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Viviana examined by the earl of Salisbury and the Privy Council in the Star Chamber
George Cruikshank
January 1841
Steel-engraving
12.2 cm high by 9.7 cm wide vignetted, facing Book the Second, Chapter VII, p. 195 in the volume, but facing p. 1 in Bentley's, Vol. 9.
Thirteenth monthly engraving for W. Harrison Ainsworth's Guy Fawkes.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Serialised in Bentley's Miscellany, vols. 7-10, in twenty-three monthly parts.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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"You disclaim, then, all knowledge of a plot against the King's life, and against his government?" pursued Salisbury.
Viviana shook her head.
"You refuse to give up the names of your companions, or to reveal their intentions?" continued the Earl.
"I do," she answered, firmly.
"Your obstinacy will not save them," rejoined the Earl, in a severe tone, and after a brief pause. "Their names and their atrocious designs are known to us."
"If such be the case," replied Viviana, "why interrogate me on the subject?"
"Because — but it is needless to give a reason for the course which justice requires me to pursue," returned the Earl. "You are implicated in this plot, and nothing can save you from condign punishment but a frank and full confession.
"Nothing can save me then, my lord," replied Viviana; "but Heaven knows I shall perish unjustly."
A consultation was then held by the lords of the council, who whispered together for a few minutes. Viviana regarded them anxiously, but suffered no expression of uneasiness to escape her. [Book Two, "The Discovery," Chapter VII, "The Star Chamber," p. 196]
Ainsworth describes Viviana on the previous page as physically attractive, rather than dwelling on her moral and intellectual attributes: "Her features were totally destitute of bloom, but their very paleness, contrasted as it was with her large dark eyes, which blazed with unwonted brilliancy, as well as with her jet-black hair, so far from detracting from her loveliness, appeared to add to it."
Logically the illustration should relate to Mounteagle's informing Tresham of Viviana's arrest and interrogation regarding the plot that the authorities suspect is afoot. As a woman of conscience who has expressed concern about the collateral damage and the sheer immorality of blowing up the Parliament, Viviana ought to have no scruples about informing the government of the Gunpowder Plot. However, her gratitude towards Fawkes for having preserved her life makes her reluctant to betray him, even under threat of torture.
In a room full of old noblemen, sworn enemies of Fawkes and his radical associates, Viviana confronts her interrogators and refuses to divulge the identities of the conspirators. Under such pressure Viviana amazingly maintains her self-composure; she even seems at ease, despite the fact that she is in essence equivocating with her own morality about the turpitude of the Gunpowder Plot. Cruikshank has made the stars in the ceiling of the room obvious, but his Privy Council seems rather small, and the Star Chamber in the Palace of Westminster hardly commodious. However, a painting of the Privy Council meeting a Spanish delegation in 1604 reveals that this powerful and exclusive body of royal councillors from the Lords and the Commons involved only half-a-dozen men, down from forty members in 1553. Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury (centre, wearing a chain of office), the head of the Privy Council, leads the interrogation of the prisoner. Dressed in deep mourning, Viviana, standing in the middle of the room, serves as the focal point for the seated councillors, their secretary, and the attendants in the corridor, right. Her presence implies the authorities' interest in Fawkes's activities, but Cruikshank has had to make do without him for the first time in the series.
Ainsworth, William Harrison. Guy Fawkes, or The Gunpowder Treason: An Historical Romance. With 22 illustrations by George Cruikshank. London: Cunningham & Mortimer, 1841 (first edition). Rpt., London: George Routledge & Sons, n. d. [See the text and images of the novel posted in May 2013 at Project Gutenberg Australia's website: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1302021h.html .]
Carver, Stephen. ""Ainsworth’s Guy Fawkes: Tragic Hero, Catholic Martyr". Online version available from Harrison Ainsworth and Friends. Web. 5 November 2016.
Vann, J. Don. "Guy Fawkes in Bentley's Miscellany, January 1840-Noevember 1841." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. P. 20.
Last modified 23 August 2018