One may lead a horse to water,
Twenty cannot make him drink.
Though the goblins cuff’d and caught her,
Coax’d and fought her,
Bullied and besought her,
Scratch’d her, pinch’d her black as ink,
Kick’d and knock’d her,
Maul’d and mock’d her,
Lizzie utter’d not a word;
Would not open lip from lip
Lest they should cram a mouthful in:
But laugh’d in heart to feel the drip
Of juice that syrupp’d all her face,
And lodg’d in dimples of her chin,
And streak’d her neck which quaked like curd.
At last the evil people,
Worn out by her resistance,
Flung back her penny, kick’d their fruit
Along whichever road they took,
Not leaving root or stone or shoot;
Some writh’d into the ground,
Some div’d into the brook
With ring and ripple,
Some scudded on the gale without a sound,
Some vanish’d in the distance.
This illustration represents the passage above in many ways. I wanted to convey the strength of Lizzie’s character in the size of her head. We know she leaves proud of her resistance ultimately, although during her rape she is a victim of a violent and harrowing experience. In this depiction I have chose to draw her arms and hands balled by her sides, straight in defiance but also a position of some submission. Her dress is black, referring to “Scratch’d her, pinch’d her black as ink”. Additionally I drew her tears in a way that could be interpreted as the fruits’ juices – “Of juice that syrupp’d all her face” – dripping down her face to her neck. In this passage I found Lizzie to be a character of strength but also of courage, seeking fruits for her sister and enduring the goblins’ forces out of her control. I drew her lips tightly pursed in resistance to the fruits- “Would not open lip from lip” ,and even the penny which she originally paid being tossed back at her. Her body is tiny and has inward body language compared to the size of her head, where there is emphasis on her face and the painful/violent crime being reflected within it. The size of her body emphasizes her position of capitulation, although not in eating the fruits, but in the act itself. When first reading this passage I envisioned this scene vividly, which is why I particularly chose it to illustrate.
Alayna Wagers 