Rake's Progress, scene 5: The Rake's Marriage

Impoverished, but accustomed to a life of luxury and excess, Tom decides to marry an old hag for her fortune. The shabby setting is Marylebone church, which at this time was on the northern fringes of London and well known as a venue for clandestine weddings. Tom is clearly more interested in the pretty young maid then his one-eyed bride. In the background Sarah Young and her mother are being prevented from entering the church. Two dogs in the foreground (one of which has lost an eye) present a grotesque parody of the marriage.