Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Marriage a la Mode: The Toilette
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Marriage a la Mode, by Hogarth (1732): The Toilette
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Hogarth's Art
The coronet over the mirror and over the bed, along with the silver toilet
service on the dressing table indicate that the old Earl Squanderfield has
died and that his son is now the new Earl Squanderfield and that the son's
wife is now Countess Squanderfield.
The lawyer Silvertongue is lounging on the sofa, with his shoes off and his
feet up. He clearly feels at home and displays this with his offensively bad
manners.
Although there are other guests in the room, the Countess, in her own display
of bad manners, has her back to them, totally absorbed by Silvertongue.
Furthermore, the Countess displays her bourgoise taste, with jewelery in her
hair, and on her fingers, she is dressed in a revealing, low-cut gown (her
nouveau riche Merchant family background).
Silvertongue is making an assignation with the Countess, showing her a ticket
to a masquerade and pointing to a painting of a masquerade on a screen behind
the sofa. The intention being that, as the guests at the masquerade will be
wearing masks and therefore be unidentifiable, the Countess and Silvertongue
can safely attend the masquerade together.
The Countess is now a mother as, hanging on the back of her chair, is a rope
of coral, used by teething children. However, the child is not in the picture,
suggesting a lack of maternal concern. The book on the sofa by Silvertongue's
feet is "The Sopha", the licentious and popular novel by Crébillon.
A Swiss valet-de-chambre is curling the Countess's hair (she doesn't feel
that being seen this way is an embarrassment).
The lady in white is overcome by music and singing. She is based upon Mrs.
Lane-Fox, later Lady Bingley, who was known to have a passion for Italian
music. While Mrs. Lane-Fox is distracted by the Italian music, her arms spread
widely, suggestive of other activities that take place on the bed, immediately
behind her. However, more significantly, a Black servant is serving cocoa to
this lady in white. The cocoa is fresh from African or New World colonial
slave plantations. This servant is one of the few people that does not
appear decadent (but wait!, Black men are supposed to be sexual savages).
The two old master paintings on the right wall show Lot and his Daughters,
a Biblical reference to incest, and Jupiter and Io (after Correggio), a
mythological reference to seduction.
The lower picture on the left wall is of the Rape of Ganymede (after
Michelangelo), a reference to homosexual seduction of pubescent boys.
The upper left painting is the lawyer himself, Silvertongue. Clearly, the
new Earl has not visited his wife's bedroom for a long time.
The black page boy in oriental costume at the bottom right corner is
examining a collection of hideous ornaments, purchased at the sale of Timothy
Babyhouse, Esquire (A book at the feet of the Oriental says "A Catelogue of
the Entire Colection of the Late Sr Timy. Babthouse to be Sold by Auction."
(in King's English spelling). The page boy points to the horns on a statue
of Actaeon, with an impish grin: he knows what the lady of the house has
been up to ("cornudo" are horns that symbolize cuckoldry).
Scattered on the floor on the left are a number of invitations: "Lady
Squanderfield's company is desired at Lady Townly's drum next Monday;"
"Lady Squanderfield's company is desired at Lady Heatham's drum-major next
Sunday" and "Lady Squanderfield's company is desired at Miss Hairbrain's
rout." Hogarth making a joke with the sequence "drum," "drum-major" and
"rout"). There is also a note, "Count Basset begs to know how Lade
Squanderfield sleapt last nit." Obviously Count Basset's English
spelling shows that he is well educated!
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