Poznámky
Consumptive (poitrinaire): the 19th-century term for tuberculosis of the lungs. The actual word tuberculose was not yet in common use; poitrine (chest) gave the noun poitrinaire. The diagnosis here — given on 28 December 1882 — is confirmed by two physicians. Marie would die of tuberculosis on 31 October 1884, twenty-two months later. ↩
The holy catacombs at Kiev: the famous Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), one of the most important Orthodox pilgrimage sites in Eastern Europe. The Bashkirtseff family clearly stopped there on their autumn journey and prayed for Marie's health — an act of piety that did not prevent the diagnosis. ↩
Comtesse de Toulouse-Lautrec: Marie's family had a collateral connection with the Toulouse-Lautrec family. The Comte Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec, father of the painter Henri, was Marie's distant relative. The family had a strong hereditary predisposition to tuberculosis. ↩
Potain: Dr. Pierre-Carl Potain (1825–1901), one of the most eminent Parisian physicians of the century, a specialist in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases who taught at the Paris medical faculty. His use of vague formulae (bronchitis, etc.) was a common medical practice when telling patients the truth about tuberculosis was considered psychologically harmful. ↩
The Holy Women (les Saintes femmes): a large religious painting Marie had in mind — the scene at the tomb on Easter morning. She worked on preparatory studies for it but it was never completed. ↩
Frank: the hero of Musset's dramatic poem La Coupe et les Lèvres (1832). Frank's passionate invocation — "I want to live!" — is one of Musset's most celebrated lyric outbursts. Julian citing it in response to Marie's reading of "L'espoir en Dieu" turns their evening into an impromptu literary wake. ↩