two pretty creatures

thanks brooklyn museum (PD via wikimedia ommons)

Here's a sweet young thing, hair and gown fluffy and flowing, romping with a pet.  At first glance it all seems so innocent, and I'm sure it is.  Yet "The Squirrel" (circa 1896), intimate as it is, still has a feel of presentation, of greater purpose.  This doesn't surprise me, as Sir James Jebusa Shannon (English, born American, 1862-1923) was well-known for society portraits.  When most everything you create is meant to shore up a persona, it must be a hard habit to break.  Was it a lucky accident that this pretty girl, with all her future to arrange before her in whatever limited fashion permitted, had a pet squirrel?  Squirrels are known for their diligence in planning for the winter, and have been thought also to symbolize flirtatiousness, even voraciousness.  Not that this is a bad mix, depending on the squirrel.