The theater was very crowded that night. A fat manager 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. The manager waved his fat hands and talked very loudly. Dorian 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.
Basil 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 about the theater. Dorian said he found his love in this place. He said Sibyl Vane was divine. Dorian said she was a great actress. When Sibyl was on the stage, the common people became quiet. She made them cry and laugh. She gave them a soul.
Basil said he believed in the girl. He said any girl who was so great must be noble. Basil said the marriage was right. He said that Sibyl made Dorian complete. Dorian thanked Basil. Dorian said Lord Henry was too cynical.
Then the music started. Dorian said the music was bad, but it only lasted five minutes. Then the curtain rose. After fifteen minutes, people clapped loudly. Sibyl 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 stood up and clapped. Dorian sat very still and watched Sibyl. Lord Henry looked through his opera-glass. He said she was charming. The scene was a house in an old city. Actors in old clothes moved on the stage. Sibyl moved like a beautiful plant in the water. Her skin was very white.
But Sibyl did not act well. She did not look happy when she saw the actor who played her lover. She spoke her words in a fake way. Her voice was beautiful, but she did not feel the words. She was artificial. She took all the life away from the story.
Dorian became pale. He was worried and anxious. Basil and Lord Henry did not say anything. They were disappointed because Sibyl was a bad actress. They waited for the second act. They hoped she would act better later.
In the second act, Sibyl stood on the stage in fake moonlight. She looked beautiful. 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 did not care. After the second act, people made a loud hissing noise. Lord Henry stood up and put on his coat. He said Sibyl was beautiful, but she could not act. He wanted to leave.
Dorian said he wanted to stay. He was very angry and sad. Basil said maybe Sibyl was ill. Dorian 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 was very lovely.
Lord Henry told Dorian to come to a club. Dorian told his friends to go away. He said his heart was breaking. He started to cry. Lord Henry and Basil left the theater together.
The play ended. Many people left early. It was a fiasco. Dorian ran behind the stage to the greenroom. Sibyl was there alone. She looked very happy. Her eyes were bright. She smiled at Dorian. She told Dorian that she acted very badly that night.
Dorian was angry. He said her acting was dreadful. Sibyl smiled and said he must understand. She said she would never act well again. Dorian thought she was ill. Sibyl said that acting was her only reality before she met him. She thought the theater was real life.
But now Sibyl loved Dorian. She saw that the theater was fake. She saw that life on the stage was hollow. She could not act like she was in love. Her real love was too big. She said Dorian was more important than her art.
Dorian sat on a sofa. He said Sibyl killed his love. Sibyl was surprised. She touched his hair and kissed his hands. Dorian pulled his hands away. He stood up. He said he loved her because she was a genius. He said she was nothing now.
Dorian said Sibyl was stupid and shallow. He said he never wanted to see her again. Sibyl started to tremble. She asked if he was serious. Dorian said he was serious.
Sibyl fell at 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 looked at her with disdain.
Dorian thought she was too dramatic. He said he could not see her again. He left the room. Sibyl cried on the floor. Dorian walked through the streets. He did not know where he was going. He saw dark streets and angry people.
At dawn, 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 went into his house.
In the library, he walked past the portrait of himself on the way to his bedroom. Something looked strange, so he stopped and went back to the painting. The face looked different. There was something cruel in the mouth. He opened the window.
The sunlight showed the face clearly. The painting looked very cruel. Dorian 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 had wished to stay young while the painting grew old. He had wished for the painting to show his sins. He wondered if his wish had come true. He thought it was impossible. But the picture was there. It had a cruel mouth.
Dorian felt sorry for Sibyl. 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 decided he would go back to Sibyl. He wanted to marry her and love her. He felt he was selfish and cruel. He put a screen in front of the picture. He went to the garden. He thought about Sibyl and her beauty.