Savonarola and Romola

Grayscale illustration of a cloaked woman with a cross kneeling before a monk on a wooded road. The monk stretches his arms over her in prayer.

In this scene, Romola meets Savonarola in private to plead for the life of her godfather, Bernardo del Nero, kneeling before him as he raises his hands in blessing at the start of their encounter. As their meeting unfolds into a tense moral argument, the image captures the moment when Romola’s appeal for mercy confronts Savonarola’s refusal to intervene in political justice. “When the Frate had entered she knelt, according to the usual practice of those who saw him in private; but as soon as he had uttered a benedictory greeting she rose and stood opposite to him at a few yards’ distance" ("The Pyramid of Vanities", Chapter 59).

Dudley, Ambrose (1867-1951)

George Eliot Archive. Edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://www.GeorgeEliotArchive.org/

1908

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Dudley, Ambrose (1867-1951), Savonarola and Romola, George Eliot Illustrations Gallery, George Eliot Archive. Edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://www.GeorgeEliotArchive.org/, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/83484