"Olympia's Look" by Susan Vreeland

The short story Olympia’s Look by Susan Vreeland tells the story of Suzanne Manet, the wife of Édouard Manet in the days after his death. While asking her nephew to copy her husband’s paintings of beautiful models, she remembers each of the women; particularly the courtesan, Victorine Meurent. Though she has known of Édouard’s many affairs, Suzanne continues to be a loving and attentive wife until he dies from Syphilis. On page 83, she says that the nude painting for which Victorine posed “had been the private trial of her last twenty years, had made her hungry in intimacy in all things―from handing him his scissors for his meticulous beard trimming, to nursing him with bedpans and warm milk”(83). But, though she would never admit this to her husband, Suzanne resents every woman Édouard pursues and wishes he showed her the same affection he bestows upon his young, beautiful models. From the way Vreeland has portrayed her, one would guess that Suzanne projects a façade of confidence to the world, but suffers silently and pines for the love and affection that she does not have. She is a woman who loves her husband faithfully, even though he repeatedly betrayed her.
At the beginning of the story, Suzanne greets her nephew, Albert, after the death of her husband Édouard. As she is talking to him, Suzanne notices that Albert reminds her of Édouard, and the revelation startles her. She imagines she is looking at a young Édouard and even manages to smile as she remembers him. This is my favorite passage of the story because it is sweet in a very sad way. Even after all her husband has put her through, Suzanne is still able to think of him as the young man she fell in love with many years ago.
Near the end of the story, Suzanne reads from Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of Painters, Sculptors, and Artists trying to learn whether it was common for artists to take their models as lovers. She reads a passage about Fra Filippo Lippi and his mistress, a former nun. As she reads, Suzanne silently compares Lippi to her late husband and pities the poor nun of Lippi’s affections. This selection reveals how much of Suzanne’s thoughts are consumed with her husband’s indiscretions and how she pities herself for choosing him. I liked this passage because the love affair of Fra Fillipo Lippi paralleled that of Manet and gave a very clear view into the grief and jealousy Suzanne had suffered.
Suzanne’s life and her view of the world have been greatly affected by her experiences. She had to endure her husband’s infidelities and watch as he showed his young models the attention she felt she deserved as his wife. As a Dutch woman, Suzanne reassures herself, she was peaceful and tolerant of her husband’s affairs, but strong enough not to forgive him. However, Édouard’s flirtations made her more affectionate and loving in the hopes that he would show her the same courtesy. The lack of affection Suzanne received from her husband undoubtedly influenced her character, causing her to long for the love she was denied. But, she still maintained her free will. When faced with a similar situation, many women would have left the marriage, but Suzanne stayed with her husband out of love and devotion.
I thought Olympia’s Look was very well written. Susan Vreeland evoked empathy for Suzanne with the emotional language of her memories and thoughts. The only criticism I had when I read the story was that it would be difficult for someone who was not knowledgeable about Manet’s work to fully appreciate the story. His paintings are alluded to so often (in fact the entire story is centered around them), that many people would not be able to understand some important moments in the story. But, I still enjoyed the beautiful writing and the emotion Vreeland brought to her characters.