Burne-Jones was an admirer of Maurice Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949) whose play Pelléas and Mélisande (1892) may well be the source of this drawing "Maeterlinck's plays in spite of their sadness, did not come amiss to him at this time (1896); they were sad, he said, but so beautiful that they became splendid poetry. "I'll take as much tragedy from him as he likes to give me - he can do it". (Memorials Vol2 p 291) This drawing could relate to Act 3 Scene 2 Mélisande sits at a tower window combing her hair Pelléas: I never saw hair like yours Mélisande!... See, see, see; it comes from so high, and yet it's floods reach my heart... They reach my knees ... And it is soft, it is as soft as if it had fallen from Heaven!... I can no-longer see Heaven for your hair." (Translation from the French by Laurence Alma-Tadema c.1900) Photograph of Mary Garden as Mélisande c. 1908 There was a tradition in Pre-Raphaelite painting, beginning with Rossetti, to associated womens hair with eroticism. this drawing has a particular significance because it was a gift to Helen Mary Gaskell.