The Picture of Dorian Gray

Lord Henry Wotton

Also known as Harry

A witty, cynical young aristocrat and Basil Hallward’s old Oxford friend. He fascinates Dorian Gray and strongly influences him.

Basil Hallward

Also known as Hallward

An artist who paints Dorian Gray and regards him as his dearest friend and greatest inspiration. Dorian murders him; Basil’s body is destroyed, and his disappearance remains publicly unexplained.

Dorian Gray

Also known as Mr. Gray

A remarkably beautiful young man whose portrait bears the signs of his age and sins while he lives a secret life of corruption. He murders Basil Hallward, coerces Alan Campbell into destroying Basil’s body, and dies after stabbing the portrait; his body is found aged and withered.

Lady Brandon

A society hostess who introduces Basil Hallward to Dorian Gray.

Lady Agatha

Also known as Aunt Agatha

Lord Henry’s aunt, devoted to Dorian and hoping he will help with her charitable work in the East End.

Parker

Basil Hallward’s butler, who announces Dorian’s arrival at the studio.

Lord Goodbody

A man Lord Henry says he might have met at his aunt’s luncheon; he is mentioned but does not appear.

Antinous

A figure whose face Basil cites as an inspiration for late Greek sculpture.

Victoria

Also known as Lady Henry · Lord Henry’s wife

Lord Henry’s wife, who visits Dorian while he waits at her husband’s house. She later runs away with another man.

Lord Henry’s father

A former British ambassador to Madrid who resigned after not receiving the Paris embassy.

Lord Henry’s elder brother

Lord Henry’s elder brother, whom Henry jokes will not die; he is mentioned but does not appear.

Lord Henry’s younger brothers

Lord Henry’s younger brothers, whom Henry jokes seem to do nothing but die; they are mentioned but do not appear.

Plato

A philosopher whom Lord Henry considers in connection with the analysis of an artistic idea.

Buonarotti

An artist whom Lord Henry mentions as having expressed an idea in a sonnet sequence.

Lord Fermor

Also known as Uncle George

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

Lord Kelso

Also known as the last Lord Kelso

Dorian Gray’s grandfather, who opposed his daughter Margaret’s marriage and allegedly arranged an insult that led to her husband’s death.

Lady Margaret Devereux

Also known as Margaret Devereux

Dorian Gray’s beautiful mother and Lord Kelso’s daughter. She married a poor young soldier against her father’s wishes and died within a year of her husband’s death.

Dorian Gray’s father

Also known as the young husband · the subaltern

A penniless young army officer who married Margaret Devereux and was killed in a duel at Spa shortly afterward.

The Belgian duelist

Also known as the Belgian brute

A man Lord Kelso allegedly paid to insult Margaret Devereux’s husband publicly; he killed the husband in a duel.

Carlington

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

The Queen of Spain

Also known as the Queen

The queen at the Madrid court who asked Lord Fermor about Lord Kelso’s quarrels with cab drivers.

The Duchess of Harley

Also known as the duchess

A good-natured society woman who attends Lady Agatha’s luncheon and invites Lord Henry to dine.

Sir Thomas Burdon

A Radical member of Parliament at Lady Agatha’s luncheon, known for following the best cooks in private life.

Mr. Erskine of Treadley

Also known as Mr. Erskine

An older, cultured man at Lady Agatha’s luncheon who became quiet after saying everything he wished to say before age thirty. He invites Lord Henry to visit him.

Mrs. Vandeleur

One of Lady Agatha’s oldest friends, described as saintly but dowdy; she attends the luncheon.

Lord Faudel

A middle-aged man seated beside Mrs. Vandeleur at Lady Agatha’s luncheon, whom Lord Henry regards as an intelligent mediocrity.

Lord Dartmoor

Also known as Dartmoor

A man whose possible marriage to an American woman is discussed at Lord Fermor’s and Lady Agatha’s gatherings.

Lord Dartmoor’s American fiancée

Also known as the American

An unnamed American woman said to have set her mind on proposing to Lord Dartmoor. Her father reportedly keeps a dry-goods store.

The poor Southwark

Also known as Southwark

A person Lord Henry mentions as having become involved in a divorce case; no further identifying details are given.

Sibyl Vane

Also known as Sybil

A young actress whom Dorian Gray loves and becomes engaged to. After Dorian rejects her, she dies by swallowing a theatre poison; the inquest rules her death misadventure.

Mrs. Vane

Also known as Sibyl and James’s mother

A faded, tired former actress who manages her children’s theatrical life and worries about their debts. She says Sibyl’s father was a gentleman with whom she had a relationship although he was not free to marry her.

James Vane

Also known as Jim

Sibyl Vane’s protective brother, who vows to kill the man who wrongs her. Eighteen years later he tracks Dorian down, but is mistaken for a hare and shot during a hunt before he can act.

Mr. Isaacs

Also known as the Jew · the Jew manager

The theatrical manager who employs Sibyl Vane and has advanced money to the Vane family. Dorian finds him offensive; he is portrayed as a fat, jewelled manager with a passion for Shakespeare.

The lodging-house drudge

An unnamed worker at the Vane family’s lodging house who helps with James’s departure.

Lord Radley

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

Tom Hardy

A friend of James Vane who gave him a pipe; mentioned but does not appear.

Ned Langton

A friend of James Vane who makes fun of him for smoking his pipe; mentioned but does not appear.

The Duke of Berwick

A duke whose four-in-hand carriage briefly blocks Sibyl Vane’s view of Dorian in the park. He later leaves a club when Dorian enters.

The Duchess’s servant

Also known as the servant

An unnamed servant who tells the Duchess of Harley that her carriage is waiting.

Lord Henry’s valet

Also known as his valet

An unnamed servant who reminds Lord Henry that it is time to dress for dinner.

The waiter at the Bristol

Also known as the bowing waiter

An unnamed waiter who takes Basil Hallward’s hat and coat and serves Lord Henry, Basil, and Dorian.

The stage Romeo

Also known as Romeo

An elderly, stout actor who plays Romeo in the theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet.

The stage Mercutio

Also known as Mercutio

The low comedian who plays Mercutio and adds his own jokes to the performance.

The young Hebrew pianist

Also known as the young Hebrew

The young man who presides over the theatre’s dreadful orchestra at a cracked piano.

Clodion

The sculptor credited with the statuette in Lord Henry’s library.

Margaret of Valois

The historical owner for whom a copy of Les Cent Nouvelles was bound; mentioned in the description of Lord Henry’s library.

Clovis Eve

The bookbinder who bound a copy of Les Cent Nouvelles for Margaret of Valois.

The Queen who selected the daisies

Also known as Queen

The queen who selected the gilt daisy design on the book bound for Margaret of Valois; no further identity is specified.

Omar

Also known as wise Omar

A figure described as sitting at a wine press in Lord Henry’s fanciful speech.

Silenus

A figure mocked as sober in Lord Henry’s fanciful speech about pleasure.

Bacchante

A mythological female follower of Bacchus evoked in Lord Henry’s improvisation.

Shakespeare

Also known as the Bard

The playwright whose works Sibyl Vane performs and whose plays shape Dorian Gray’s romantic view of her. Mr. Isaacs says Shakespeare’s plays contributed to his bankruptcies.

Juliet

The heroine of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, played by Sibyl Vane.

Rosalind

The heroine of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, played by Sibyl Vane.

Imogen

The heroine of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, played by Sibyl Vane.

Orlando

A character in As You Like It, played by an actor whom Dorian calls absurd.

Miranda

A Shakespearean character whom Dorian associates with Sibyl Vane and the theatre.

Caliban

A Shakespearean character whom Dorian compares to the theatre manager.

Victor

Also known as Dorian’s valet · Francis

Dorian Gray’s valet, who attends to his rooms, brings him tea and letters, and runs errands for him. He is present among the servants when Dorian dies.

Lady Gwendolen

Also known as Lady Gwendolen, Harry’s sister

Lord Henry’s sister, whom Dorian meets at the opera in her box. Basil says scandal has damaged her reputation and separated her from her children.

Patti

A singer performing at the opera; Lord Henry and Dorian plan to attend her performance.

Georges Petit

A Paris art dealer organizing an exhibition of Basil Hallward’s paintings, including Dorian’s portrait.

Mrs. Leaf

Also known as Leaf

Dorian Gray’s housekeeper, an older woman who gives him the key to the disused schoolroom. She is crying and wringing her hands after the servants hear Dorian’s fatal cry.

Mr. Hubbard

A frame-maker from South Audley Street who brings workers to move Dorian’s portrait to the old schoolroom.

Mr. Hubbard’s assistant

Also known as the assistant

An unnamed, rough-looking young worker who helps Mr. Hubbard carry Dorian’s portrait upstairs.

Lady Radley

Also known as Lord Radley’s wife

The wife of Dorian’s guardian, described as a pretty professional invalid who spent the preceding winter in Cairo. She gave Dorian a small table.

Mr. Danby

Also known as the District Coroner

The district coroner who presides over the inquest into Sibyl Vane’s death at the Bell Tavern.

Dr. Birrell

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

The young Parisian

Also known as the novel’s hero

The sole character in the yellow novel Lord Henry sends Dorian. This unnamed Parisian attempts to embody passions and ways of thought from many historical periods.

The French servant

Also known as the Frenchman

Dorian’s former servant, who left and married Lady Radley’s maid; Dorian says he was devoted to him.

Lady Radley’s maid

An unnamed maid who marries Dorian’s former French servant and moves with him to Paris.

The young Guardsman

Also known as the wretched boy in the Guards

An unnamed young Guards officer and former friend of Dorian who commits suicide; Basil cites his death among the consequences of Dorian’s influence.

Sir Henry Ashton

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

Adrian Singleton

A former friend of Dorian whose life ends disastrously. He gave Dorian a book by Gautier and is later found living in an opium den.

Lord Kent’s only son

Also known as Kent’s silly son

An unnamed young man whom Basil says was Dorian’s friend; Dorian says he took his wife from the streets.

The young Duke of Perth

A young duke whom Basil names among Dorian’s associates, asking what kind of life he has now.

Lord Staveley

Also known as Staveley

A man Basil meets at dinner who says Dorian’s artistic tastes do not make him fit company for decent women.

Lord Gloucester

One of Basil Hallward’s greatest friends at Oxford. He showed Basil a letter from his dying wife that implicated Dorian in a terrible confession.

Lord Gloucester’s wife

An unnamed woman who dies alone in her villa at Mentone and writes a letter implicating Dorian in a terrible confession.

Philip Herbert

Also known as young Herbert

A handsome ancestor in Dorian Gray’s family portrait gallery, described as having been favored at court but losing his good looks’ companionship early.

Francis Osborne

The writer whose memoir describes Philip Herbert; mentioned in connection with the portrait-gallery account.

Sir Anthony Sherard

An ancestor in Dorian’s portrait gallery, dressed in ornate armor. Dorian wonders what legacy he left.

Giovanna of Naples

A woman Sir Anthony Sherard loved; Dorian wonders whether she is connected to his inherited traits.

Lady Elizabeth Devereux

A woman in Dorian’s family portrait gallery, remembered for stories about her lovers. Dorian wonders whether he shares her temperament.

George Willoughby

An eighteenth-century macaroni in Dorian’s portrait gallery and a youthful friend of Lord Ferrars.

Lord Ferrars

A man who was a friend of George Willoughby in his youth.

The second Lord Beckenham

An ancestor and companion of the Prince Regent, remembered for wild behavior and as a witness at the secret marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert.

The Prince Regent

A historical prince who was a companion of the second Lord Beckenham.

Mrs. Fitzherbert

The woman in the secret marriage witnessed by the second Lord Beckenham.

The second Lord Beckenham’s wife

An unnamed, pale woman in black whose portrait hangs beside her husband’s in Dorian’s gallery.

Lord Henry’s novelistic Tiberius

Also known as Tiberius

The Roman emperor as portrayed in the yellow novel’s account of the Parisian hero imagining historical lives.

Caligula

The Roman emperor whose imagined life the Parisian hero inhabits in the novel Dorian reads.

Domitian

The Roman emperor whose imagined life the Parisian hero inhabits in the novel Dorian reads.

Nero Caesar

Also known as Nero

The Roman emperor represented in the novel’s imagined historical scenes, associated with a lavish procession.

Elagabalus

The Roman emperor whose imagined life the novel’s hero inhabits, including a mystic marriage of Moon and Sun.

Filippo, Duke of Milan

A historical figure in the yellow novel, described as murdering his wife with poison painted on her lips.

Pietro Barbi

Also known as Paul the Second

A Venetian pope portrayed in the yellow novel as vain and willing to commit a terrible sin for his costly tiara.

Gian Maria Visconti

A historical figure in the yellow novel, described as setting hounds on living people and later being mourned by a lover.

The Borgia

A figure in the yellow novel shown riding a white horse beside Fratricide.

Fratricide

A personified figure riding beside the Borgia in the yellow novel’s imagery.

Perotto

A man whose blood stains the Borgia’s mantle in the yellow novel’s description.

Pietro Riario

A young cardinal archbishop described in the yellow novel as beautiful and debauched.

Sixtus IV

The pope described as Pietro Riario’s patron in the yellow novel.

Leonora of Aragon

A woman received by Pietro Riario at a lavish pavilion in the yellow novel.

Ezzelin

A historical figure in the yellow novel whose melancholy is said to be cured only by witnessing death.

The Fiend

A supernatural figure said in the novel to be Ezzelin’s father.

Giambattista Cibo

Also known as Innocent

A figure in the yellow novel who mocks his assumed name by having the blood of three boys infused into his veins.

The Jewish doctor

An unnamed doctor who infuses the blood of three boys into Giambattista Cibo, according to the yellow novel.

Sigismondo Malatesta

The lord of Rimini in the yellow novel, remembered for violent acts and for building a pagan church for Christian worship.

Isotta

Sigismondo Malatesta’s lover, mentioned in the yellow novel.

Polyssena

A woman Sigismondo Malatesta is said to have strangled in the yellow novel.

Ginevra d’Este

A woman Sigismondo Malatesta is said to have poisoned in the yellow novel.

Charles VI

A king portrayed in the yellow novel as becoming mentally ill after adoring his brother’s wife.

Charles VI’s brother’s wife

An unnamed woman whom Charles VI adored, according to the yellow novel.

The leper

An unnamed leper who warned Charles VI of the insanity that was coming on him.

Grifonetto Baglioni

A beautiful figure in the yellow novel who murders Astorre and Simonetto and dies in Perugia.

Astorre

A man Grifonetto Baglioni kills along with his bride in the yellow novel.

Astorre’s bride

An unnamed woman killed by Grifonetto Baglioni alongside Astorre.

Simonetto

A man Grifonetto Baglioni kills with his page in the yellow novel.

Simonetto’s page

An unnamed page killed by Grifonetto Baglioni alongside Simonetto.

Atalanta

A woman who curses Grifonetto Baglioni and later blesses him as he lies dying.

The flute-player

An unnamed performer in the yellow novel’s scene of the Parisian hero imagining life as Tiberius.

The dwarf

One of the unnamed dwarfs around the hero in the novel’s imagined scene as Tiberius.

The young woman in the shawl

Also known as the woman in the fluttering shawl

An unnamed woman seen staggering and singing near Dorian’s house after Basil’s murder; a passing policeman speaks to her.

The policeman

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

Alan Campbell

A clever chemist and musician who was once Dorian’s close friend. Under threat from Dorian, he uses his scientific skills to destroy Basil Hallward’s body and later shoots himself without revealing the secret.

The Bell Tavern coroner’s jury

The inquest jury that returns a verdict of death by misadventure in Sibyl Vane’s case.

Alan Campbell’s mother

An unnamed woman who hopes her son will stand for Parliament and misunderstands his work as a chemist.

Lady Berkshire

A society hostess at whose gathering Rubinstein’s performance first brings Dorian Gray and Alan Campbell together.

Rubinstein

A musician whose performance at Lady Berkshire’s gathering brings Dorian Gray and Alan Campbell together.

Alan Campbell’s assistant

Also known as his assistant

An unnamed assistant to Alan Campbell, addressed on a note to bring laboratory supplies to Dorian’s house.

Lady Narborough

A clever society hostess and one of Dorian’s favourites. She hosts the dinner Dorian attends after Basil’s body is destroyed.

Lady Narborough’s husband

Also known as Narborough

Lady Narborough’s late husband, a tedious ambassador whom she buried in a mausoleum she designed.

Lady Narborough’s daughters

Lady Narborough’s daughters, whom she married off to wealthy, rather elderly men.

Lady Narborough’s married daughter

An unnamed married daughter who arrives unexpectedly at Lady Narborough’s home with her husband.

Lady Narborough’s son-in-law

The unnamed husband of Lady Narborough’s visiting daughter.

Ernest Harrowden

A middle-aged man at Lady Narborough’s dinner, described as a mediocrity disliked by his friends.

Lady Ruxton

An overdressed society woman at Lady Narborough’s dinner who hopes to be compromised but is too plain to invite scandal.

Mrs. Erlynne

A pushy social nobody at Lady Narborough’s dinner, noted for her lisp and Venetian-red hair.

Lady Alice Chapman

Lady Narborough’s dull daughter, who attends the dinner with her husband.

Mr. Chapman

Also known as Lady Alice Chapman’s husband

Lady Alice Chapman’s husband, a jovial man who talks loudly about politics despite having few ideas.

Madame de Ferrol

A beautiful woman with whom Dorian says he was in love the week before Lady Narborough’s dinner. Lord Henry says she has had four husbands.

Lord Ferrol

Also known as Ferrol

Madame de Ferrol’s husband, described in conversation as her fourth.

Madame de Ferrol’s first three husbands

Three unnamed men who were married to Madame de Ferrol before Lord Ferrol; Lord Henry jokes about her grief when the third died.

Sir Andrew

A doctor who prescribes for Lady Narborough.

The Duchess of Monmouth

Also known as Gladys · the little duchess · the duchess

A pretty duchess and Lord Henry’s cousin who is among Dorian’s guests at Selby Royal. She flirts with Dorian and admits she is unsure whether she loves him.

The Duke of Monmouth

Also known as Monmouth

The Duchess of Monmouth’s husband, a jaded-looking man of sixty and a guest at Selby Royal.

The Willoughbys

A couple invited to Dorian’s house party; no individual names are given.

Lord Rugby

A guest invited to Dorian’s house party; he is mentioned with his wife.

Lady Rugby

Also known as Lord Rugby’s wife

A guest invited to Dorian’s house party; no further details are given.

Lord Grotrian

A well-educated man whom Lord Henry likes and Dorian invites to Selby Royal; he may have to travel to Monte Carlo with his father.

Lord Grotrian’s father

The unnamed father who may travel to Monte Carlo with Lord Grotrian.

Geoffrey Clouston

Also known as Sir Geoffrey Clouston

The Duchess of Monmouth’s brother and a guest at Selby Royal. While shooting, he kills a man in the thicket whom he mistakes for a hare.

The head-keeper

Also known as Thornton

The head-keeper at Selby Royal, who reports that the man killed during the shoot was an unknown sailor.

The beater

Also known as the dead sailor · the man killed in the thicket

An unnamed sailor found dead after Sir Geoffrey Clouston shoots him during the hunt at Selby Royal. He is later identified as James Vane.

The groom

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

The gardener at Selby Royal

Also known as the gardener

An unnamed gardener who brings Dorian a letter from the Duchess of Monmouth.

The Duchess of Monmouth’s maid

Also known as her maid

An unnamed maid who invents hats for the duchess and pins her when annoyed.

The hansom driver

Also known as the driver

An unnamed driver who takes Dorian from London to an opium den near the river.

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 asleep in the opium den who rushes after Dorian when a woman calls him Prince Charming.

The woman at the opium den

Also known as the woman at Daly’s

An unnamed woman at the opium den who takes Dorian’s money, calls him Prince Charming, and tells James Vane that Dorian has not aged since she knew him eighteen years earlier.

The woman’s companion at the opium den

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

The half-caste bartender

An unnamed bartender at the opium den who serves Dorian and Adrian Singleton brandy.

The opium-den patrons

Unnamed people lying on the den’s ragged mattresses under the effects of opium.

The farm servant

An unnamed worker at Selby Royal’s Home Farm who removes the covering from the dead man’s face at Dorian’s request, allowing him to recognize James Vane.

Hetty Merton

Also known as Hetty

A beautiful village girl who resembles Sibyl Vane and falls in love with Dorian. He says he spared her by ending their planned elopement, though he later recognizes that vanity and hypocrisy motivated him.

Lord Poole

Also known as Bournemouth’s eldest son

A young man whom Lord Henry says wants to meet Dorian and has copied his neckties.

Lady Branksome

A society woman Lord Henry plans to take Dorian to lunch with; she wants his advice about tapestries.

The street-preacher

Also known as the prophet

An unnamed preacher near Marble Arch whose question about gaining the world and losing one’s soul catches Lord Henry’s attention.

The elder gentleman outside Dorian’s house

Also known as Sir Henry Ashton’s uncle

One of two gentlemen who hear a cry from Dorian’s house and fetch a policeman. He is identified as Sir Henry Ashton’s uncle.

The other gentleman outside Dorian’s house

An unnamed man accompanying Sir Henry Ashton’s uncle when they hear a cry from Dorian’s house and fetch a policeman.

The constable outside Dorian’s house

Also known as the policeman

An unnamed constable called by two gentlemen after a cry is heard from Dorian’s house. He identifies it as Mr. Dorian Gray’s home.

The coachman

An unnamed servant whom Victor summons to help enter Dorian’s locked room after Dorian’s death.

The footman

An unnamed servant whom Victor summons to help enter Dorian’s locked room after Dorian’s death.

The Java parrot

A large grey-plumaged parrot with a pink crest and tail in Lord Henry’s room. It sways on its perch when Lord Henry touches it.

Perdita

A character in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale whom Dorian invokes when describing Hetty’s imagined life in her garden.

Florizel

A character in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale whom Lord Henry invokes as the faithless lover of Perdita.

Ophelia

A character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet whom Lord Henry uses as an image while speculating about Hetty’s possible despair.