The theater was very crowded that night. A fat manager (a person who controls a business) met the three men at the door. He had a big, oily smile. He walked with Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, and Basil Hallward to their box (a private area for sitting in a theater). The manager waved his fat hands and talked very loudly. Dorian Gray hated him. Lord Henry liked the manager. Lord Henry shook the man’s hand. Lord Henry said he was proud to meet a man who found a genius (a person with great talent).
Basil Hallward looked at the people in the theater. It was very hot inside. The lights were bright and yellow like fire. The young men in the high seats took off their coats. They talked across the theater and ate oranges with girls. Some women laughed loudly. Their voices were sharp and unpleasant. People were drinking at the bar.
Lord Henry asked Dorian Gray about the theater. Dorian Gray said he found his love in this place. He said Sibyl Vane was divine. Dorian Gray said she was a great actress. When Sibyl Vane was on the stage, the common people became quiet. She made them cry and laugh. She gave them a soul (the part of a person that is not the body).
Basil Hallward said he believed in the girl. He said any girl who was so great must be noble. Basil Hallward said the marriage was right. He said that Sibyl Vane made Dorian Gray complete. Dorian Gray thanked Basil Hallward. Dorian Gray said Lord Henry was too cynical (thinking people are always selfish).
Then the music started. Dorian Gray said the music was bad, but it only lasted five minutes. Then the curtain (the large cloth that hides the stage) rose. After fifteen minutes, people clapped loudly. Sibyl Vane walked onto the stage. She was very beautiful. Lord Henry thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. She had shy eyes. Her face was a little pink because the theater was full.
Basil Hallward stood up and clapped. Dorian Gray sat very still and watched Sibyl Vane. Lord Henry looked through his opera-glass (small binoculars used in a theater). He said she was charming. The scene was a house in an old city. Actors in old clothes moved on the stage. Sibyl Vane moved like a beautiful plant in the water. Her skin was very white.
But Sibyl Vane did not act well. She was not happy when she saw the other actor. She spoke her words in a fake way. Her voice was beautiful, but she did not feel the words. She was artificial (not natural or real). She took all the life away from the story.
Dorian Gray became pale. He was worried and anxious. Basil Hallward and Lord Henry did not say anything. They were disappointed because Sibyl Vane was a bad actress. They waited for the second act. They hoped she could act better later.
Sibyl Vane looked beautiful in the moonlight. But her acting was worse. She was not natural. She spoke like a schoolgirl who did not understand the words. She was a complete failure. The audience lost interest in the play. They talked loudly and whistled.
The manager was very angry. Sibyl Vane did not care. After the second act, people made a loud hissing (a sound like a snake to show you do not like something) noise. Lord Henry stood up and put on his coat. He said Sibyl Vane was beautiful, but she could not act. He wanted to leave.
Dorian Gray said he wanted to stay. He was very angry and sad. Basil Hallward said maybe Sibyl Vane was ill. Dorian Gray said he wished she was ill. He said she was cold and boring now. Lord Henry said that acting did not matter. He said Sibyl Vane was very lovely.
Lord Henry told Dorian Gray to come to a club. Dorian Gray told his friends to go away. He said his heart was breaking. He started to cry. Lord Henry and Basil Hallward left the theater together.
The play ended. Many people left early. It was a fiasco (a complete and embarrassing failure). Dorian Gray ran behind the stage to the greenroom (a room where actors wait). Sibyl Vane was there alone. She looked very happy. Her eyes were bright. She smiled at Dorian Gray. She told Dorian Gray that she acted very badly that night.
Dorian Gray was angry. He said her acting was dreadful. Sibyl Vane smiled and said he must understand. She said she would never act well again. Dorian Gray thought she was ill. Sibyl Vane said that acting was her only reality before she met him. She thought the theater was real life.
But now Sibyl Vane loved Dorian Gray. She saw that the theater was fake. She saw that the stage was hollow (empty inside). She could not act like she was in love. Her real love was too big. She said Dorian Gray was more important than her art.
Dorian Gray sat on a sofa. He said Sibyl Vane killed his love. Sibyl Vane was surprised. She touched his hair and kissed his hands. Dorian Gray pulled his hands away. He stood up. He said he loved her because she was a genius. He said she was nothing now.
Dorian Gray said Sibyl Vane was stupid and shallow (only thinking about simple things). He said he never wanted to see her again. Sibyl Vane started to tremble. She asked if he was serious. Dorian Gray said he was serious.
Sibyl Vane fell to his feet. She cried and asked him not to leave. She said she would try to act well again. She said she loved him more than anything. Dorian Gray looked at her with disdain (the feeling that someone is not important).
Dorian Gray thought she was too dramatic. He said he could not see her again. He left the room. Sibyl Vane cried on the floor. Dorian Gray walked through the streets. He did not know where he was going. He saw dark streets and angry people.
At dawn (the time when the sun comes up), he was in a market. He saw carts full of flowers. The air smelled very sweet. He ate some cherries. Then he took a carriage and went home. Dorian Gray went into his house.
He saw the portrait (the painting) of himself. He went into his bedroom. Then he came back to the painting. The face looked different. There was something cruel (wanting to hurt others) in the mouth. He opened the window.
The sunlight showed the face clearly. The painting looked very cruel. Dorian Gray looked in a mirror. His own face was not cruel. He sat in a chair and thought. He remembered his wish in the studio.
Dorian Gray made a wish that he stayed young and the painting became old. He wished that the painting showed his sins (bad things that a person does). He wondered if his wish came true. He thought it was impossible. But the picture was there. It had a cruel mouth.
Dorian Gray felt sorry for Sibyl Vane. He thought he was too hard on her. He looked at the painting. It showed the secret of his life. He decided he did not want to be a bad person. He decided he would not see Lord Henry anymore.
Dorian Gray decided he would go back to Sibyl Vane. He wanted to marry her and love her. He felt he was selfish and cruel. He put a screen (a large piece of furniture used to hide things) in front of the picture. He went to the garden. He thought about Sibyl Vane and her beauty.