On warm evenings Jestine and I often walked along the river. It was nearly summer and Frédéric had been gone for several months. Still, he came to me in my dreams. He lay down beside me, entwined with me, and I could hear the sound of bees. Time was moving so quickly. Soon it would be July and the sky would be blue and heat would rise off the gravel paths in the Tuileries in radiant waves. I’d brought the roses in my garden with me to my new address and planted them in a courtyard. As the season went on they would grow pale, withering in the bright sunlight, and then, if they were carefully pruned and watered, they would have a second flowering in August. Jestine and I would sit in the wicker chairs and watch to see whether they bloomed red or white.
We liked the quiet of the river and often took the path along the Seine. Paris was never a disappointment, although often we talked about the weather back home, and how we could sit out all night long and never once be chilled, how when the rain came down I kept my window open. One evening as we were strolling the weather changed suddenly, surprising us, as it did on our island when the wind came from Africa. All at once there was a driving green rain, so cold we shivered. This was not the rain of our island. Here it fell like a curtain. We could barely see as we plunged into a tunnel and stood there laughing in the dark. We’d run so swiftly we were out of breath. I was wearing my feathered hat and Frédéric’s black coat. I was never without it. I wondered what I would do once the summer was upon us. Perhaps I would wear his shirt, the one I slept in now, beneath my clothes and close to my heart.
We couldn’t stay in the tunnel forever, so we darted into the rain, holding Frédéric’s coat above our heads as we’d once held up leaves to be our umbrellas. Now it was the leaves from the chestnut trees that were drifting down, sticking to the pavement, a slick, coppery carpet. Eventually the rain became a pale, cold drizzle. Everything was so green, the way it was when we hid in the tall grass, unnoticed by everyone but the yellow birds darting above us. We found a painted wooden bench for ourselves and swept off the rain with our hands.
The leaves on the shrubs turned silver as dusk crossed the sky, the grass was purple. We were so still none of the passersby noticed us as they hurried along the wet gravel, intent on being on their way. Jestine and I had practiced silence on the nights when we waited for the turtles. In the tall grass we could disappear if we wanted to. We could watch the hillsides turn red, one flower at a time. We had seen so much, but we had never seen the turtle-girl until now. She was there in the river, the woman who had spent a lifetime with the turtles but had arms and legs as we did and long, moss-black hair she had wound into mourning plaits. She had come across the sea from the place that was our home, alongside our ship. I’d seen her footsteps on the bow of the boat and in the hallways of our building. All over Paris lanterns were burning. It was the hour when the haint blue sky dissolved into darkness and the bats flew above us. We watched the woman between worlds climb out of the water and walk through the park. Our sister, who could not decide whether or not to be human, sat down with us at last.
Afterword
Rachel Pizzarro’s life in my imagined story mirrors the known facts about her as closely as possible.
Rachel Monsanto Pomié Petit Pizzarro was born in 1795 on St. Thomas, where her father, Moses Monsanto Pomié, was a prominent merchant, having fled in the 1790s from Saint-Domingue during the revolution there. They were Danish citizens whose families had come from Spain, Portugal, and France. In 1818 Rachel married Isaac Petit, a French Jew of Marrano heritage. He had previously been married and had eight children with his first wife, Esther. Three were surviving when Rachel became their stepmother. By the time Isaac died, in 1824 at the age of fifty, he and Rachel had three more children together and one born after his death. In 1825 Frédéric Pizzarro, then twenty-two, came to St. Thomas to run the family business. He and Rachel fell instantly in love despite the community disapproval and the synagogue’s refusal to marry them because of their family connection. Despite the scandal created by their relationship, which was considered highly improper, they eventually married and became the parents of four, including Jacob Abraham Camille Pizzarro (Pissarro), who was to become one of the fathers of Impressionism.
The stories of the Pizzarros’ West Indian employees, neighbors, and friends are invented, although Moses Pomié was said to have been carried to safety in a basket, much like his biblical namesake, by a slave who traveled with him when he fled to St. Thomas. Rachel Pizzarro is thought to have brought a maid who was a freed slave with her when she came to Paris at the age of sixty, never again returning to St. Thomas.
Once in Paris, Pissarro (who changed to the more French spelling in 1882) studied with Corot and attended the Academie Suisse, where he met Claude Monet. He was then introduced to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille and later to Paul Gauguin. He became a father figure, as well as a mentor, to Cézanne. He fell in love with Julie Vellay, a maid in his parents’ home. His family disapproved because of her social class and religion and never accepted her.
In 1870 the Pissarros fled to London to avoid the Franco-Prussian War (with Rachel, now widowed, living close enough to see her grandchildren, to whom she was devoted). Camille and Julie wed there in 1871. Pissarro had asked for Rachel’s permission to wed—she wrote letters giving and then retracting her consent. When Camille and Julie returned to France, they found their house had been used as a slaughterhouse and was in ruins. Fifteen hundred of Pissarro’s paintings had been destroyed (several of Monet’s stored there were destroyed as well). Rachel continued to help support the family throughout her lifetime. In 1874 Pissarro’s beloved daughter Minette, of whom he painted several moving portraits, and who was named Jeanne-Rachel for her grandmothers, tragically died at the age of nine due to a respiratory infection. In all, Julie and Camille had eight children, two of whom died.
Rachel Monsanto Pomié Petit Pizzarro died in Paris in 1889, at the age of ninety-four. Toward the end of her life she was cared for by Julie, though she still refused to fully accept her as a daughter-in-law. It is interesting to note that when Julie’s oldest son decided to become an artist, Julie was said to react much as Rachel had when her son had the same desire, with displeasure and the hope he would find a more reasonable career. She knew how her husband and family had struggled financially, forced to depend on her mother-in-law. Her son did not listen to her and became a well-known painter.
Pissarro left his Jewish heritage behind, perhaps because of the stigma and stress placed on his parents and their family when they were ostracized from their community in St. Thomas. His mother warned him against being political when he thought of fighting in the Franco-Prussian War. “You are not French,” she is said to have told him. “Don’t do anything rash.”I But in 1894, during the Dreyfus Affair, Pissarro could no longer avoid the issue of his background. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was convicted by a military court of treason for allegedly passing French secrets to German intelligence. Evidence pointed to Dreyfus’s innocence, but France became divided into two camps—those who supported the military and those who wanted justice for the Jewish captain. Monet and Pissarro supported the search for the truth. Against Dreyfus were some of Pissarro’s oldest friends, including Cézanne, Degas, and Renoir. The affair became laced with anti-Semitism. When Émile Zola wrote his famous essay “J’Accuse” in 1898, anti-Jewish riots broke out. Pissarro wrote him a letter of admiration for this act of bravery. Degas and Renoir continued to shun Pissarro and did not attend his funeral.
Camille Pissarro’s childhood and school years spent with working people and the children of slaves formed his political and personal attitudes. As an outcast, he was sympathetic to those who were rejected by society. Pissarro thought of himself as an anarchist and an atheist and lived his life as an artist and a workingman, an outsider who did not let anything but his art define him. He never returned to the West Indies, but the island of St. Thomas and the people he knew there influenced his art, his philosophy, and his l
ife. He died in Paris in November 1903, the same year the Louvre bought two of his paintings. He is considered to be one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
* * *
I. Rachel Pizzarro quoted in Private Lives of the Impressionists (New York: Harper, 2006), p. 78.
Acknowledgments
My gratitude to Carolyn Reidy, Jonathan Karp, and Marysue Rucci for many kindnesses. This book would not exist without your faith and support.
Many thanks to Amanda Urban and Ron Bernstein for good advice, love, and patience.
Thank you
to Joyce Tenneson for your glorious photograph,
to Kate Painter for amazing assistance,
to Susan Brown for copyediting expertise,
to Elizabeth Breeden for help along the way,
to Deborah Thompson for many facts checked,
and especially to Pamela Painter, for helping me to understand my own novel and bring it to life.
And to my son, Jacob, for all you have taught me.
Reading Group Guide
The Marriage of Opposites
Alice Hoffman
Introduction
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things comes a spellbinding tale of forbidden love, family secrets, and unimaginable beauty. Set in St. Thomas in the early 1800s, The Marriage of Opposites follows one of history’s lesser known women: headstrong and rebellious Rachel Pizzarro—the mother of one of Impressionism’s founding artists, Camille Pissarro.
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the title. Which marriage or relationship does “The Marriage of Opposites” refer to? Where in the novel do you first recognize the title’s significance?
2. In Chapter 1, Rachel says, “Perhaps that was what my mother disliked most. I resembled her. I could not help but wonder if for some women, that was the worst sin of all.” Discuss Rachel’s relationship with her mother, her own stepchildren, and female relationships around her. What sort of resemblance does she mean? Compare these relationships with the one Rachel has with her son, Camille.
3. “. . . on this island strength was a necessity”. Consider the power dynamics in the novel, from mental strength to willpower, physical strength versus financial dominance. Discuss what is meant when Rachel’s father tells her that her marriage is “a combining of strengths”. For these characters, which strength is most valuable?
4. Discuss the importance of identity in the novel. What are the roles of religion, race, and class as they contribute to each character’s definition of self?
5. Weather and the natural world figure strongly in The Marriage of Opposites. Consider how Rachel, Frédéric, and Camille view the rain and the heat. Discuss the differences or similarities in their points of view. How do descriptions of weather define life on St. Thomas and life in Paris?
6. There are many sorts of love that are “forbidden” in the novel. Why does the community disapprove of Rachel and Frédéric’s relationship? Why does Rachel later disapprove of her son’s relationship with a working member of her household, when she herself has been so close to Adelle and Jestine?
7. The mystical world plays a key part in life on the island. Often, characters speak of spells, spirits, and ghosts and use herbs to cure emotional and physical distress. Compare the role of spirituality on St. Thomas and in Paris. At what point does the mystical distinguish itself from Jewish tradition?
8. Explore the relationship Madame Halevy forms with Camille. Why do you think he is so interested in her and the stories she has to tell?
9. Discuss this line from page 272: “But a servant, no matter how beloved, was not a friend, and a slave was a shadow, nothing more.” What did you learn about slavery and servant culture in St. Thomas in this novel? Do you feel it is similar to American slave-owner, servant-worker relationships? Can there be true friendships in a relationship where one person has more power than the other?
10. “Always pay heed to the woman who comes before you. If he’s treated her badly, he will treat you much the same”. How does Rachel’s understanding of Madame Petit affect the way she raises her children? Does this statement grant Lydia any sense of clarity on her father? Discuss how Rachel, Lydia, and other women understand the roles of the women who came before them.
11. The Marriage of Opposites contains a fluid definition of family. Many characters, both male and female, have illegitimate children who are unacknowledged, abandoned, or cast off. Discuss the different manifestations of family in this novel. Were you surprised to learn who Aaron and Jestine really are? Why or why not?
12. In the afterword, Alice Hoffman explains briefly how she came across the story of Pissarro’s mother. How was your reading of the novel or opinion of it affected by the knowledge that this is based on a true story?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. “Like the breakfast he’d had, the landscape was a familiar part of him that surfaced in his dreams and in his art”. With your book club, research Camille Pissarro’s artwork on the Internet or, if you are able, visit a local museum that features his work. Discuss how the novel’s setting is manifested in his work. Is The Marriage of Opposites characteristic of Pissarro’s style?Are there paintings that remind you of scenes in the novel?
2. Select one of Alice Hoffman’s other works, such as The Museum of Extraordinary Things or The Dovekeepers, for your next book club meeting. How are these works similar or dissimilar to The Marriage of Opposites.
3. Research the colonization of St. Thomas—especially the history of the Jews there—and native spiritual culture. Does anything in your research surprise you?
4. For your next book group, select a book about other “invisible” women in history. Try to discover the stories of women in your own family. Interview older relatives or read about history of women in your own culture.
5. To learn more about Alice Hoffman, visit her website at www.alicehoffman.com or connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alicehoffmanauthor.
A Discussion with Alice Hoffman
Q. Though Camille Pissarro is globally known and celebrated, few people know this part of his history. What inspired you to write about Rachel Pizzarro? Where did you first learn about her?
A. I was at an exhibit of Pissarro’s work at the art museum at Williams College. It was there I first realized he was a Jew and had been born in St. Thomas. I’d always assumed he was French, as he was one of the fathers of Impressionism. I then wanted to discover what else I didn’t know. When I began reading about the scandal his mother’s marriage had caused I knew I had found my story.
Q. Your female protagonists are always formidable. How did you find and develop Rachel’s voice?
A. Luckily, my characters come to me fully formed. After reading about Rachel she was alive in my imagination and she spoke directly to me.
Q. The title of the novel The Marriage of Opposites could apply to almost any marriage—or relationship, for that matter—in the work. How did you select that title?
A. “The Marriage of Opposites” is an alchemical term—to create any substance or circumstance one has to combine opposite materials, in love and in all things. This term seemed so right for the marriage of Camille Pissarro’s parents, but also for many other relationships in the novel, and then in a broader historical sense—that people from all over the world are thrown together on this island and that they create a marriage of their cultures.
Q. The Museum of Extraordinary Things was set in New York City at the turn of the twentieth century, The Dovekeepers was set in biblical Judea, and The Marriage of Opposites is set in the 1800s. How do you create such rich and varied historical settings? What was your research and writing process for The Marriage of Opposites?
A. I usually read everything I can, then begin to write, then research again. It’s a process of layering fact and fiction. I want all the historical references to be correct, but I am also creating characters, both the ones based on hist
orical characters and the ones who are completely imagined.
Q. You’ve penned several dozen novels for both children and adults, as well as a memoir. Do you have a preference for a particular age group? Does a specific theme seem to weave its way into works for one age versus another? What do you see as the difference between writing in each genre?