The lit candles illuminate on either side of the work and the curtains emphasize the concept of staged artifice and confined space.
The mask - also a theatrical device - is taken from a classical bust of the goddess Hera, the jealous and powerful wife ( and sister) of Zeus. She is regarded as the goddess of the home and family. The blue spotted ray is a symbol of the depths (the ray is not seen unless we look into them).
The visual pun is, of course, on the word 'Literary' - lit - hera - ray and following on from this panel to the right like words in a sentence are the panels depicting the landscape.
Literary landscape.
