Olympia's Look

Caring, tolerant, and loyal are all words that describe Suzanne Manet in Susan Vreeland’s short story, Olympia’s Look. At first glance Suzanne may seem like a simply housewife whose sole purpose in life was to fulfill her husband’s wishes, but that is just not the case. As the story unfolds Suzanne learns that she is a much stronger woman than she realized and is finally able to find her inner voice. Suzanne’s shift from living a passive life to being in control was brought about by the same person who she loved with all her heart and ironically made her passive in the first place, Édouard. Suzanne was so madly in love with Édouard that she would do anything for him. This included pretending her son was her brother, living in secret with Édouard for many years because he would not tell his father, and ignoring his many indiscretions.
The first spark of life seen in Suzanne is when her nephew, Albert, comes to visit her after the funeral. Suzanne wants copies of her husband’s paintings and lets it slip that she had nicknamed all of them. Her defiant spirit that had long ago been silenced was begging for the chance to verbalize her opinions of her husband’s models. Suzanne was not the type of woman to walk around with a blind eye to the world and she knew perfectly well that he husband was having affairs with those prostitutes. But, in her heart she loved Édouard and believed that he loved her more than any of his mistresses.
Suzanne’s forceful side again shines through when she received the letter from Victorine requesting money. This passage was written in such a way that the reader can actually feel the tension mounting between the two women. Suzanne is not going to let Victorine live blissfully unaware as to Édouard’s cause of death. She wants Victorine to feel the same way she does but then realizes that she never will because Victorine never truly loved Édouard and was only involved in mere “collaborations” with him.
Suzanne appeared to have let her environment shape her life in the beginning when Édouard was alive but after his untimely death, she began to regain control. Even with something as simple as starting the fire, Suzanne opted to do it on her own instead of letting her maid do it for her. She also decided that she was going to make sure her husband’s mistresses knew the real reason he died and that they took part in his death from Syphilis.
Vreeland’s story, Olympia’s Look, was a much more enjoyable read when compared to her other short story, The Yellow Jacket. While both stories required the reader to have prior knowledge of the painter’s lives for total comprehension, Olympia’s Look was easier to follow and flowed well. Although most of the story seemed to be comprised of facts about Édouard and Suzanne Manet’s lives, it is still a fictitious story. Did Suzanne really intercept a love letter from Édouard or was that simply created to display her character? Also, did the Olympia really never sell in the auction or was that just added for extra drama?