The studio portrait

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Before Mr Vale arrived, Miriam raised the blinds, measured the distance between the camera and the chair, and replaced the wrinkled curtain with a painted garden. By ten o’clock, the studio appeared to have arranged itself. Mr Vale entered as the first family climbed the stairs, brushing a speck of dust from his sleeve.

Miriam placed the mother beside the chair and persuaded the youngest child to release his grip on a wooden horse. “Turn his chin towards the window,” she said quietly. Mr Vale repeated the instruction, word for word but in a deeper voice, and the father immediately moved the boy.

When everyone was still, Miriam disappeared beneath the camera’s black cloth. Her hand rested on the shutter while she counted five slow breaths. From the family’s side of the room, only the square black face of the machine looked back at them. Mr Vale waited beside the mantelpiece.

“A masterly arrangement, sir,” the father said when it was finished. Mr Vale accepted the compliment with a small bow.

In the darkroom, Miriam watched four pale faces gather upon the glass. A faint crescent marked one corner where her thumb had touched it. She polished the mark away before carrying the plate upstairs.

Mr Vale wrote his name beneath the finished portrait. Without looking up, he asked whether the room was ready for the next family.

Analyse the contrast between Miriam’s control of the work and the recognition she receives, considering the writer’s use of language and structure. Support your answer with references to the passage.