“- I would have so much loved to make him a butcher too... now I am forced to make him a lawyer,” plate 467 from Actualités 1857

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph, plate 467 from Actualités, a print series, sometime in the 19th century. We see a butcher standing with his arms crossed looking down at his son, in a butcher shop lined with hanging meat. Notice the crossed arms, a recurring motif throughout history. This gesture, often a sign of defiance or resistance, appears across cultures—from ancient Egyptian depictions of pharaohs to modern political protests. But here, it speaks more of the intergenerational tension and the weight of expectation. The butcher seems to embody a deep-seated frustration, a motif reminiscent of the tragic heroes of antiquity, trapped by fate. The hanging meat becomes a silent chorus of tradition, a psychological tableau reflecting the butcher's internal conflict. It mirrors the chains of lineage and the subconscious desires passed down through generations. This image, like a recurring dream, taps into our primal understanding of legacy. The butcher’s disappointment underscores the cyclical nature of history. The image speaks to the ever-evolving narrative of familial duty and individual aspirations.