In the firsts seven chapters of the novel the women are often mentioned, both as protagonists of general considerations and as specific individualities (Victoria and Sybil, mostly); I will firstly write about the latest.
Victoria, “laughed nervously as she spoke”(p.56), she “tried to look picturesque, but only succeeded in being untidy”(p.56) when she meets Dorian; she is so different from the self-confident and elegant Lord Henry. It’s maybe noticeable the fact she is not called by name but the surname: is reasonable from Dorian, who doesn’t know her, but both the narrator and Lord Henry himself call her Lady Henry. It’s evident the unimportance of her own personality, also because Lord Henry comments “never marry a woman with straw-coloured hair”; this sentence is extremely generalizing. Perhaps the most terrible thing is that she knows her condition, since when Dorian mistakes for Lord Henry, Victoria answers “it is only his wife”.
Opposite situation is the one of Sybil Vane: her individuality is emphasized; however, “personality” is intended in a more extended way of the common sense. “To-night she is Imogen (…), and to-morrow night she will be Juliet” “When is she Sybil Vane?” “Never” (p.66). Sybil is herself talking childish, as “I love him because he is like what Love himself should be” (p. 73): doesn’t this sound like a manipulation of the narrator to make her appear a bit stupid? As well as the sentence “To see him is to worship him, to see him is to trust him” (p. 81), contrasted by Lord Henry’s aphorism “Women treat us just as Humanity treats its gods. They worship us, and are always bothering us to do something for them” (p. 93). Sybil is appreciable only because she is a good-looking (“She is beautiful. What more can you want?” p.99), excellent actress (“I loved you because … you realised the dreams of great poets”, p. 102); all that seems quite superficial to me.
Women are seen as something additional, often annoying: “women … inspire us with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent us from carrying them out”(p.93), “women are wonderfully practical (…) we often forget to say anything about marriage, and they always remind us.” (p. 90-1), “They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever” (p. 31-2). Lord Henry is blaming women for everything, incapable of see his own faults.
Moreover, the men have the arrogance to classify women. Firstly, by characterizing the Americans: “she behaves as if she was beautiful. (…) It is the secret of their charm” (p. 44); secondly, by separating the plain and the coloured ones “The plain women are very useful (…) the other women are very charming” (p. 58); thirdly, by dividing actresses and ordinary women “Ordinary women never appeal to one’s imagination (…) But an actress! How different an actress is!” (p. 62).
The sentence “women are a decorative sex” (p. 58) explicates the misogynist tone that can be perceived whenever women are considered: probably an indirect hint to the homosexual setting of the story.
