"Mr. Lambkin writes a letter of humiliation" — Cruikshank's penultimate illustration for Cruikshank's own <span class="book">Mr. Lambkin (Gent.) in the Pursuit of Pleasure and Amusement</span> (1844)

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Mr. Lambkin writes a letter of humiliation

George Cruikshank

1844

Steel-engraving

9.8 cm high by 9.2 cm wide, framed

Final illustration for George Cruikshank's The Bachelor’s Own Book; Or, The Progress Of Mr. Lambkin (Gent.), in the Pursuit Of Pleasure And Amusement, p. 46.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Passage Illustrated: The Lady accepts Mr. Lambkin's Proposal

Mr. Lambkin writes a letter of humiliation. — The Lady answers. — He seeks an interview. — It is granted. — He "hopes she'll forgive him this time." — The Lady appears resolute. — He earnestly entreats her to "make it up." — At length the Lady softens. — She lays aside her "cruel" work. ah! She weeps! Silly little thing what does she cry for? — Mr. Lambkin is forgiven! He skips for joy! Pa and Ma give heir consent. [page 46]

Commentary: The Climax of the Novel in Pictures

The context in which Mr. Lambkin makes a desperate appeal for forgiveness is the Lady's sewing-room. The design of the drapery, which here billows from the open window towards the lovers, is repeated in the final illustration, And now let Mr. Lambkin speak for himself, which would have been etched on the same plate as the proposal scene.

Detail of the embedded parental portraits.

Although Cruikshank seems to have felt it would be inappropriate for the Lady's parents to be actually present during the proposal, he has their framed facsimiles act as chaperones and register their joyful approval of their daughter's acceptance of Lambkin through the embedded portrait-paintings immediately above the couple. After a sad series of comic misadventures, the "progress" climaxes (improbably) with Lambkin's social triumph.

Reference

Cruikshank, George. The Bachelor’s Own Book; Or, The Progress Of Mr. Lambkin, In The Pursuit Of Pleasure And Amusement. Glasgow: David Bryce, 1844, rpt. 1880.

Kunzle, David. "Mr. Lambkin: Cruikshank's Strike for Independence." George Cruikshank: A Revaluation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton U. P., 1974. Pp. 169-188.

Last modified 16 May 2018