Mme Monet and her son

¶ … Painting "Madame Monet and her Son"

This painting depicts a flower garden. The viewer witnesses the flower garden not as distinct flowers and shapes, but as a spotting of red and pink flowers in a sea of striped green tendrils of plants. The flowers are located in a bed of grass. A woman sits sewing upon a chair, concealed by her voluminous dress. The path winding around the flower garden looks like brown path of pebbles. A young child sits by the woman's feet. The child has a small house and other toys and seems engaged in playing. The painting is in an Impressionist style, as if viewed through a cascade of light and sun of the early day, and the focus is blurred.

Story

Early one fine morning, Madame Monet decided to go for a walk through Paris, to her favorite garden in the city. She had just seen Monsieur Monet off to his banking job in the center of town. The day promised to be fine and clear, and Madam did not wish to waste one moment of the precious spring air, before the weather turned sticky and hot and moving about grew difficult in her long skirts.

Madame Monet took a long time getting ready for her excursion. She needed help getting dressed from her lady's maid in her long, striped morning attire, and from her other maid in arranging her hair in a design that was sufficiently elaborate for the eyes of other Parisian women, but not so eye-catching it would be unseemly for a mother of a small child. She also had to make arrangements with the kitchen staff to prepare her husband's favorite lunch when he came home from the office at noon, a meal of cold chicken, figs, grapes, and cheese.

Then, Madame and her young son Claude went together, through the city. Claude strolled clutching several of his toys, and Madame with her 'working' in her purse. She was sewing a nightgown for what would be Claude's little brother or sister. As the two Monets made their way to the park, they walked in silence. Claude was a quiet and thoughtful child, who often liked looking at the sun or at the ways flowers waved in the breeze rather than running or playing with other children.

Knowing that Claude loved the sight of flowers, Madame chose a park bench near a bush filled with flowers to sit, rest her feet, and do her sewing. After the two had settled near their place in the park, Claude set out his toy village at his feet. He loved to play with the tiny figures, creating pictures with the different shapes. He sat quietly by his mother. His mother felt filled with joy at the peacefulness she felt beside her son. She felt like a good mother-some Parisian women would have taken the few morning hours to shop for fancy things in the market, but she chose to spend her time with her son.

Claude was growing up so quickly. Soon, he would be a man, and do things like his father and leave her for school, and then for other worldly occupations, like marriage to another woman. Sooner yet Madame Monet would be occupied once again with the new, tiny wearer of the nightgown she was sewing. But for now, the mother and son could simply enjoy one another's presence in the garden.

Madame had sewn the blue dress Claude was wearing. Soon she would need to sew long pants for Claude, rather than an infant's dress. Her husband thought that Claude was already getting to old to wear such childish things. But he humored his wife until the next child would be born. Madame had not yet begun to show her 'condition' or to have to let out her own dresses, but it would be soon, she was sure. She smelled the air as she sewed, glad for a moment of freedom before she would have to be confined to the house by her second pregnancy.

Madame wished sometimes that she could be like her husband. Monsieur Monet looked so happy when he headed off to work everyday, whistling in his suit and hat. Claude was such a quiet child. He was not always good company, even though she loved watching and being with him. Still, she wished she could have adult conversation with other people, besides the maid. These thoughts she tried to drive from her mind by staring at the piece of linen before her, and making fine and detailed stitching in its fabric.

Claude was making an imaginary city with his toys. He held the toys so that the light from the sun would cast shadows upon the pebble path. He made different cities, ordering the toys in certain ways. When he grew tired of this, he asked his mother for something else to do. Madame Monet gave him a scrap of fabric from her sewing basket. Claude put his toys to the side and took a white piece of fabric, and let the sun reflect different bits of light from above upon the cloth.