Mr. Franklin Blake and Rachel

        The first image has Rachel looking out a door with slouching shoulders, which makes it look like she is waiting for someone as this photo is placed at the start of the story. Leighton and Surridge explain by  “locating Collins's characters near doors or windows. These thresholds, we argue, visually suggest the sensation genre's propensity for disrupting boundaries of gender and class…” (222). Thus, the illustrations are representing Rachel and Mr. Franklin as defying gender (and Victorian) norms by having them alone together in a room. Coincidentally, chapter VII is where the truth is revealed and Rachel says, “My hero whom I love and honour, you have crept into my room under the cover of the night, and stolen my Diamond” (Collins 346). It is important that the mystery of what actually happened is revealed when Rachel and Mr. Franklin are alone together, as it is epitomizing the effect of their relationship. In the second photo, it appears that Rachel is holding Mr. Franklin from leaving the room, as she is placed in front of him in a dominant position with her hands holding him back.  Furthermore, Rachel is in control and tells Mr. Franklin that: “I have kept your infamy a secret” (Collins 339) and later states “I spared you at the time [and] she said I would have spared you now if you had not forced me to speak” (341). This repetitiveness of Rachel’s words is illustrating the intensity of protection that a loving relationship can establish.