Inside of the Weavers House near Bomore on the Island of Ila

At first glance this cluttered interior seems to strengthen the contemporary belief that conditions in the Highlands and Islands were primitive and to convey a picture of a Gaelic society alienated from the modern world. Yet that was not quite the case. While the hardship was real enough, economic modernity was making headway. What Miller’s view of the exterior of the Weaver’s cottage showed was in fact a scene of improvement, a cottage specially adapted to accommodate a new loom.