How does William Hogarth's series Marriage à la Mode construct a moralizing narrative? Describe and analyze the iconography of The Marriage Contract to support your argument.

What will be an ideal response?

The ideal answer should include:
1. In the satirical series Marriage à la Mode, Hogarth promotes the concept of marriage based on love by depicting the progressively disastrous results of a loveless union, which, in this series, ultimately ends in murder and suicide.
2. In the opening scene, The Marriage Contract, Hogarth depicts the gout-ridden Lord Squander field pointing proudly to his family tree as he arranges for his son to marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant.
3. The merchant will be securing his entry into the aristocracy through this alliance, while the lord will gain the money he needs to complete his Palladian house, visible through the window.
4. Sitting back to back are the loveless couple, who will be sacrificed in marriage for the pride and greed of their fathers; the young Squanderfield admires himself in the mirror, while the lawyer Silvertongue whispers to the unhappy fiancée.