Jonge vrouw leest een brief 1780

Louis Bernard Coclers created this etching, entitled *Young Woman Reading a Letter*, sometime in the late 18th century. During this period, literacy among women of the upper classes was increasing, and the subject of women reading became more common in art. The artwork portrays a woman, presumably wealthy given her elaborate attire, engrossed in a letter. Her maid stands nearby, holding a box that perhaps contains sealing wax. The intimacy of the scene, with its focus on a private moment of reading, evokes a sense of emotional connection. Yet the women's confinement to the domestic sphere is emphasized by the interior setting. By depicting this scene, Coclers touches on themes of gender, class, and the evolving roles of women in society. The letter itself becomes a symbol of communication, longing, and perhaps even the constraints placed upon women's lives, as they are limited to communicating by post. The artist's delicate rendering of this private, emotional moment, however, invites us to contemplate the inner lives of women.