COVE

The illustration "The Moon-Flower" by Laurence Housman is placed on page 136 of The House of Joy (1895). Housman completed both the writing, designing and illustrating for this collection of Victorian stories. This wood engraved illustration demonstrates a woman who is watering her garden and is reached out to by another figure that is hidden within the bushes. When immediately looking at the illustration without reading the story, there is not much to understand about the image without context. The male figure is the Prince, and the woman is someone that he discovers has been wandering in his garden, who she claims is "a prisoner" who he must set free to return home to the Moon. The image shows a long road that leads from the Prince's home to the garden, in which both figures are surrounded by growing trees and bushes. The woman is clothed in a long dress that includes a veil that drapes down and around her. 

Laurence Housman was an activist for human rights and social justice, specifically a supporter of women's rights. He organized two men's organizations for the cause, as well as being a part of the Women's Social and Political Union. He was also a strong supporter of same-sex love. He commonly spoke at sufferage rallies and spoke for women's rights. This is reflective in his illustrations as it depicts a man reaching out to a woman to try and save her. Her grace and beauty that is described in the text is demonstrated in "The Moon-Flower" as she is depicted as very modest. 

The image brings question to how Housman viewed woman and his goal to support and help with gender equality as much as possible. 

References:

Digital Archive of “The Moon-Flower,” House of Joy (1895): https://archive.org/details/houseofjoy00housrich/page/24/mode/2up

Kooistra, Lorraine Janzen. “Laurence Housman (1865-1959),” Y90s Biographies, edited by Dennis Denisoff, 2010. Yellow Nineties 2.0, General Editor Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2019, https://1890s.ca/housman_bio/

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/housman/65.html

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/housman/index.html