Many’s the beating he had from the broomstick or the ladle 1927

Arthur Rackham made this illustration, showing domestic violence, some time before 1939. It reflects traditional gender roles of the time, where women were often relegated to domestic tasks and expected to maintain order in the home. The image shows a woman with a wooden spoon raised, poised to strike a young man who cowers in the corner. The title of the piece, with its reference to everyday implements of violence, underscores the normalization of abuse within the domestic sphere. Notice how the artist renders the woman as a figure of imposing power within the confines of her kitchen. The man is youthful, as if a child, perhaps to enhance the unequal power dynamic in the space. Rackham asks us to consider how such power dynamics can lead to abuse and oppression within the very place we call home.