Will Ladislaw calls upon the widow

Grayscale illustration of a man calling on a woman in a mourning dress. The man looks at her while the woman’s face stares forward.

This scene captures Will Ladislaw’s visit to Dorothea at Lowick Manor after Mr. Casaubon’s death. Here, their mutual tension and restraint highlight the social and legal barriers to their romance, and the subtle shift in their relationship dynamic after Dorothea is widowed. Specifically, this illustration captures the tension of the "dead hand" of Mr. Casaubon’s will, which sought to control Dorothea’s future by disinheriting her if she ever married Will. "Her reverie was broken by Tantripp, who came to say that Mr Ladislaw was below, and begged permission to see Madam if it were not too early. 'I will see him,' said Dorothea. 'Let him be shown into the drawing room'" (Book 6, Chapter 54).

Pierce, H. Winthrop (1850-1935)

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

1894

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Pierce, H. Winthrop (1850-1935), Will Ladislaw calls upon the widow, 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/83562