Character in
Oscar Wilde's notorious novel
The Picture of Dorian Gray. Sybil is the beautiful ingenue with which wicked Dorian falls hopelessly in love, or so he thinks.
Dorian's admission of love for Sybil is the first major event of the novel. It is the first time that Dorian acts completely on his own, without the instruction of his quasi mentor, Lord Henry. Dorian admires in Sybil the one quality that he lacks,
innocence. He says of her "she was so shy, and so gentle...she knows nothing of life," and "the mere touch of {her} hand makes {him} forget all of {Lord Henry’s} wrong, fascinating,
poisonous, delightful theories."
Sybil also loves Dorian without condition, so consumed is she by this mad love that she is unable to focus on her acting. When Dorian brings Lord Henry to her theater to see her play, her performance is Marisa Tomei awful. Dorian is furious and humiliated at her show of bad art and immediately scorns her. Dorian later regrets hurting Sybil so and goes back to apologize and ask her to marry him but, alas, he is too late and heartbroken Sybil has already killed herself.