Waiting by the River
Title
Waiting by the River
Alt Text Description
Grayscale illustration of a set of steps in Florence. A woman descends the steps while a child and a cloaked, hunched figure ascend the steps.
Description
On the steps near the Piazza del Duomo, Romola descends into the waking city while others pass by, intent on finding Tito. Her urgent search through the crowd reflects the chapter’s turning point, as concern hardens into distrust when she discovers his calm indifference.
“When she arrived in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, she looked eagerly into the pillared court; then her eyes swept the Piazza; but the well-known figure, once painted in her heart by young love, and now branded there by eating pain, was nowhere to be seen. She hurried straight on to the Piazza del Duomo. It was already full of movement: there were worshippers passing up and down the marble steps, there were men pausing for chat, and there were market people carrying their burdens" ("Check", Chapter 47).
“When she arrived in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, she looked eagerly into the pillared court; then her eyes swept the Piazza; but the well-known figure, once painted in her heart by young love, and now branded there by eating pain, was nowhere to be seen. She hurried straight on to the Piazza del Duomo. It was already full of movement: there were worshippers passing up and down the marble steps, there were men pausing for chat, and there were market people carrying their burdens" ("Check", Chapter 47).
Illustrator
Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896)
Contributor
Swain, Joseph (1820-1909), engraver
Publisher
George Eliot Archive , edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org
Date
1863, 1880
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Work Illustrated
Romola
Citation
Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896), Waiting by the River, 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/83582
Illustration
