This first scene shows all the sense of theatre with which Hogarth sets his stage and establishes the satirical key of his drama in four acts. Interior and figures are fascinating simply as a pictorial spectacle, but the picture is full also of clues to its story and satire, e.g. the vanity of the old nobleman (whose unfinished mansion is seen through the window) and the mutual indifference of the bride and the groom.
