The Picture of Dorian Gray edition of the novel; nonetheless, by June 1891, Wilde was defending "The Picture of Dorian Gray" against accusations that it was a bad book. In the essay "The Artist as Critic", Oscar Wilde said that: In the 19th century, the critical reception of the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890) was poor. The book critic of "The Irish Times" said, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was "first published to some scandal." Such book reviews achieved for the novel a "certain notoriety for being 'mawkish and nauseous', 'unclean', 'effeminate' and 'contaminating'." Such moralistic scandal arose from the novel's homoeroticism, which
The Picture of Dorian Gray (opera) night, as Sibyl is dressing for the performance, she and Dorian sing of their love. After Dorian leaves, Sibyl's brother James, a sailor, says goodbye as he is about to depart for Australia. Having heard that a gentleman visits her backstage every night, he asks his name, to which Sibyl replies 'Romeo'. James tells her that if this man does her any wrong, he will 'kill him like a dog'. "Scene 4" Sibyl's performance was unexpectedly poor, with the audience expressing its disapproval. Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry go backstage, where an embarrassed Dorian sends his friends away before Sibyl