A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go

Brutish Father? – Insulted Frog

The premise of this book is that two children, Tim and Tilly, meet Mother Goose and are invited to visit her zoo where they interview the animal menagerie. Froggy tells a sad story of being spurned by the object of his affection “For her father, who was an awful brute,/ Declared that his daughter would ‘smile on my suit.’” Admitting that he is “sensitive,” Froggy stormed off in anger at “That fearful insult to my taste.” The accompanying image shows that Froggy and the maiden’s father are dressed very nearly the same. Although the father stands slightly above our hero on the right, emphasizing his dominance, he seems to be looking kindly and smiling on his daughter’s suitor. The young female frog is sitting on the grassy hill behind them under her parasol, probably waiting for an introduction that will never come.