Vivien directly gazing at the viewer portrays her boldness and the look on her face implies triumph. The image does not show how Vivien succeeded, but Tennyson’s poem details how she followed the wizard into the forest, challenged his intellect with riddles, and seduced him with her love (Tennyson). Her prize was a spell that only Merlin knew—a spell that can bind him for eternity—and Rheam's illustration portrays Merlin's defeat (Tennyson). Merlin is representative of the old English patriarchal tradition—he was the wizard who helped Arthur become the legendary king he was destined to be. Vivien’s triumph depicts man’s fear of defeat by a woman, through her seduction, flattery and exploitation of man’s weakness. But Vivien is not just "a woman", she is an established character in Arthurian legend. The reference to cultural context is buried in the illustration

Victorians are not strangers to fairy lore, and Silver argues that Victorians were fascinated by fairies (4). Using fairy lore to portray this fear eases the viewer into its cultural relevance. Rheam explores fairy lore at the same time that he present the relevance of the femme fatale in Vivien.

Vivien is remembered as a villain because of this. Possessing cunning and ambition is not for a woman. Convicting Vivien as a villain is the patriarchal society's disapproval of assertiveness in a woman because her characteristics are antagonistic. In Rheam’s illustration of Vivien’s triumph, she seems to be delighted—probably almost in a frenzy, as she revels in the moment. Her victory relied on the defeat of an existing power. Rheam shows the Victorian patriarchal society's fear of being overthrown by the growing female power.