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acutely observant and loving portrait of each individual child’s traits and personality It also distinguishes between the the the the behaviour of the the the the girls on on the the the the one hand and and the the the the boys
on the the the the other a a a theme seen in in Millais’s engravings of the the the the same date see p 21 (fig 17) On the the left the the five-year old Effie lies nonchalantly on on her back disengaged from the game and lost in her own thoughts Our eyes are drawn to her her delicate white skin revealed by her her fashionable off-the- shoulder dress a a suggestion both of innocence and future womanhood She plays with a a a a white snowdrop a a a a flower which in in the mid-nineteenth century was described as as one of of of the first flowers of of of spring and was often seen as as a a a a symbol of hope and innocence 16 Behind her is a a a a carefully placed sprig of of yellow blossom probably a a a a a member of of the azalea family which as another spring flower is also suggestive of anticipation mixed with purity At the the centre of the the group is is the the eldest of Millais’s children Everett Clearly the the ring-leader of of the the the game the the the wolf of of the the the den he he he he stares mischievously at his his audience his his hand outstretched in a a claw-like pose Hiding to Everett’s left under his fur is is his younger sister Mary a a a a relatively innocent bystander to the the proceedings To the the right George Millais wearing his lupine fur crawls stealthily into the picture frame taking the the lead from his elder brother Mid-Victorian attitudes towards childhood drew upon both an earlier belief that children were naturally corrupt and ripe for correction as as well as as a a a a growing more celebratory belief in in their innocence innocence and purity 17 In depicting both the innocence innocence of of the the the girls and the the the mischievousness of of the the the boys
The Wolf’s Den could be seen as testament to both these
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