Nemesis

Nemesis. From English Society. Sketched by George du Maurier. Click on image to enlarge it.

Mrs. Constantia (to old adorer, who has married for money).—“And these are your children, Ronald? Oh !. . . how like their mother!”

Details and Other du Maurier Cartoons Featuring Children

Like Trollope and other contemporary novelists, du Maurier occasionally glanced satirically at the marriage market, which involved two parties from different social strata. one marrying for money, th eother for social position. Most often, penniless men of the upper classes "married down," choosing a woman from a wealthy family with lower social stature. The woman might be the daughter iof a banker, a factory owner, or -- heavens! -- an American, such as Winston Churchill's mother. The penniless man of the upper classes was either a younger son unlikely to inherit title, estate, and welath, or someone like Sir Felix Carbury, who'd squandered his inheritance and borrowed against his "great expectations." Whereas in "Nous Avons Changé Tout Cela" the artist comments on woman willing to marry an unsuitable man, here he comments on the results of a man marrying a homely women just for money.

Scanned image and text by George P. Landow [You may use this image 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.]

Bibliography

English Society. Sketched by George du Maurier. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1897.


Created 1 July 2001

Last modified 1 May 2020