When I wrote my first post on a female artist, Artemisia Gentileschi, I knew I would write more like it. I even made a list of women I wanted to cover. Among them was Berthe Morisot, but I kept putting off writing about her. I felt like I had little to say beyond: “Here’s another female artist you might not know about.”
Julian Barnes’ piece about her in the September 12, 2019, issue of The London Review of Books showed me how to approach her work. He gave me my thesis by opening with this statement:
Many artists live with a shadow version of themselves: an awareness of how things might have been if they had done this and not that, if life had made this choice for them rather than that. The road not taken remains at the back of the mind. For some their shadow is an external presence, for others an inner haunting. Few can have experienced it more precisely, with more emotional complexity, than Berthe Morisot.
“The Necessary Talent,” Julian Barnes
While “The Necessary Talent” is the most informative piece I’ve read about her, I think Barnes failed to prove his statement. Most of us, artists or not, live with a shadow version of ourselves. I’m sure that Berthe questioned some of her choices. But I think it was her sister Edma — the artist who might have been — who was particularly haunted by her shadow self. And, perhaps, Edma’s shadow self haunted Berthe, too.
Two talented sisters
Berthe was one of three sisters, all of whom pursued painting, but one of whom, Yves, never went far. Edma, however, was quite talented, perhaps more so than Berthe. But Edma married and, as so many married women did, set her work aside.
Here’s where Barnes’ argument falls apart: Berthe continued to paint, but she, too, eventually married and had a child. Surely Berthe must have engaged in the very human reflection on how her life might have turned out if she had made different choices, but as far as her art went, Berthe did not have to sacrifice marriage and motherhood to continue her career. I would guess she was more likely to have wrestled with questions such as “What would life had been like if Edma and I had been able to continue painting together? If she’d been able to continue to develop her work, would I be living in her shadow now?”
“I know I am worth as much as they”
That doesn’t mean that Berthe didn’t struggle with her choice, as a woman, to pursue a career in art. Although her fellow Impressionists recognized her talent — Degas asked for her contribution to the First Impressionist Exhibition — she still faced discrimination based on her gender. She once wrote, “I don’t think there has ever been a man who treated a woman as an equal, and that’s all I would have asked, for I know I am worth as much as they.” Of her hundreds of paintings, she sold fewer than 50. This despite the fact that one art critic said that Berthe was the only true Impressionist at the Third Impressionist Exhibition.
Despite her lack of success relative to her male peers, we are fortunate to have Berthe’s work, which can be found in many museums around the world (see the list of her works at the end of this Wikipedia article). But the story of Berthe and Edma gives us plenty to ponder. How many women have abandoned a promising career because they had to choose between pursuing their talent or marrying and having children? How many women today still must wrestle with their choices, perhaps holding back their potential because of the assumption that they would do most of the housework and child-raising, whether or not they worked outside the home?
I encourage you to search out more of Berthe’s work and think about what other beautiful paintings we might have today had Edma also chosen to continue to develop her artistic talent.
9 replies on “Berthe and Edma Morisot: A True Story About Women’s Choices”
Thank you for all of your work on this, Kate. It’s a beautiful and thought provoking presentation. I appreciated the questions you bring up and also for the thoughts I had while I lingered over the pictures you featured. I now have only more questions which are along the lines of how can we help make this better for the future for young women who are coming up; including assisting them with thinking through their choices and possible outcomes of each possibility? (just an abstract question to ponder if you or anyone else wishes)
Thanks, Linda! You do ask a good question. I think in many ways Tiffany Dufu attempted to assist young women with thinking through their choices when she wrote “Drop the Ball,” but beyond recommending that book, I’m not sure what I would say to a woman navigating career and parenting choices. It’s not easy, and I have no doubt it’s even more challenging now with the pandemic. I am grateful I’m not raising a young child right now, and my heart goes out to people who are trying juggle child-rearing and a career.
Thank you, Kate. Your book recommendations are always good. I agree; I’m glad I’m not raising a young child right now also. I think the culture we’ve both known has offered many choices for women, but also obstacles; many of them subtle. Our culture expects a lot and it’s almost impossible not to absorb that. So many of us, place extremely high standards on ourselves and consequently, feel more stress and anxiety than ever before. Listening to educators and others who work with young people, that ‘s a big concern they share, that I have also. My heart, too, goes out to those who are juggling raising children or anything else that might burden them. Keep up the good work – it’s appreciated!
I love Berthe’s painting of her sister and baby, “The Cradle.” It does make me think of choices, but in a somewhat different light. I have talents in other areas that I set aside to totally embrace motherhood. I have many times thought of what I might’ve or could’ve done, but now I’m leaving the greatest legacy, many children and grandchildren. In our time women can more easily choose both careers and motherhood, but I believe children fair better when mothers put children above careers. And mothers themselves may be more happy and fulfilled. I find it interesting that Berthe died in her 50’s and Edna in her 80’s. “The Cradle” gives me great peace, and I do not regret my decision to stay home with my many children.
“The Cradle” is a beautiful painting!
I do think that the work of raising a child is well worth while. Those who wish to and are able to devote themselves full-time to family, friends, and/or volunteer work are making a good choice, but I don’t believe it’s the only good choice, and for many it may not be a choice. When my child was young, I dreamed of staying home, but it wasn’t an option for me. I ended up being grateful for that, because when my husband went through a period of unemployment, my own career provided our family with some much-needed stability. And while I’m biased, I think our child has become a pretty stellar young adult, both thoughtful and caring. Looking back at my life as someone who juggled full-time work and motherhood, I’m happy with how my life has turned out, even though I wanted something different when I was younger. Perhaps the secret is seeing the good in what we have?
Thank you for your reply! Yes, sadly, many women don’t have a choice, and often don’t even have fulfilling careers. They simply have to work a job. And I realize that it’s usually not an either/or decision. Like you, many have to juggle both. Unfortunately, our modern society seems to diminish the value of motherhood and exalt women’s freedom to pursue careers. It’s become the norm, and for many I sense that it is not freedom at all. That’s what saddens me. Our family would have greatly benefited financially from both my husband and I working; we did make a choice and lived simply, on very little, for many years. For a period of time I did do secretarial work for our own business and was able to pursue some interests and finish a couple degrees over the years, but my main focus was our children, and consequently we were blessed with many. I’m gad that you and many others were able to juggle career and children. I know it is a difficult task. I was moved recently by viewing Berthe’s painting “Julie at the Table” (Berthe’s daughter) in a private home collection, which prompted me to research a little, and I came upon your article. It got me thinking about choices again. There is good to be found in every situation. Thank you.
Thank you so much for commenting on my blog post. I appreciate it! Best to you!
Thank you for writing about Berthe Morisot! I’ve just returned from DC where I visited the Impressionism 1874 exhibit. I visited many galleries there to see the paintings of Berthe Morisot up close.
Sorry for the slow response. I’ve been preoccupied with care for a family member. That’s great to hear about the exhibit! Wish I could get there to see it.