Catherine Dickens numerous—all of which he strenuously denied. In June 1858 Charles and Catherine Dickens separated. The exact cause of the separation is unknown, although attention at the time and since has focused on rumours of an affair between Dickens and Ellen Ternan and/or Catherine's sister, Georgina Hogarth. A bracelet intended for Ellen Ternan had supposedly been delivered to the Dickens household some months previously, leading to accusation and denial. Dickens' friend, William Makepeace Thackeray, later asserted that Dickens's separation from Catherine was due to a liaison with Ternan, rather than with Georgina Hogarth as had been put to him. This remark
The Bench (Hogarth) the art of character painting as the "wild attempts of children". In his own comments on "The Bench" he compared character, caricature, and "outré" to comedy, tragedy, and farce in the theatre. Comedy, which he aligned with character, showed a true view of nature, as nothing was outside reality. Tragedy, which he compared to caricature, heightened reality, exaggerating aspects of its subjects. Farce and "outré" both took this heightening of features to ridiculous extremes. Hogarth scholar Ronald Paulson suggests that by the time he produced "The Bench" Hogarth had become very sensitive to the criticisms levelled at him as a