Waiting by the river
Thomas Morten
Engraved by the Dalziels
1866
Wood engraving
5½ x 3½ inches.
Illustration appearing in Pictures of Society, Grave and Gay, facing 125.
An image of the archetypal brave middle-class woman, who goes out ‘into nature’ to wait for her lover on the riverbank. Her forlorn expression and limp arms suggest there is no sign of him, and the darkening sky is a sign not only of her disappointment but also of the dangers of venturing out as a single woman. Morten creates a sharp contrast between society and nature, juxtaposing the figure’s well-appointed dress with the ragged forms of a fence and the disorder of a tree’s lower branches. The engraving has a melancholy poetic resonance and though much in the manner of Millais and Du Maurier is a memorable reminder of the frustrations and disappointments of women awaiting the love of a man.