[Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> George Du Maurier —> Illustrations for Hardy's The Hand of Ethelberta]

The fourth plate realizes a confidential dialogue between Picotee and Ethelberta, during which the younger girl expresses surprise at Berta's celerity in falling in love with Christopher. Du Maurier was obviously taken with the naive younger sister's response. Ethelberta, taller and with a more ordered hairstyle, stares out the window, waiting for Christopher Julian to call after a quarrel. Picotee, in one of her sister's cast-off dresses, studies Ethelberta, trying to understand her sentiments about love in general and about her on-again/off-again relationship with Christopher in particular. One cannot help but wish Du Maurier had chosen the amusing Joey as his main plate's subject since the conversation between Picotee, secretly in love with Christopher, and Ethelberta, torn by conflicting emotions about the same man, offers so little visual interest. The artist felt the narrative moment significant, despite its making a lacklustre illustration. A more telling line to have illustrated for the fourth plate is Sol's remarking to his high-society sister, "you keep to your class, and we'll keep to ours" (p. 139). Another significant moment occurs just afterwards, when Christopher and Ethelberta reveal their true feelings towards one another, only to be interrupted by Joey's announcement that Mr. Ladywell has called

Last modified 16 January 2008