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"It has recently," he says, "occurred to Mr. Mill that in his lifelong endeavour to catch and keep the ear of the nation he has been hampered by a certain deficiency in — well, in warmth, in colour, in rich charm — I have told him that this deficiency (I do not regard it as a defect) might possibly be remedied by you. Mr. Mill has in the press at this moment a new work, entitled 'The Subjection of Women.' From my slight acquaintance with you, and from all that I have seen and heard of your work, I gather that women greatly interest you, and I have no doubt that you are incensed at their subjection. Mr. Mill has brought his proof-sheets with him. He will read them to you. I believe, and he takes my word for it, that a series of illustrative paintings by you would" etc., etc.

The comedy and satire in this delightful plate derives from several points, the most obvious is the ludicrousness of juxtaposing the earnest, socially concerned, feminist Utilitarian John Stuart Mill with Rossetti, whose paintings and poems depict women as spiritualized erotic objects. Then there is comedy in the idea that Rossetti, who never managed to complete his one contemporary subject picture, Found, would want to illustrate a nonfictional text about women's rights. Finally, the bizarre insensitivity of John Morley's rambling monologue suggests the low opinion that Beerbohm held of the middle-brow man of letters who wrote Studies in Literature (1890) and Compromise (1877) [GPL].

Bibliography

Beerbohm, Max. Rossetti and His Circle. London: William Heinemann, 1922.

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Last modified 19 May 2021