Vrouw op een weegschaal op de Place St. Germain-l'Auxerrois te Parijs 1821

This print by Jean Henri Marlet shows a woman being weighed on a public scale in the Place St. Germain-l'Auxerrois in Paris. The central symbol here is the scale itself, an ancient emblem of justice and balance. Scales have long been associated with divine judgment. Think of the Egyptian weighing of the heart ceremony or the scales held by the archangel Michael in Christian art. Here, in a mundane Parisian setting, the scales take on a different connotation. They measure not moral worth but physical weight, turning a private concern into a public spectacle. Consider how this act transforms the woman into an object of public scrutiny. The image hints at the societal pressures and expectations surrounding women's bodies, a theme that recurs throughout art history. This scene is a curious blend of tradition and modernity, where an age-old symbol meets the emerging anxieties of urban life. It taps into our collective memory of judgment, now refocused on the corporeal.