Source 3b

Political cartoon by James Gillray entitled: ‘Fashion before Ease;—or,—A good Constitution sacrificed for a Fantastick Form’, London, Published by H. Humphrey, 1793. © Library of Congress

Illustration showing a man pulling the corset strings of a woman wearing a helmet like that typically worn by Britannia. The woman is holding on to an oak tree and Britannia’s shield is propped against the tree. On the ground lies Britannia’s spear. In the background, we see a house with a sign reading ‘Thomas Pain, Stay-maker from Thetford. Paris Modes by express’. The illustration is captioned ‘FASHION before EASE, or, A good Constitution sacrificed, for a Fantastick Form’.
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Transcript

Fashion before Ease;—or,—A good Constitution sacrificed for a Fantastick Form’
A pair of scissors and a tape inscribed: ‘Rights of Man’.
A thatched cottage inscribed: Thomas Pain, ‘Staymaker from Thetford. Paris Modes, by express’.
[Stay maker is a maker of corsets]

« Return to Why was radical writer Thomas Paine significant?
  • How can you identify and describe the characters: Britannia; Thomas Paine?
  • What is happening in the scene?
  • How does the caption help to explain the meaning of the cartoon?
  • Why is Thomas Paine shown as a ‘stay maker from Thetford’?’
  • Can you explain why the spelling of ‘Pain’ is used instead of ‘Paine’?
  • What is the symbolism of the oak tree in the cartoon do you think?
  • What does the cartoon infer about artist James Gillray’s attitude towards Thomas Paine and his work?
  • Where or how would people have seen this image?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of using visual evidence like this cartoon?