Response to Vreeland's 'Olympia's Look'

A husband’s death is a terrible thing for a woman to be faced with. However, a wife can be nearly as grief-stricken by a husband’s betrayal. Suzanne Manet had both of these realities forced upon her. As the wife of an artist, Suzanne was constantly cast into doubt regarding Édouard’s fidelity when presented with his many sensual paintings of female models. The harsh proof of his inconstancy came in the form of a disease, syphilis, that was responsible for Édouard’s death. Ironically, it was Suzanne who stood by his side through his suffering, despite the fact that the disease was the result of the artist’s disloyalty. Yet she did stay by his side. She was his wife. And this simple fact, above all, defined Suzanne Manet’s character. For eleven years she waited for Édouard’s father to die so that they could be married. Eleven years is a long time for such a secret to be kept and it would have been very easy for Édouard to abandon Suzanne and find a more suitable wife. Yet Édouard, no matter how many other mistresses he took, stuck with Suzanne. He must have truly loved her. This small assurance was what sustained Suzanne through her anguish. She was loyal to him, though the opposite cannot be said. She vowed to “keep the peace.” However, she cannot be criticized for being oblivious and overly doting. Suzanne suffered in silence. She was not forgiving, and some of her jealousy and hurt came out in the end. Her character was strong and she achieved what few women could possibly do. She put her faith in the fact that her husband loved her longest, if not exclusively.

Several passages in Vreeland’s short story Olympia’s Look stood out to me as both descriptions of Suzanne’s character and as evidence of her trials. The scene in which she discussed Édouard’s paintings with Albert was the first indication of the quiet jealousy Suzanne had always felt towards his models. In pages 72-76, Suzanne tells Albert her own private names for each of Édouard’s paintings. The names were demeaning towards the models, but served as reminders to Suzanne that these women were prostitutes and courtesans whereas she was The Wife. In this passage, the reader gets a sense of Suzanne’s own self-consciousness as she compares the less than admirable paintings of herself with those of the beautiful models. Additionally, Suzanne gives us a clear impression of her own feelings when she tells Albert, “the Dutch may be tolerant, but they’re not particularly forgiving” (75). Outwardly, she appeared tolerant of Édouard’s indulgences, but no matter how quiet she was about his betrayal, she did not forgive him or his models for it.

Another striking passage occurred on pages 79-80 when Suzanne is describing Édouard’s funeral and all of his model-lovers who attended. After a long description of the many women, a single sentence stands alone: “any one of them could have been the one to have caused his death” (80). This is what sets Suzanne apart, and, at least in her opinion, places her above Édouard’s mistresses. While one of these women at his funeral could have given the artist the disease that took his life, Suzanne stood virtuously above these women as she cared for him in his final days of pain.

Suzanne actions are primarily in response to the events unfolding in her life. For example, when she finds Édouard’s love letter to Isabelle, instead of confronting him with it she places it in her book with the intention that if he found the note they would discuss the situation. Her role as a dutiful wife came with her husband’s sickness. Also, she never would have confronted Victorine Meurent if she had not received her request for money. That prompted Suzanne to visit Victorine which lead to her perverse description of Édouard’s final hours. This outburst was a result of the resentful tension that Suzanne had hidden inside herself for years.

Vreeland’s writing seemed to reflect the thoughts and feelings of most any woman placed in Suzanne’s situation, at least from that day and age. Suzanne’s repressed feelings were relatively well represented, including her struggle with the idea of her self-worth. However, the story leaves me wondering whether Suzanne even felt jealous of the models or if this is merely a more modern interpretation of the situation. It was not uncommon in that era for men to take mistresses. Also, would an artist’s models have attended his funeral? Small discrepancies such as these are a reminder that Vreeland’s story is fiction, merely a story created to fill in the gaps between existing people, paintings and letters.