I tell the good fortune, since I no longer know what it is, p. 83 1853

Editor: So, this print by Paul Gavarni, titled "I tell the good fortune, since I no longer know what it is," shows a woman with cards. There's a melancholic mood to it. What symbols do you see at play here? Curator: The cards themselves are potent symbols, suggesting chance, fate, and a yearning to control the uncontrollable. Notice the somber tone; how does it reflect the broader anxieties of 19th-century Parisian society? The gaze of the woman is cast downward, an iconic representation of lost hope. Editor: It makes me wonder about the woman’s story. Curator: Indeed. Gavarni uses symbols to speak to the anxieties of the time, but also to show the lasting human condition. We can find it again and again. Editor: Thanks, I never would have thought about it that way.