"I Call Them My Children" – To Myself, Susan (The Galaxy, An Illustrated Magazine of Entertaining Reading, Vol. VIII) 1869

Winslow Homer created this wood engraving, "I Call Them My Children" – To Myself, Susan, for The Galaxy magazine in 1869, a period marked by significant shifts in gender roles and societal expectations. Homer's illustration captures a moment of intimacy and potential tension. An older gentleman, possibly a father figure, is guiding a younger woman through a lush garden. The phrase "I Call Them My Children" can hint at themes of ownership and control within relationships, and the woman’s downcast gaze can imply a sense of melancholy, or even entrapment. Homer complicates conventional representations of women by suggesting that the woman has her own agency and interiority, and, perhaps, that she is at odds with the older man. The setting itself, a vibrant garden, contrasts with the somber mood of the figures, creating an emotional paradox. Homer, through the illustration, reflects on societal expectations, and invites us to consider the unspoken narratives within these seemingly simple encounters.