Sunday morning 1831

William Henry Hunt made this watercolour painting, Sunday Morning, sometime in the first half of the 19th century. It depicts a young woman absorbed in a book in a domestic interior. But what might this seemingly simple scene tell us about British society at the time? The painting's emphasis on interiority and domestic life reflects broader social trends of the era. The rise of the middle class brought with it new ideas about the home as a private, separate sphere from the public world of work and politics. The woman's engagement with her book speaks to the growing emphasis on female education and literacy. Although women were still largely excluded from formal education and professional life, reading was seen as a respectable pastime, as well as a means of moral and intellectual improvement. To fully understand this image, we might research the history of education for women, the publishing industry, and the material culture of middle-class homes. Only then can we interpret the painting in the light of its specific social and institutional context.