Chapter 3

A month later, Dorian visited Lord Henry's home. Lord

Henry saw that his young friend was very happy.
"Henry, I'm in love,'
" Dorian announced.
Lord Henry was very surprised. "Who are you in love
with?" he asked.
"An actress called Sibyl Vane," Dorian answered. "You probably don't know her, but she's
beautiful, she's 19 years old and she's a marvellous actress. Every time I see her, I appreciate her
more."
"I don't know the name Sibyl Vane. How did you meet her?"
Lord Henry asked, laughing.
"It was a coincidence," Dorian explained. "One evening, when I was walking through a poor part
of London, I passed an

old theatre. There was a man outside, trying to convince people to go into the theatre and see
the play. I can't imagine why I listened to him, but fortunately I did. Sibyl was playing Juliet in
Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, and the moment I saw her, she enchanted me. I went to
speak to her in her dressing room after the performance and now I go to the theatre every
evening. I want to be near her all the time."

"But what do you know about her?" asked Lord Henry.

"I know that her family is poor, but that isn't important to me," Dorian answered. "She's perfect
and I'll make her love me.
Please come to the theatre tomorrow evening and see her. And bring Basil too. Then you'll
understand my feelings."
"We'll come if you want," Lord Henry said. "Let's meet at 6.30 for dinner and then go to the
theatre together. Goodbye, I'll see you tomorrow."
But Lord Henry heard from Dorian earlier than that. When he came home after dinner the same
evening, he found a note from Dorian.
Dear Henry,
Sibyl and I are going to get married!
Dorian
Sibyl Vane lived in a modest house with her mother and her brother, James. The next morning,
Sibyl told her mother about Dorian Gray. "I'm very happy," Sibyl said. "I'm in love with a very
special man."
"In love?" Mrs Vane exclaimed. She didn't know that Sibyl had a gentleman friend and was very
surprised. "Who is he? Tell me about him."
"The young man's name is Prince Charming and I met him at the theatre," Sibyl explained. "He
comes every evening and visits me in my dressing room after the performance. He loves me and
he wants to marry me. He wrote me a letter about it yesterday."
"When did you meet him?" her mother asked. "What do
you know about him?"
Mrs Vane was very worried and asked a lot of questions. Mr Vane wasn't alive any more and
although Mrs Vane worked, she didn't make much money.

"What will happen if Sibyl marries this man and stops acting?" Mrs Vane thought. "We need the
money from her work in the theatre."
"What is the young man's real name?" Mrs Vane asked.
"I'm sure that it isn't Prince Charming."
"I don't know his real name," Sibyl answered, "and it isn't important. He's very handsome and
aristocratic and I think he's rich, too. He admires and loves me, and he's very good to me.
You don't have to worry, Mother."
"Well, if he's rich, maybe this will be a good thing," Mrs Vane thought, but she was still worried.
At that moment, Sibyl's brother, James, came into the room.
He was only 16 years old, but he was going to Australia by ship the next day. Some people made
a fortune in Australia and James wanted to try. He was probably going to be away from England
for many years and Sibyl and her mother were very sad
"I heard you talking about your gentleman friend, Sibyl," James said. "I'm worried about the
situation. You don't know anything about him. You must be very careful. How do you know that
you can trust him?"
"I'm sure I can!" Sibyl exclaimed.
"I hope you're right, because if he hurts you, I'll kill him,"
James said with emotion.
"He'll never hurt me. We'll love each other forever," Sibyl responded, laughing happily. "Don't
worry about me."
"Now, James," Mrs Vane said, "are you prepared for your journey? Is your bag ready?"
"Yes, Mother," James answered. "Everything is ready and I'm leaving tomorrow. I hope that I'll be
a rich man when I return, then I'll take care of both of you." He turned and looked at his beautiful
sister. "Remember what I said, Sibyl," he continued. "If your friend makes you unhappy, I'll find
him when I come back and I'll punish him!"

Chapter 4

Later that day, Lord Henry and Basil met for dinner. "Did you hear the news?" Lord Henry asked.
"What news?" Basil said.
"Dorian is going to get married," Lord Henry answered.
"Really!" Basil exclaimed. He was very surprised. know that. Who is he going to marry?"
"I didn't
"A young actress," Lord Henry answered, laughing.
"Nobody knows her."
"This is terrible news," said Basil. "An actress isn't an appropriate wife for Dorian. He's an
aristocratic young man with a position in society. Can't we stop him?"
At that moment, Dorian arrived. He was very excited. "I'm the happiest man alive," he said to his
friends, "and I want to celebrate!"
"You can tell us all about it while we have dinner," said Lord
Henry.
"It happened last night," Dorian continued. "I went to visit Sibyl after the performance, as usual,
and something happened between us. We kissed for the first time and then I sent her a letter and
declared my love. We're going to get married, but it's still a secret. I promise you, when you see
her act tonight, you'll understand my feelings for her."
"We're impatient to see her," said Lord Henry, "but first let's eat before we go to the theatre. I'm
sorry, Basil, but my carriage is only big enough for Dorian and me. You must follow us to the
restaurant in your carriage."
Later, when Basil was going to the theatre alone, he felt very sad. Dorian was spending more and
more time with Lord Henry and was beginning to change.
what can I do?"
"Dorian is making a mistake," Basil thought, worried, "but There were lots of people in the
theatre. Sibyl appeared a few minutes after the start of the play and everyone applauded.

She was beautiful, just as Dorian said, but when she started to speak, something was wrong.
Dorian was angry. "Why is she acting so badly?" he thought.
"Her voice is weak and unnatural, and she acts her part without emotion and without
understanding. This is not my Sibyl, my
great actress."
Soon the audience was shouting to Sibyl, "Stop acting! Go
home!"
When the interval came, Lord Henry took his coat. "Sibyl is beautiful, Dorian, just like you said,
but she can't act," he said to the young man. "We're leaving now. Are you coming with us?"
"No, I'm staying here. You can do what you like," Dorian
answered.
Basil felt sad for his friend. "Maybe Miss Vane is ill tonight," he said to Dorian. "We'll come and
see her another evening. Perhaps she'll feel better then."
Basil and Lord Henry left, but Dorian stayed and watched Sibyl's performance to the end. It was
very bad and he was unhappy.
When the curtain came down at the end of the play, there were only a few people in the theatre.
Dorian went to Sibyl's dressing room. He was very surprised when he saw her. She was happy
and smiling.
"Didn't I act badly tonight, Dorian?" she asked happily.
"Yes, it was terrible. I didn't want to watch you. Why did
you act so badly?" Dorian wanted to know.
"You should understand, Dorian, because I'm sure I'll never
act well again," Sibyl said, smiling at him.
"I don't understand. I came with friends and we didn't enjoy your acting," said Dorian. He was
angry and perplexed.
"Dorian," Sibyl said in a sweet, loving voice, "I'm not a good actress any more because of you.
How can I imitate love in a play, now that I know the real emotion? You taught me the difference
between real life and acting, and acting isn't
important to me any more."
"How can you say that?" Dorian exclaimed. "You're killing my love for you. I loved you because
you were a marvellous. actress, but now I see the truth. A good actress couldn't do what you did
tonight. I made a mistake. You aren't a great actress.
You're nothing!"
Sibyl looked at Dorian in horror. "Dorian, you're acting now," she said, trembling.
"No, I'm not," Dorian responded. "How can I love you?
You're just ordinary. I don't want to see you any more." With these words, Dorian left the room.
Sibyl fell on the floor and cried. She was very unhappy, but Dorian didn't care.

Questions

Chapter 3
. How did Dorian meet Sibyl Vane?
. Where did Sibyl live and who did she live with?
. How did Sibyl describe her Prince Charming?
. Why was James going to Australia and why were Sibyl and her mother sad?
Chapter 4
. What was Basil's opinion of Dorian's marriage to Sibyl and why did he think this?
. What happened the night before when Dorian visited Sibyl after the performance?
. In Dorian's opinion, how did Sibyl act badly?
. What happened at the end of the play?