Blog Post 3: Close Reading Images
The two images that I had decided to delve into for my close readings are Covent Garden Flower Women by John Thomson, which is part of his Street Life in London series published from 1876-7, and The Stalls, Covent Garden Opera by Gustave Dore which is part of his London Illustrations series. The two images are very different but they have one similar theme: women and Covent Garden.
The women in Covent Garden Flower Women are standing outside of the huge opera hall waiting for the theater goes to come out. They would then “set up shop” as it were on the side walk and sell their wares, hoping that the ladies would hang off of their gentlemen’s arms and ask for a flower bundle or two. A scene very similar to this is the beginning of “My Fair Lady”, a favorite musical of mine. In this picture however, there is no sign of Eliza Doolittle speaking horrible English and starting her rags to riches story. Instead there are three women wrapping their flowers getting ready for the next rush of customers. Their clothes are a little shabby and their skin a little grimy but this is a picture that reflects simplicity and honesty. The coloring of the picture does make the depicted seem a little gloomy with its washed-out browns and greys, which helps bring a hint of melancholy to the picture. These women are few, poorer than most and stand outside most of their days selling flowers to the rich.
Meanwhile the inside of Covent Garden is bustling with the sound of society and culture. The Stalls, Covent Garden Opera depicts what happens on the other side of the big doors of the opera house. Inside there are many, many wealthy men and women who are waiting to be entertained by the show they’re attending. In this illustration there are many women sitting and standing about in their lavish clothing. Even in a simple drawing as this you can still see all the intricacies in their dresses, hats, gloves, shoes and even in their hair and jewelry. These women wear complexity while the women outside wear honesty and simplicity. These two pictures show the two sides of Covent Gardens, as well as the two sides of women in society at the time that these two images were created. This was the start of the middle class and poorer women were allowed to work as long as it was respectable (and sometimes even if it wasn’t). Women were objects of complexity and could dazzle in high society and yet most of them still worked off the street corners selling their wares as best they could.
Images:
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/london-illustrations-by-gustave-dor
Hi Becka!
These Illustrations are beautiful and so detailed. I love your interpretations of the images especially seeing the women with flowers as simplistic and honest in their less extravagant outfits. It was a very positive outlook on the illustration!
Covent Garden in your title and images, reminded me of “Night Walks” by Charles Dickens. When looking at the illustrations, thinking about Dickens’ writing, and recalling my own experience there, it is all so different! Granted, Dickens didn’t describe women and their everyday life, he referenced children who he saw there late at night. His paragraph about the area referenced how beautiful it was in the mornings like how Covent Garden is pictured with stalls and flowers in your images. Yet at night, Dickens described it as filled with savage boys and one of the worst sights in London. He explained scenes of children prowling, sleeping in baskets, fighting, stealing whatever they could lay their hands on, dodging the police, and running around through the area in bare feet. The area was filled with crime and theft at night back then. While we were there I remember the expensive shops, the stores, the local crafts, the flowers in baskets and carts surrounding the main halls, and the live music in the courtyard, more similar to how these images presented Covent Garden than how Dickens did. It makes me wonder what we would have seen if we had gone to Covent Garden after midnight while we were there. It just makes me wonder how such a beautiful area can become so dark, crime-filled, and uncared for when the vendors go home for the nights. Is this a characteristic only of Covent Garden in Victorian times or is this something that happens universally? Was Dickens biased to have this negative view of Covent Garden to carry through his negative views of London in “Night Walks” or was there really something to the way he saw Covent Garden at night?
Just a couple of thoughts I had while reading your post and taking a look at the images. Also I have never seen “My Fair Lady” and now I really want to!
Hi Becka!
These Illustrations are beautiful and so detailed. I love your interpretations of the images especially seeing the women with flowers as simplistic and honest in their less extravagant outfits. It was a very positive outlook on the illustration!
Covent Garden in your title and images, reminded me of “Night Walks” by Charles Dickens. When looking at the illustrations, thinking about Dickens’ writing, and recalling my own experience there, it is all so different! Granted, Dickens didn’t describe women and their everyday life, he referenced children who he saw there late at night. His paragraph about the area referenced how beautiful it was in the mornings like how Covent Garden is pictured with stalls and flowers in your images. Yet at night, Dickens described it as filled with savage boys and one of the worst sights in London. He explained scenes of children prowling, sleeping in baskets, fighting, stealing whatever they could lay their hands on, dodging the police, and running around through the area in bare feet. The area was filled with crime and theft at night back then. While we were there I remember the expensive shops, the stores, the local crafts, the flowers in baskets and carts surrounding the main halls, and the live music in the courtyard, more similar to how these images presented Covent Garden than how Dickens did. It makes me wonder what we would have seen if we had gone to Covent Garden after midnight while we were there. It just makes me wonder how such a beautiful area can become so dark, crime-filled, and uncared for when the vendors go home for the nights. Is this a characteristic only of Covent Garden in Victorian times or is this something that happens universally? Was Dickens biased to have this negative view of Covent Garden to carry through his negative views of London in “Night Walks” or was there really something to the way he saw Covent Garden at night?
Just a couple of thoughts I had while reading your post and taking a look at the images. Also I have never seen “My Fair Lady” and now I really want to!