This is the first scene in a triptych, or series of three paintings, on the consequences of adultery. A woman lies at her husband’s feet. He holds a letter, evidence of her unfaithfulness, and stamps on a portrait miniature of her lover. On the left, the girls’ house of cards collapses, signifying the breakdown of the family. The cards were supported by a novel by the French writer Balzac, famous for his tales of adultery. And an apple has been cut in two. One half, representing the wife, has fallen to the floor. The other, representing the husband, has been stabbed to the core.