Olympia's Look Response

In Susan Vreeland’s short story, Olympia’s Look, the main character is Suzanne Manet. The story is set shortly after the death of the great artist, Edouard Manet, who was Suzanne’s husband. In this story, I feel that there is a drastic shift in Suzanne’s personality and character from before Edouard died to after his death. Before his death, Suzanne seems reserved and quiet. She loved Edouard and was very devoted to him, so much so in fact, that she did not want to confront him about his many mistresses for fear of a large argument. She turned “a blind eye every time he burst into the apartment flushed and elated, passing it off as the joy he took in painting” (Vreeland 75). When she finds a romantic note addressed to Isabelle, one of Manet’s models, from Edouard, she tries to place it somewhere where Edouard would find it in hopes that maybe he would bring it up in conversation. She dares not approach him about it. “If he sees it, she thought, we’ll talk about it. If he doesn’t, we won’t” (Vreeland 77). I like this passage because it is simple and to the point. It fully demonstrates her passive nature. She doesn’t want to be the one to start anything, but would rather have her husband bring it up. When Edouard Manet dies, it seems as though she makes a conscious effort to change her personality. “She would be alone. She’d have to get over her anger, timidity, and grief, all at the same time. She’d have to speak her mind. She couldn’t retreat into her music” (Vreeland 77). Suzanne seems to be in control of her own life when her husband dies. No longer is she the quiet, timid housewife in the background. She is much more demanding and has a desire to have her voice heard. This new side of Suzanne is evident when she goes to see Victorine, Edouard Manet’s favorite mistress and model. She confronts Victorine about her relationship with Edouard. When Victorine says that she “collaborated with him,” Suzanne seems to scoff and replies, “A mere commercial venture. A deal. ‘You give me what I need and I give you what you need.’ Nothing freely offered. Nothing bountifully given from an overflowing well of feeling. Everything measured. Meted out” (Vreeland 86). I believe that Suzanne is a stronger woman after Manet dies. She speaks her mind and is no longer afraid of confrontation. Connecting with the next prompt, I believe that Suzanne has more of a free will when Edouard dies, whereas before she was only reacting to the forces and events in her life. However, she chose to react to them by staying in the background and not confronting her problems. I thought this story was well written. Honestly, I’m not too picky about what I read. I thought this had a pretty interesting storyline and I enjoyed it. From what we learned in class in the lecture on Manet, it seemed that there were a lot of factual elements in the story, especially dealing with the paintings.