The first of Egg's tryptich, this painting depicts the moment of a husband's discovery of his wife's infidelity.  Having just returned from work, he sits stunned, holding the letter in his hand that tells all. 

The wife lies prostrate before her husband.  The angle of her body suggests he has pushed her away from him.  Her face is buried in shame, hidden from her husband as well as the viewer.  Note the paired bracelets evocative of handcuffs or fetters.  She has clearly just cut an apple in two, which apparently is rotten at the core. 

The two daughters have been building a house of cards, which at this moment is just starting to tumble.  The eldest, dressed a tad too gaudily no doubt, looks over in surprise.  The house of cards is built up on a novel by Balzac. 

On the left hand side are two paintings, a small one of the wife and above it, a painting of Adam and Eve being expelled from paradise.  On the right hand side, there is a painting of the husband and above it, a painting of a ship in a storm-tossed sea, entitled "The Abandoned." 

Note the "skirt" of the table, raised to present the "legs" of the table to view. 

Most intriguing is the lighting fixture, which is very evocative of the female reproductive system--two ovaries and a uterus.  It is thus telling that it is reflected in the mirror, underscoring women's (and female sexuality's) false, vain, and duplicitous nature.  Also reflected in the mirror is the open aperture to the space of this room, which bestows upon the room a duplicitous, vaginal space.  The door is open--the husband has just entered; she will soon be shown out.  All because the door has been open far too much. 

One should note that the Victorian focus on infidelity and promiscuity was centered on women.