry’s valet

Lord Henry’s unnamed servant, who reminds him to dress for dinner.

The brougham driver

The unnamed driver of the brougham that takes Lord Henry and Dorian to the theatre.

Victor

Also known as Dorian’s valet · Francis

Dorian Gray’s servant, who brings him tea and letters, tends to his rooms, and helps keep the portrait hidden. Dorian uses him as an alibi after murdering Basil Hallward.

Lady Gwendolen

Also known as Harry’s sister · Lord Henry’s sister

Lord Henry’s sister, whom Dorian meets at the opera in her box. Basil says that scandal has since touched her reputation and that her children are not allowed to live with her.

Patti

A singer performing at the opera that Dorian attends after Sibyl Vane’s death.

The philanthropist in Lord Henry’s anecdote

An unnamed man who spent twenty years trying to redress a grievance or change an unjust law, then became disappointed and misanthropic after succeeding.

Lord Henry’s former lover

Also known as the lady in question

An unnamed woman whose romance with Lord Henry ended after she proposed sacrificing the whole world for him. He later meets her at Lady Hampshire’s dinner.

The young man from Marlow

An unnamed young man whom Basil once told Dorian about; he believed yellow satin could console one for life’s miseries.

The theatre carter

Also known as the white-smocked carter

An unnamed Covent Garden market carter who offers Dorian cherries.

Mrs. Leaf

Also known as Leaf

Dorian Gray’s housekeeper, an old woman who gives him the key to the disused schoolroom where he hides Basil’s portrait.

Mr. Hubbard

Also known as the frame-maker

A celebrated frame-maker from South Audley Street who helps Dorian move the portrait to the old schoolroom.

The frame-maker’s assistant

Also known as Mr. Hubbard’s assistant

An unnamed, rough-looking young man who helps carry Dorian’s portrait upstairs and regards him with wonder.

Georges Petit

A Paris art dealer organizing a special exhibition of Basil Hallward’s best paintings, which was to include Dorian’s portrait.

Lady Radley

Also known as Lord Radley’s wife

A pretty professional invalid and Lord Radley’s wife, who spent the preceding winter in Cairo. She gave Dorian a small table of perfumed wood.

Mr. Danby

Also known as the District Coroner

The coroner who conducted the inquest into Sibyl Vane’s death at the Bell Tavern, Hoxton Road.

Dr. Birrell

The doctor who performed the post-mortem examination of Sibyl Vane.

The young Parisian in Lord Henry’s book

Also known as the novel’s hero

A fictional young Parisian in the novel Lord Henry sends Dorian, who tries to embody the passions and ideas of many eras. The book’s account of his later despair becomes an influential parallel for Dorian.

The French servant

Also known as Dorian’s former French servant

Dorian’s former servant, who left his service, married Lady Radley’s maid, and settled with her in Paris as an English dressmaker.

The man with the corrupt hands

An unnamed man who once offered Basil Hallward an extravagant price to paint his portrait. Basil refused him, judging his character from the shape of his fingers.

The wretched boy in the Guards

An unnamed young Guardsman who was a close friend of Dorian Gray and died by suicide.

Sir Henry Ashton

A man who was inseparable from Dorian Gray and later had to leave England with a tarnished name.

Adrian Singleton

A former friend of Dorian Gray who met a dreadful end. He gave Dorian a copy of Gautier’s Émaux et Camées; later he is found in an opium den, estranged from his friends and dependent on opium.

Lord Kent’s son

Also known as Kent’s silly son · Lord Kent’s only son

The only son of Lord Kent, whose career was ruined; Dorian says he took his wife from the streets. His father is described as broken with shame and sorrow.

Lord Kent

Also known as Lord Kent’s father

The father of Lord Kent’s only son, whose career was ruined; Basil encountered him looking broken with shame and sorrow.

The young Duke of Perth

Also known as the Duke of Perth

A young aristocrat whose life Basil says was damaged through his friendship with Dorian Gray.

Lord Staveley

A former friend of Dorian Gray whom Basil met at dinner. He called Dorian a man no pure-minded girl should know and no chaste woman should sit beside.

Lord Gloucester

One of Basil Hallward’s greatest friends at Oxford. His dying wife’s letter contained a terrible confession implicating Dorian Gray.

The wife of Lord Gloucester

Also known as Lord Gloucester’s wife

An unnamed woman who died alone in her villa at Mentone. In a letter to her husband, she made a confession that implicated Dorian Gray.

The policeman

An unnamed policeman making his rounds near Dorian Gray’s house on the night Basil Hallward is murdered.

The woman in the fluttering shawl

An unnamed, apparently intoxicated woman who staggers past Dorian’s house late at night and speaks with a policeman.

Francis

Also known as Dorian’s valet

Dorian Gray’s valet, who wakes him, brings his morning chocolate, and carries a letter to Alan Campbell. Dorian uses him as an alibi after murdering Basil Hallward.

Alan Campbell

A brilliant young chemist and musician who was once Dorian’s close friend. Dorian blackmails him into destroying Basil Hallward’s corpse, after which Campbell ends their relationship and later dies by suicide.

Philip Herbert

A handsome ancestor of Dorian Gray, described in a memoir as once having been favoured at court. Dorian wonders whether he inherited Herbert’s temperament.

Sir Anthony Sherard

An ancestor of Dorian Gray shown in the family portrait gallery, dressed in armour. Dorian wonders whether he inherited the sins of Sherard, who had been the lover of Giovanna of Naples.

Giovanna of Naples

A woman who was the lover of Dorian Gray’s ancestor Sir Anthony Sherard.

Lady Elizabeth Devereux

An ancestor of Dorian Gray shown in the family portrait gallery. Dorian knows stories about her lovers and wonders whether he shares her temperament.

George Willoughby

An eighteenth-century ancestor of Dorian Gray, a fashionable macaroni and friend of Lord Ferrars in his youth.

Lord Ferrars

A man who was a friend of Dorian Gray’s ancestor George Willoughby in Willoughby’s youth.

The second Lord Beckenham

An ancestor of Dorian Gray, companion of the Prince Regent and a witness at the secret marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert. He was regarded as infamous and led orgies at Carlton House.

The wife of the second Lord Beckenham

An unnamed ancestor of Dorian Gray, shown in a portrait beside her husband, the second Lord Beckenham.

The Prince Regent

A royal figure who was a companion of Dorian Gray’s ancestor, the second Lord Beckenham.

Mrs. Fitzherbert

A woman in the secret marriage witnessed by Dorian Gray’s ancestor, the second Lord Beckenham.

Tiberius

A Roman emperor portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray; the novel depicts him reading at Capri.

Caligula

A Roman emperor portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray; the novel depicts him carousing with jockeys.

Domitian

A Roman emperor portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, wandering among mirrors and fearing assassination.

Nero

Also known as Nero Caesar

A Roman emperor portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, passing through Rome in a luxurious litter.

Elagabalus

A Roman emperor portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, depicted in extravagant and transgressive scenes.

Filippo, Duke of Milan

A historical figure portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray; he killed his wife with poison applied to her lips.

Pietro Barbi

Also known as Paul the Second

A Venetian pope portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, whose vanity and costly tiara are associated with a terrible sin.

Gian Maria Visconti

A historical figure portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, known there for setting hounds on living men.

The Borgia

An unnamed Borgia figure portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, shown riding a white horse beside Fratricide.

Fratricide

A personified figure accompanying the Borgia in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Perotto

A man whose blood stained the mantle of the Borgia figure portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Pietro Riario

A young cardinal archbishop portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, renowned for beauty and debauchery.

Sixtus IV

The pope described as the patron and protector of Pietro Riario in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Leonora of Aragon

A woman received by Pietro Riario in an elaborate pavilion, as described in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Ezzelin

A historical figure portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, whose melancholy could be cured only by witnessing death.

The Fiend

A supernatural being said to be the father of Ezzelin in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Giambattista Cibo

Also known as Innocent

A historical pope portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, who mockingly took the name Innocent and had the blood of three lads infused into his veins.

The Jewish doctor

An unnamed doctor who infused the blood of three lads into Giambattista Cibo, as described in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Sigismondo Malatesta

The lord of Rimini, portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray as a violent and irreligious figure.

Isotta

The beloved of Sigismondo Malatesta in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Polyssena

A woman whom Sigismondo Malatesta strangled, according to the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Ginevra d’Este

A woman whom Sigismondo Malatesta poisoned, according to the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Charles VI

A king portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, whose passion for his brother’s wife and later madness are described.

The brother’s wife of Charles VI

An unnamed woman whom Charles VI adored, according to the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Grifonetto Baglioni

A handsome historical figure portrayed in the novel that influences Dorian Gray, who killed Astorre and Simonetto before dying in Perugia.

Astorre

A man killed by Grifonetto Baglioni in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

The bride of Astorre

An unnamed woman killed alongside Astorre by Grifonetto Baglioni in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Simonetto

A man killed by Grifonetto Baglioni in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

The page of Simonetto

An unnamed page killed alongside Simonetto by Grifonetto Baglioni in the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Atalanta

A woman who cursed Grifonetto Baglioni and then blessed him as he lay dying, according to the novel that influences Dorian Gray.

Lady Narborough

A clever society hostess, widow of an ambassador and one of Dorian Gray’s favourites. She hosts him and Lord Henry at dinner.

Lord Narborough

Also known as Narborough

Lady Narborough’s late husband, an ambassador whom she describes as short-sighted.

Lady Narborough’s married daughter

Also known as Lady Alice Chapman

Lady Narborough’s daughter, who arrives unexpectedly with her husband. She is described as dowdy and dull.

Mr. Chapman

Also known as Lady Alice Chapman’s husband

Lady Alice Chapman’s husband, a red-cheeked, white-whiskered man who talks loudly about politics.

Adolphe

A cook who invented the dinner menu for Dorian Gray at Lady Narborough’s house.

Ernest Harrowden

A middle-aged London clubman and guest at Lady Narborough’s dinner, disliked by his friends.

Lady Ruxton

An overdressed society woman at Lady Narborough’s dinner who hopes to be compromised but is too plain for anyone to believe scandal about her.

Mrs. Erlynne

A pushy society guest at Lady Narborough’s dinner, noted for her lisp and Venetian-red hair.

Madame de Ferrol

Also known as Ferrol

A beautiful woman and intimate friend of Dorian Gray, whom he says he was last in love with a week before Lady Narborough’s dinner. She has had four husbands.

Sir Andrew

Lady Narborough’s doctor, whose prescriptions she compares unfavourably with Lord Henry’s conversation.

The Duchess of Monmouth

Also known as Gladys · the little duchess · the duchess

A pretty, clever duchess who is among Dorian’s guests at Selby Royal and flirts with him. She is Lord Henry’s cousin and wife of the Duke of Monmouth.

The Duke of Monmouth

Also known as Monmouth

The Duchess of Monmouth’s husband, a jaded-looking man of sixty who collects beetles.

Lord Rugby

A guest expected at Dorian Gray’s house-party at Selby Royal.

Lady Rugby

Also known as Lord Rugby’s wife

The wife of Lord Rugby, expected at Dorian Gray’s house-party at Selby Royal.

Sir Geoffrey Clouston

Also known as Geoffrey Clouston · Geoffrey

The Duchess of Monmouth’s brother and a guest at Selby Royal. He accidentally shoots a beater during a hunt.

Lord Grotrian

A highly educated, occasionally overdressed man whom Lord Henry likes and Dorian invites to Selby Royal.

Lord Grotrian’s father

An unnamed man who may take his son to Monte Carlo.

Harvey

A man Dorian asks to prepare his yacht.

Harden

The Richmond supplier who provides orchids for Selby Royal.

The hansom driver

An unnamed driver who takes Dorian Gray to a riverside opium den.

The opium den door attendant

Also known as the squat misshapen figure

An unnamed, squat figure who opens the door of the shabby house Dorian visits.

The sailor in the opium den

Also known as the drowsy sailor

An unnamed sailor who sprawls in the opium den and pursues Dorian after hearing a woman call him Prince Charming.

The woman who recognizes Dorian in the opium den

Also known as the mad-cat · the woman at the bar

An unnamed woman in the opium den who knows Dorian as Prince Charming and tells James Vane that Dorian has not visibly aged since she met him eighteen years earlier. She calls Dorian the devil’s bargain and fears him.

The woman with the woman who recognizes Dorian

An unnamed woman who drinks at the opium den and watches her companion take Dorian’s money.

The half-caste bar attendant

An unnamed bar attendant in the opium den who serves Dorian and Adrian Singleton brandy.

The Duchess of Monmouth’s maid

Also known as the duchess’s maid

An unnamed maid who invents hats for the Duchess of Monmouth and pins her when annoyed.

The Duchess of Monmouth’s gardener

Also known as the gardener

An unnamed gardener at Selby Royal who delivers a letter to Dorian from the duchess.

The groom at Selby Royal

Also known as the groom

An unnamed groom whom Dorian tells to take his mare home.

The head-keeper

Also known as Thornton · the gamekeeper

A keeper at Selby Royal who reports that the man accidentally shot during the hunt was an unknown sailor.

The beater shot during the hunt

Also known as the unknown sailor

An unidentified man, apparently a sailor, who is accidentally shot and killed by Sir Geoffrey Clouston during a hunt at Selby Royal. Dorian identifies the body as James Vane.

Hetty Merton

Also known as Hetty

A beautiful village girl whom Dorian says he loved and then spared by ending their planned elopement. His supposed act of renunciation is later revealed to have been driven by vanity, curiosity, and hypocrisy.

The man who ran away with Lady Henry

An unnamed man who eloped with Lord Henry’s wife, Victoria; Lord Henry says he played Chopin exquisitely.

The street-preacher

Also known as the prophet

An unnamed preacher whom Lord Henry overhears near Marble Arch asking a crowd what it profits a man to gain the world and lose his soul.

The Java parrot

Also known as the parrot

Lord Henry’s large grey-plumaged pet parrot, with a pink crest and tail, perched in the music-room.

Young Lord Poole

Also known as Lord Poole

Bournemouth’s eldest son, whom Lord Henry says wants to meet Dorian and has copied his neckties.

Bournemouth

The parent of young Lord Poole, identified by Lord Henry as the young man’s father.

The uncle of Sir Henry Ashton

Also known as one of the two gentlemen passing Dorian’s house

An unnamed man who is one of two gentlemen passing Dorian’s house after the final cry; the text identifies him as Sir Henry Ashton’s uncle.

The farm-servant

An unnamed servant at Selby Royal’s Home Farm whom Dorian asks to uncover the dead man’s face; this lets Dorian recognize James Vane.

The coachman at Dorian’s house

Also known as the coachman

An unnamed servant whom Francis summons to help reach the locked room after Dorian’s death.

The footman at Dorian’s house

Also known as the footman

An unnamed servant who accompanies Francis and the coachman into the locked room after Dorian’s death.