Page - 110 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

110 | Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 95–122 charging much33for the work, it might afford employment for the children and benefit the poor.34 33 http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O70491/sampler-smith-elizabeth/ [20.04.2020]; Browne/ Wearden 1999, 102. 34 Manual 1816, 41. Fig. 3: Elizabeth Smith’s sampler, 1803, England, embroidered linen with silk in cross stitch, V&A 942-1897.33 This sampler is composed of various ornaments and texts. The words “When greedy worms / My Body eat, / Here you may read / my Name complete” allude to the sampler as a material memory surviving Elizabeth, who completed this work when she was 11 years old. “Religion, and good learning, / They I hope will save / The Soul from pain & sorrow / When beyond the grave” sums up in a few lines the ideals of female education in the 19th century. (© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)