A domestic interior in an elegant middle-class Victorian home. In the centre of a large wood-panelled room a young mother and daughter sit together on a yellow daybed. The mother sits at one end, to the right, in profile, in a plain black dress gazing down at her daughter, her hand resting in her lap, her fair hair pinned up on her head. At the other end of the bed sits the little girl in a white dress, absorbed with playing at motherhood with her doll, which she holds with both hands in front of her. A jewellery box lies on the floor before her, its contents scattered on the floor. Behind the daybed is a tall black screen, decorated with flower motifs, a chair with a tall back in front of it. In the background, various pictures are hung on the walls, an open door on the left, a fireplace on the right.