The study explores Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), with respect to how the identity of the main character emerges in two Greek translations of the novel. This study explores (a) the level of identity potentially favored in the translations, which are 42 years apart and (b) the impact of face in shaping identity which focuses on contextual and social factors. Shaping the identity of Dorian Gray may be an outcome of manipulating the use of a number of pragmatic phenomena. Findings show that each translator intuitively draws on a different level of model, diversifying the social reality which Dorian Gray’s character emerges from. The 1947 (Alexandrou) version rather highlights the interpersonal level of identity while the 1989 version (Theodorakopoulos) highlights the individual level, presumably drawing on prevailing ideological positions emerging in the context of their time of publication. The study is an attempt to apply Brewer and Gardner’s theory in the translation of fiction and advances understanding of aspects of culture which may contribute to improving audience reception of fiction.