The Pries

The Messenger of Death

Edith C. Maryon

c. 1904

Source: Academy Architecture and Sculpture (1904), no. 1666; p. 130.

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This depiction of Death (or its messenger) as a mature, motherly figure has much in common with Victorian fantasies, particularly George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind, intended to make death less terrifying to parents and children alike.

  • George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind
  • Charles Kingsley's Water-Babies

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