The flesh and the spirit, Isaac Cruikshank, 1794

A very fat man sits (left) at a dinner-table holding a knife and fork and about to take a mouthful. He gazes apprehensively at his wife (right), who has risen from the table, overthrowing her chair and a bottle of 'gin' whose contents stream to the ground. She leans forward, clenching her outstretched right fist, a glass in her left hand, shouting, "you think indeed!! you brute, i wonder at your impudence, never was so mild so meek a temprd woman so ill used as i am, & all because i'm the most tender affectionate wife living, but i wont be treated so i wont no, i'll tear your eyes out first, i know what you want, to set me in a passion you do, but i wont be in a passion to please you, you cross ill temperd quarrelsome, passionate wretch. ' on the table are a joint of beef (opposite the man), pudding, a bottle of 'brandy' (next the woman). On the ground at her feet are a broken glass and a knife. They face each other in profile, as do the couple in a picture behind her head: a virago (right) threatens a thin and trembling man with a broom. 26 september 1794 hand-coloured etching. Date: 1794. Dimensions: Height: 238 mm (cropped); Width: 335 mm (cropped). Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. The flesh and the spirit (BM 1935,0522.8.68)