Madame Cabassol going for a romantic stroll in the botanical gardens together with the youngest friend of her husband's. Sudden encounter with the latter not far from a stag, plate 4 from Les Amis 1845

This lithograph was made by Honoré Daumier. It depicts Madame Cabassol on a stroll with her husband's young friend, near a stag. The stag, a symbol of virility and the hunt, looms large between the figures, almost as a silent observer of the unfolding social drama. The stag motif is ancient, appearing in cave paintings and mythological tales, often linked with fertility and primal instincts. Here, its presence is almost mocking, a commentary on the human mating rituals. The stag, typically a symbol of strength, is caged, reflecting perhaps the constraints of social decorum on these characters. Think of Diana, the huntress, and her connection with the wild, untamed aspects of nature – aspects that are suppressed yet simmering beneath the surface of this seemingly polite encounter. Daumier captures the subtle tensions and unspoken desires that ripple through social interactions. The image resonates with a collective memory of forbidden desires. The stag is not just an animal; it's a mirror reflecting the primal urges that civilization seeks to tame. These urges resurface, morphing through centuries, always present in the theater of human relations.