How are the rebels represented in Joseph Noel Paton's painting "In Me…

How are the rebels represented in Joseph Noel Paton's painting "In Memoriam"?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → They are not seen, yet the picture presents them as violent and brutish.

Option (1) They are not seen, yet the picture presents them as violent and brutish. — Correct. The painting does not show gory violence; it only suggests it. The rebels remain invisible, but the helpless women and children make the viewer imagine them as violent and brutish.

Option (2) They are shown as four burly men attacking a lone woman with swords. — Incorrect. Four burly males with swords and guns attacking a woman appear in the British image of Miss Wheeler at Kanpur.

Option (3) They are shown being trampled under the feet of a female figure. — Incorrect. Sepoys trampled by an allegorical female figure of justice appear in a Punch cartoon of 1857.

Option (4) They are shown fleeing before the British rescue forces in the foreground. — Incorrect. The British rescue forces are seen arriving in the background as saviours. No rebels are shown fleeing from them.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.2 English women and the honour of Britain …
“In Memoriam” (Fig. 10.11) was painted by Joseph Noel Paton two years after the mutiny. You can see English women and children huddled in a circle, looking helpless and innocent, seemingly waiting for the inevitable – dishonour, violence and death. “In Memoriam” does not show gory violence; it only suggests it. It stirs up the spectator’s imagination, and seeks to provoke anger and fury. It represents the rebels as violent and brutish, even though they remain invisible in the picture. In the background you can see the British rescue forces arriving as saviours.”

How are the rebels represented in Joseph Noel Paton's painting "In Memoriam"?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → They are not seen, yet the picture presents them as violent and brutish.

Option (3) They are shown being trampled under the feet of a female figure. — Incorrect. Sepoys trampled by an allegorical female figure of justice appear in a Punch cartoon of 1857.