Figure of Fortune, for "The Wheel of Fortune"; verso: blank c. 1875

Editor: This is Edward Burne-Jones's pencil drawing, "Figure of Fortune, for 'The Wheel of Fortune.'" The drapery is so detailed and realistic, but it's only a fragment. What do you see in this partial figure? Curator: It’s compelling how Burne-Jones uses classical imagery to grapple with Victorian anxieties about fate and social mobility. This fragment reflects the instability of fortune, particularly for women constrained by societal expectations. How might this relate to feminist readings of pre-Raphaelite art? Editor: So the incompleteness emphasizes the lack of control women had? Curator: Precisely. The Wheel of Fortune suggests a broader critique of deterministic systems, and here, a specific commentary on gendered roles in Victorian society. Editor: I see it now—it's not just beautiful, it's a statement. Curator: Exactly, it makes you rethink beauty as resistance.