'Wake, dear, wake! Listen to me.'

Grayscale illustration of a woman leaning over an older man, his head resting on a garden table, to discover that he is dead.

This illustration portrays Dorothea’s desperate attempt to communicate her promise to Mr. Casaubon, which he has been waiting to hear, when she discovers he is unconscious in the garden. Because Casaubon does not receive her promise, she is effectively freed from forfeiting her remaining years to the completion of his “key to all mythologies." "Still he was motionless; and with a sudden confused fear, she leaned down to him, took off his velvet cap, and leaned her cheek close to his head, crying in a distressed tone--'Wake, dear, wake! Listen to me. I am come to answer'" (Book 5, Chapter 48).

Brock, Charles E. (1870-1938)

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

1908

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Brock, Charles E. (1870-1938), 'Wake, dear, wake! Listen to me.', George Eliot Illustrations Gallery, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/83517