"The Secret Interview" by Daniel Maclise from Dickens's "The Battle of Life" (1846)

The Secret Interview

Daniel Maclise; engraver, Williams.

1846

Wood engraving

12.2 high by 7.3 cm wide (4 ¾ by 2 ¾ inches), vignetted.

Full-page illustration for Dickens's The Battle of Life: "Part the Second," 96.

Click on image to enlarge it

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[Click on image to enlarge it and mouse over text for links.]

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.].

Surrounding Text

. . . truest friend in all the world for what you have said to me, but I must take this step. Will you go with me, Clemency," she kissed her on her friendly face, "or shall I go alone?"

Passage Illustrated: Towards the Supposed "Elopement"

‘Let me go out,’ said Clemency, soothing her. ‘I’ll tell him what you like. Don’t cross the door-step to-night. I’m sure no good will come of it. Oh, it was an unhappy day when Mr. Warden was ever brought here! Think of your good father, darling — of your sister.’

‘I have,’ said Marion, hastily raising her head. ‘You don’t know what I do. I must speak to him. You are the best and truest friend in all the world for what you have said to me, but I must take this step. Will you go with me, Clemency,’ she kissed her on her friendly face, ‘or shall I go alone?’

Sorrowing and wondering, Clemency turned the key, and opened the door. Into the dark and doubtful night that lay beyond the threshold, Marion passed quickly, holding by her hand.

In the dark night he joined her, and they spoke together earnestly and long; and the hand that held so fast by Clemency’s, now trembled, now turned deadly cold, now clasped and closed on hers, in the strong feeling of the speech it emphasised unconsciously. When they returned, he followed to the door, and pausing there a moment, seized the other hand, and pressed it to his lips. Then, stealthily withdrew.

The door was barred and locked again, and once again she stood beneath her father’s roof. Not bowed down by the secret that she brought there, though so young; but, with that same expression on her face for which I had no name before, and shining through her tears. ["Part the Second," pp. 95-97]

Commentary

The flowering vines of the porch seem distinctly out of season, but the elegant figures can only be those of the cavalier Michael Warden, characterized by broad-brimmed hat and riding-boots, the demure, blonde-haired Marion Jeddler, and the distraught servant with all the household keys on her girdle, Clemency Newcome. The plate reifies the reader's expectations about the aristocrat's running off with the nubile Marion, who has refused her servant's advice about declining the nocturnal interview.

Maclise's nearly full-page illustration of "The Secret Interview" . . . carefully positions Marion, twisting between Michael and Clemency, whose hand she holds as Clemency turns back toward the kitchen. The body language is well articulated; Michael's right leg turns toward departure, while his left shoulder and arm seem ready to enfold Marion. Her head is turned to his breast, while both arms and feet are pointing to the open door of home. [Patten, pp. 220-221]

Related Material

Scene from The Battle of Life, at the Lyceum Theatre: Clemency (Mrs. Keeley); Britain (Mr. Keeley). The Illustrated London News. Saturday, 26 December 1846, p. 413.
The Dedication, Illustrations, and Illustrators for The Battle of Life (1846)
Robert L. Patten's Dickens, Death and Christmas, Chapter 8: "Chirping" and Pantomime, and Chapter 9: Battling for His Life
Pears' Centenary Edition of The Battle of Life (1912)
The Christmas Books of Charles Dickens
Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s single illustration for The Battle of Life (1867)
A. E. Abbey's Household Edition illustrations for The Christmas Books (1876)
Fred Barnard's Household Edition illustrations for The Christmas Books (1878)
Harry Furniss's illustrations for Dickens's The Battle of Life (1910)

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. The Battle of Life: A Love Story. Illustrated by John Leech, Richard Doyle, Daniel Maclise, and Clarkson Stanfield. Engraved by J. Thompson, Dalziel, T. Williams, and Green. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1846.

Morley, Malcolm. "The Battle of Life in the Theatre." Dickensian 48 (1 January 1952): 76.

Patten, Robert L. Chapter 9, "Battling for his Life." Dickens, Death, and Christmas. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. 200-233. [Review]

Created 20 February 2001

Last updated 2 June 2024