I’ve always had a particular fascination with the art of William Holman Hunt and the careful delineation of detail that his work often encompasses, but his art piece for the Lady of Shalott that was viewed in class today was something else entirely. The namesake Lady in question is entangled in her own cords and looms and her face is intense with expression. To me, it comes across that this is not a woman who has accepted her fate, but rather opposes it. This is a brave and brazen portrayal of femininity. She is standing upright, her hair flowing freely around her, and she is strong-jawed with alert eyes. Her height and stature in this piece distinguish her as the primary focus, giving her a sense of agency. Further, her taut posture is a rare depiction for women throughout art history, usually shown reclining or sleeping. Unlike the other pieces I had seen, this piece in particular emphasizes that she is not just a woman “half-sick of shadows”, which makes the tragedy of the poem all the more sad. She is almost giant-like in the frame, condensed among the myriad of other details. The stark choice the curse has bestowed upon her is evident on her face. Though I originally interpreted the poem as about a frail woman who passed away in her boat, Hunt’s work ironically breathes life into the Lady of Shalott. She is a fully-grown woman on the verge of her demise, not the “fairy” that I was envisioning when reading the text. It presents this interesting dichotomy that she is ensnared by gender roles, symbolized by the domestic nature of the loom, and is struggling to emerge. She is torn between both choices, her desires and her chastity, and she cannot freely choose either without suffering.