Plate 32 from ‘Los Caprichos’: Because she was susceptible (Por que fue sensible.)

Description

In Because she was susceptible, a seated woman is confined within a dark space, her withdrawn posture giving the image a sense of isolation. Francisco Goya’s Because She Was Susceptible places a judgment in the caption while showing a person living with its consequences. The disparity between the brief explanation and the figure’s vulnerability makes the scene more troubling than its words first suggest.

Published in 1799 as plate 32 of Los Caprichos, the aquatint relies on tonal contrast to establish both the woman and her enclosing surroundings. Goya leaves the viewer with little narrative reassurance. The title implies that sensitivity or susceptibility has become grounds for punishment, but the image keeps attention on the individual rather than the accusation. Its strength lies in this imbalance between an easy moral verdict and the substantial human suffering that verdict cannot adequately explain.

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