She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott."
The Lady of Shalott is a 1905 painting by Pre-Raphaelite founder William Holman Hunt.
It depicts a scene from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott", in turn based on the myth of Elaine of Astalot. Elaine is a young noblewoman locked in a tower who is cursed to never see the world outside with her own eyes. Instead, she must weave the scene she sees from a mirror's reflection into a tapestry. However, once she looks upon Sir Lancelot, she is cursed to die.
The scene portrayed in the painting is the moment when she looks at Lancelot and the mirror cracks. Elaine, standing around her circular loom, is entangled in threads while her workplace is upset around her. Surrounding Elaine are various symbols that suggest steadfastness over temptation.
The painting is housed in the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT, while an earlier version (where, among other differences, the roundels depict two pictures of Jesus instead) is at the Manchester Art Gallery. Compare The Lady of Shalott (Waterhouse), an earlier painting depicting the end of the legend.
Tropes in this painting:
- Contrapposto Pose: In her surprise for both having been able to look at Lancelot and her mirror cracking, Lady Elaine is about to step back from the tapestry. Therefore, her right foot is hovering a few inches from the floor.
- Disturbed Doves: Scared by the Lady's actions, two doves in the background fly away from their perch.
- Fan Art:
- Of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's lyrical ballad "Lady of Shalott". The painting is an illustration of the part where the lady realizes the curse has been activated.
- Of the Arthurian Legend in general. It depicts the moment the titular Lady, Elaine of Astalot, as she exchanges glances with Lancelot and is henceforth cursed. This is symbolized by the mirror in her tapestry cracks.
- Flower Motifs: Crushed violets, symbolizing faith, hope, and wisdom, are on the floor.
- Girl in the Tower: We see the tower in which the Lady is ensconced to enact her curse, as well as the mirror showing the reflection of the bright world outside.
- The Owl-Knowing One: A lamp near the Lady shows owls above sphinxes, suggesting wisdom triumphing over mystery. The lamp is extinguished, because the Lady has not done that.
- Protagonist Title: The title of "Lady of Shalott" refers to Elaine, who is the main subject of the painting.
- Recycled Title: Much like Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott, it's a Fan Art of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's eponymous poem about the story of Lady Elaine of Astalot in the Arthurian Legend.
- Shout-Out: The Lady's room as a parallel of Hercules and the Virgin Mary, who labored through their struggles. Unlike Elaine, who gave in.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: The protagonist of the painting is a tragic maiden cursed to weave a tapestry, which is in progress — threads fly around her once the curse acts on her.
- Wild Hair: Perhaps owing to being locked in a tower, the Lady has long, unkempt hair that flies around her once she realizes what's happened.
- The X of Y: The Lady (Elaine) of Shalott (the island Elaine inhabits).
