The Color Line by Igiaba Scego

Author:Igiaba Scego [Scego, Igiaba]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Other Press
Published: 2023-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

TO DISTRACT HERSELF from the misery of his absence, Lafanu set herself to working with increased alacrity on her first mythological painting. She wanted to surpass herself. To be done with the cute little portraits of repellent women, to be done with the enervating exercises she performed by way of finding her own style. She wanted to be done with acting the dilettante. She wanted to be an artist.

She worked tirelessly for days. And the days became weeks, and then an entire month. Frederick was still away. He sent a few terse letters. He was always in a hurry. He didn’t have time to write. But he never forgot to send her, between the lines, signs of his deep and lasting affection. There was an intimacy in those missives that made Lafanu jump as a tarantula might. Her picture was proceeding. Layer after layer. Across rivers of second thoughts. Never satisfied with what she’d done, Lafanu made many corrections. But then, in spite of her fears, the nymphs and their goddess Diana, fleshy like one of Rembrandt’s women, emerged from the waters of the artist’s discontent.

Lizzie was satisfied. Her pupil was making great progress. Of course, she was far from perfect. But her teacher could detect in those nymphs and in that Diana the light of what Lafanu could become. And every time she did so, she remembered that Frederick Bailey was lying in wait to deliver Lafanu from her talent. Lizzie would bite her lips until she couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t understand why members of their sex had to sacrifice their talents to men.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.