"So Considerate" 1870 - 1891

Curator: What strikes me about Charles Samuel Keene's "So Considerate," a pen and ink drawing likely made between 1870 and 1891, is its capacity to offer insight into Victorian social dynamics. Editor: Immediately, the etching-like quality gives it a sort of casual yet somber affect. The light and shadow seem almost reversed making it look as if there is something heavy or burdened on the figures. Curator: The drawing captures a domestic scene, doesn’t it? We see a woman seated, a man seemingly resting at a table laden with tea accoutrements, and a boy standing before them. This composition allows for an examination of familial and gendered roles prevalent in the era, with narrative subtly embedded. Editor: Definitely, but how was such domestic labor seen by Keene? Look at the way the light creates patterns on the fabric of her dress, yet remains completely matte on the surfaces of all of the ceramic tableware. The process really heightens a classist tension; is there something the female form shares materially with craft? Curator: Interesting. I read the contrast not necessarily as a strict commentary, but more a reflection of women's restricted social roles at the time—especially concerning labor. Note that even her leisure is depicted indoors, confined by domestic expectations and a visible fireplace in the back. The man, with his leisurely posture, embodies patriarchal privilege in that system. The drawing hints at underlying power structures through seemingly simple interactions, don't you think? Editor: Power isn’t exactly subtle; you’re right. But the real privilege he possesses seems to emanate out from his mass and sit at the core of all of the production in this tableau. There is something quite unnerving at his central placement to both consumption and authority here, and I think we’d miss this through mere symbolic study. Curator: That’s where the piece challenges. We are forced to contemplate those intersections of societal structure and daily life that structured both Victorian and, dare I say, contemporary relationships. "So Considerate" almost demands we consider issues such as labor division and domestic confines as forces of gendered constraints that still echo today. Editor: Precisely! Considering the materials involved and how their textures were conveyed allows a further reading on domestic tension. Perhaps we are actually considering something deeper when seeing labor in "So Considerate"— the very exploitation, control, and management of bodies, laboring or other, is visible, and that affects me more deeply after seeing it today!