Hogarth's Marriage-à-la-mode
Two more deaths
William Hogarth, Marriage-à-la-mode, Plate 6, 1745, etching and engraving, Drawings, Paintings and Prints Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: D-020-051
Two more deaths
The final scene is set in the modest home of the merchant. Upon hearing of Silvertongue's execution, the widow has taken an overdose of laudanum. The child is held up to her mother for the final time. Her legs are held in callipers and she has her father's facial sores - these ravages of venereal disease are the legacy of her parents' actions.
The devil is in the detail
The merchant hardly looks grief stricken at his daughter's death. While appearing to hold her hand, he slips the ring from her finger – knowing that the property of suicide victims was legally forfeited to the state. It was this kind of concern with the financial over the familial that has destroyed the merchant's family.
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