PHÆDRA AND ARIADNE

A REPRODUCTION OF A PEN DRAWING BY CHARLES RICKETTS

“AND YOU WILL SEE ARIADNE GAZING AT HER SISTER PHÆDRA WHO HANGS BY A ROPE”
PAUSANIAS

The black-and-white lithograph is set into a rectangle on the centre of the page, outlined in a heavy black line. The compressed scene depicts Phaedra and Ariadne in a bedroom. In the foreground Phaedra hangs from a rope strung up on her bedpost. Her limp body is draped in a night dress, and her hair hangs down her back. The bottom of her dress touches an overturned stool below her. Her shadow falls on a bed which occupies in the extreme left of the image. The curtains of the bed are opened, revealing a pillow and bedcoverings. On the floor to the right is an unfurling sheet of paper and a skein of unraveled wool. A large urn holding flowers and plants stands on the floor, but only its rounded edge is visible within the picture plane. Ariadne stands in the centre middleground, looking on at her sister, holding a broken thread in her hand. She is barefoot and wears a large-sleeved robe and long gown as her hair billows out to the left. Behind her is a round window, revealing the sea and sky. Beside Ariadne is a loom, weaving implements, and a basin of water with an ewer. String cascades down the loom onto the floor. Wooden beams are visible on the ceiling at the top of the image.

MLA citation:

Ricketts, Charles. “Phaedra and Ariadne.” The Dial, vol. 3, 1893. Dial Digital Edition, edited by Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, 2019-2020. Yellow Nineties 2.0, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2020. https://1890s.ca/dialv3-ricketts-phedra-AB/

magazine_images The Dial 3 Phaedra and Ariadne Charles Ricketts 1893 Pen-and-ink drawing Group of figures Messrs. Walker and Boutall (line block engraving) Greece Window, Curtain, Bed, Loom, Strings, Paper, Stool, Urn, Wool, Yarn, and Ewer Human Figure, Female Figure/ Woman, Person, People, Clothing, Cloak, Nightgown, Sister, and Women Classical and Mythological Indoor setting, Inside, Interior, Room, and Bedroom