A Response to "Olympia's Look"

Suzanne Manet is the embodiment of a woman who has persevered in the face of infidelity and dealt with the pressure of feigning a public façade of content, all while hiding deep emotional pain. She dealt with matrimonial betrayal in possibly one of the worst degrees, but has not let these blows crush her spirit. She is an intelligent woman, and while she may have not been highly educated, she has learned many intricate details about people and their actions; she is incredibly observant. She reads dishonesty, fear, and apprehension in the human soul, and she yearns for an ounce of control in a situation that is obviously and consistently out of her control.

Two quotes in this sad, yet intriguing story exemplify Suzanne’s undying loyalty toward the husband whom she dearly loved in his living years and remembered with kindness. While there are clearly instances where Suzanne shows some resentment and anger towards Édouard, she still loves him despite some of his cruel, thoughtless behavior towards her. The first quote finds her asking Albert to reproduce her husband’s paintings for her, and she states: “A house with empty walls would be a house without him. I couldn’t bear that. So, if you can make replacements, it would mean the world to me.” Although his presence brought her pain and frustration in his living years, a world without Édouard seems like a lonely, colorless existence to Suzanne. This is hard proof of her strong character. This, in a manner, proves that she possesses abiding dedication and faithfulness to her deceased husband, even when he lacked the decency and self-control to show her the same loyalty.

The second quote that stood out to me occurs later on in the story, when Suzanne is at her husband’s funeral and observes the paintings of his subjects, many of whom were real women, with whom Édouard had strayed from her. She felt as though the paintings were mocking her and only reminding her of the misery and shame he had caused her. However, she also seems to view him as the victim, as he had suffered the tortures of syphilis before he finally passed on: “Any of them [the women] could have been the one to have caused his death.” This shows that she forgives Édouard and even seems to feel pity for him as she looks back on his poor choices.

There is no doubt that Suzanne Manet’s personal character has been formed by her sometimes joyful and sometimes devastating life experiences. However, I view her as a strong, determined woman who will not let grief or other people’s detrimental actions, even actions by those close to her, ruin her spirit. One instance that supports this idea is near the end of the story, where Suzanne goes to sit in Édouard’s old chair next to the fireplace in their home: “A fine fire it was, full of satisfying crackles, just like the ones they had in the happy time in Brabant. She chuckled softly, remembering the funny, surprised look on Édouard’s face when the wind racing over the flat land had whisked away his top hat on their wedding day and he went running down the dike road after it.” From this point forward in her life, she chooses to block out the poisonous memories of Édouard’s infidelity and only remember the joyful positive aspects that made her marriage to him special.

In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this short story by Susan Vreeland and think that she incorporated many intriguing, enriching elements into the storyline. Compared to her work “The Yellow Jacket,” it was hard to even tell that “Olympia’s Look” was written by the same author, as I found the previous story to be rather bland, unclear, and lacking a distinct plot. Vreeland does an excellent job of conveying the emotions of the characters to the reader in this story. I feel as if I personally know Suzanne and have heard about what has happened to her. This is certainly one of the best short stories I have recently read and analyzed.

An Annotated Bibliography on Alice Neel

This picture to the left, about which I wrote my initial commentary, is "Last Sickness" by Alice Neel. Here is my annotated bibliography on this fascinating American artist:


“The Art of Alice Neel.” The Whitney Museum for American Art. Arizona:
Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., 2008. Web. 31 Jan. 2009.
http://tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa668.htm

This website tells the interesting story of Alice Neel and her unique and sometimes shocking portraits and paintings of different people. This page addresses the specific issue of how Alice Neel’s life influenced her works of art. A number of her paintings are of her family, including “Isabetta” (1934), and her famous, haunting painting, “Last Sickness” (1953). “Isabetta” portrays Neel’s young daughter, in the nude, with an “assertive” look upon her face, while the aptly titled “Last Sickness” is a remarkably touching, melancholy depiction of Neel’s mother when she was in the final chapter of her life. On a related link to the website, http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa410.htm, there is an actual image of the portrait, with additional information about Alice Neel and some of her other works. This article, like the article by Berger, also talks about how Neel became famous as her paintings increased in popularity and how her fame may have affected her artistic style.

Berger, Michael. “About the Artist: Alice Neel Biography.” Pittsburgh: Michael Berger Gallery,
2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2009. http://www.mbergerart.com/neel/about.htm

This website gives a concise, yet appropriately detailed biography of the curious, sometimes difficult and troubled life of Alice Neel. While the specific topic of her portrait “Final Sickness” is not directly addressed, Michael Berger, the author, delves into the personal struggles that Alice Neel faced throughout her life. Her family went through many turbulent occurrences, including an instance when “her first husband [she had two altogether] in a fit of rage destroyed 300 of her pictures,” according to Berger. He discusses how her style in art and portraiture changed in the later years of her life, as her personal tribulations began to ease. Her art consisted more of family and calmer topic, since, as Berger describes, “The anger and search for causes of her earlier work yielded to a new calm, a sense of humor and love.” Additionally, the author describes how Neel approached the art of portraiture, as she used no photographs and “relied on observation and memory.” Observation at its purest is one of the numerous facets that fascinate me about Alice Neel.

AliceNeel.com: The Website of the Alice Neel Estate. The Estate of Alice Neel, 2009.
Web. 31 Jan. 2009. http://www.aliceneel.com/home/

This website is the online source for almost everything one could ask for about Alice Neel. There is an incredibly detailed time-line style biography of her life throughout the decades, a gallery filled with many of her works, along with a listing of links that lead to more information about the unique American artist. Understandably, out of all the pictures and detailed information, I was surprised to find not a single image of her famous painting, “Last Sickness” on this website. However, I did encounter a strikingly similar Neel painting, also of her mother, appropriately titled “My Mother.” She completed this characteristically emotional, meticulous painting in 1952, only a year prior “Last Sickness.” Upon initially viewing “My Mother,” I immediately recognized the subject of the portrait to be the same elderly woman. Minimal shortcomings aside, this website, operated by the Alice Neel Estate, will be incredibly helpful in studying Neel and observing how her style morphed over the colorful decades of her unique life.