In this series of Marrriage a la Mode Hogarth narrates the unhappy union of a wealthy middle-class alderman's daughter and an aristocrat's son. The painting shows us the married couple "newlyweds" who have yet to retire for the night. The grotesque clock informs us it is well over 1 a.m. Their activities for the evening did not include each other. The little dog is busy pulling a woman's cap from Squanderfield's pocket. The wife of Squanderfield is making amorous gestures but Mr Squanderfield is in no shape to take on his wife's invite. The book on the carpet causes us to assume that his wife has spent the evening "at home" in the company of friends...perhaps playing cards. Hogarth via his satire wished to draw attention to the hypocrisy that exists within the society.
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