Romola at the Well

Grayscale illustration of a young woman holding a small child. She stands in front of a well surrounded by woodland with buildings in the distance.

In this scene, Romola carries Tito’s abandoned child to a well beyond the street in a wooded area near the church. As she draws water for the child, the well signifies her turn toward practical care, showing her acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of Tito’s actions. "The hand was lifted towards the more distant end of the little street, and Romola set off at once with as much speed as she could use under the difficulty of carrying the pitcher as well as feeding the child. But the little one was getting more content as the morsels of sweet pulp were repeated, and ceased to distress her with its cry, so that she could give a less distracted attention to the objects around her. The well lay twenty yards or more beyond the end of the street, and as Romola was approaching it her eyes were directed to the opposite green slope immediately below the church" ("Romola's Waking", Chapter 68).

Harper, William St. John (1851-1910)

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

1888

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Harper, William St. John (1851-1910), Romola at the Well, 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/83632