The painted expression

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Mrs Warren stood before the portrait with her gloves still on. The painter had given her daughter a pale dress, an open book and an expression of tranquil attention. It was a handsome arrangement. The room in which it would hang had already been prepared, and the painter spoke of the frame as though acceptance were merely a question of choosing the wood.

Mrs Warren asked him to turn the canvas towards the window. In the stronger light, the face looked even smoother. Her daughter had a small scar beside the mouth, the result of a fall from a climbing tree. It was absent. So was the uneven eyebrow that rose whenever she doubted somebody. Mrs Warren said that the likeness was not quite right. The painter explained that such details distracted from the general effect.

He offered to darken the hair. She shook her head. He offered to change the colour of the dress. She removed one glove and touched the back of the chair in front of the picture. Her daughter had never held a book like that, she said; she bent the covers back and read standing up when she was excited. The painter looked from the chair to the canvas. For a moment, the pleasant arrangement seemed to have lost its occupant.

Mrs Warren took a folded sketch from her bag. It showed the girl laughing with her head turned, the scar clearly visible. A cousin had drawn it on scrap paper. The painter studied it without speaking. At last he asked whether he might borrow the sketch for a week. Mrs Warren agreed, but took it out of his hand long enough to smooth the folded edge. When she left, the unfinished frame remained against the wall.

“The mother’s criticism of the portrait is shown as thoughtful rather than unreasonable.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.