'Father, I will be guided.'

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

On a wooded road outside Florence, Romola kneels before Savonarola as he confronts her attempt to abandon her marriage and her city. When she submits to his spiritual authority and accepts his guidance, his silent blessing redirects her course and compels her to return to Florence with renewed purpose.

“The chill doubts all melted away; she was subdued by the sense of something unspeakably great to which she was being called by a strong being who roused a new strength within herself. In a voice that was like a low, prayerful cry, she said- ’Father, I will be guided. Teach me. I will go back.’ Almost unconsciously she sank on her knees. Savonarola stretched out his hands over her; but feeling would no longer pass through the channel of speech, and he was silent" ("An Arresting Voice", Chapter 40 ).

Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896)

Swain, Joseph (1820-1909), engraver

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

1863, 1880

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896), 'Father, I will be guided.', 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/83586