Vae Victis

George du Maurier

Wood engraving by Joseph Swain

6½ x 4¼ inches

Gaskell, Elizabeth. Wives and Daughters, The Cornhill Magazine 10 (October 1864): facing 385.

A powerful moment of contemplation in which Molly is absorbed in melancholy. The mood of the evening, with its declining light, is a visual metaphor for her state of mind. As usual in du Maurier’s images of women, the huge radiating dress symbolizes containment.

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

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