Lady Mason after her confession

Lady Mason after her confession

John Everett Millais

Wood engraving by the Dalziels

6¾ x 4¼ inches

Anthony Trollope, Orley Farm, facing, II, 40.

Millais is at his most powerful in this representation of Lady Mason’s state of mind: a combination of remorse, anxiety and simple fearfulness. Her enclosed posture suggests how her feelings have taken hold of her while also implying her desire to withdraw into herself. The illustration links back to the third design in volume 1 (facing p.36) and maps her decline from worry into psychological collapse.

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

[You may use this image, which has been reproduced with permission of Professor Julia Thomas, DMVI, Cardiff University, Wales, UK, 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.]