Tito and the Ring

Grayscale image of a young man’s profile leaning on a wall. He holds a ring up in his hand, but gazes forward.

Set in a Florentine barber’s shop, the illustration depicts Tito Melema, a newly arrived Greek scholar, calmly presenting himself and his ring while the men around him closely observe his appearance. The scene shows how Tito is immediately judged and defined by others, suggesting that his identity is shaped by external expectations rather than his own intentions. "'Tito Melema,'" said the stranger, slipping the ring from his finger, and presenting it to Cennini, whom Nello, not less rapid with his razor than with his tongue, had now released from the shaving-cloth" ("First Impressions", Chapter 4).

Satterlee, Walter (1844-1908)

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

1888

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Satterlee, Walter (1844-1908), Tito and the Ring, 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/83637