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Image – The Quakers Meeting
The Quakers Meeting Page 83
Chapter 3
“The Quaker Meeting”
The Quakers, also known as the Society of Friends, was a religious group in England that was persecuted for its beliefs. As a Protestant sect in the American colonies, the Quakers held their formal services without ministers, allowing any person to speak as the spirit would lead them, regardless of gender. The mezzotint printed here was produced in the late 1600s. It was intended to satirize Quakers by showing them in a meeting as a woman stood on a box and preached to them. The audience seems to be drawn into what is being said by the woman.
Questions for Analysis
1. Given what you know about the Quakers and by also closely examining the mezzotint, what motive do you think the creator of the mezzotint had when he created this particular scene of a Quaker meeting?
2. What can we infer from this image about the artist’s views on the proper role of women in society?