The Young Wife
Title
The Young Wife
Alt Text Description
Grayscale illustration of a woman standing on a balcony, staring out into the city. The buildings have arched windows and potted plants.
Description
Romola stands alone on a balcony overlooking Florence’s towers and courtyards, her still posture and outward gaze emphasizing waiting rather than action. The empty cityscape before her mirrors the result of that wait: a marriage defined by distance and expectation rather than shared presence.
“But that transient emotion, strong as it was, seemed to lie quite outside the inner chamber and sanctuary of her life. She was not thinking of Fra Girolams now ; she was listening anxiously for the step of her husband. During these three months of their double solitude she had thought of each day as an epoch in which their union might begin to be more perfect" ("The Young Wife", Chapter 27).
“But that transient emotion, strong as it was, seemed to lie quite outside the inner chamber and sanctuary of her life. She was not thinking of Fra Girolams now ; she was listening anxiously for the step of her husband. During these three months of their double solitude she had thought of each day as an epoch in which their union might begin to be more perfect" ("The Young Wife", Chapter 27).
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), The Young Wife, 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/83594
Illustration
