Couple confronted in street by man holding torch 

Edwin Austin Abbey created this ink wash drawing, "Couple confronted in street by man holding torch," sometime near the turn of the 20th century. Here, a couple locked in an embrace is interrupted by a man bearing a torch. The torch, a potent symbol, has been used across cultures to represent enlightenment, hope, and truth, but also, more ominously, as an instrument of pursuit and exposure. Think of the Furies, who in Aeschylus’s "Eumenides," wield torches as they relentlessly pursue Orestes. Here, the torch-bearer seems to be a figure of judgment, invading the privacy of the couple. Is he bringing light or exposure? This gesture of confrontation evokes primal fears and anxieties. The collective memory of transgression and the fear of exposure resonate deeply within us, a testament to the enduring power of symbols to stir our subconscious.