Mely in Vignaux

In the letter described in the previous post, Papa also talked about me, his two-year old daughter. My “terrible twos” must have been hard on him from what he wrote. In this picture taken at about the same time, you can see me wearing my new sturdy shoes that he bought for me for 89 Francs when Nana and I arrived in Toulouse on July 24th. (Dad’s accounts are the best way to track his life and perhaps will be worth a separate entry sometime.)

“Mely teaches me much. Sometimes she says and does exactly the opposite of what she wants and what she should. The concept of Original Sin suddenly became clear to me because of that. One attains the knowledge of sin – in all areas – only through contradiction. Mely’s contradictory spirit shows good promise. She will perhaps not be any comfortable contemporary, but perhaps one who creates something.

In the meantime, Mely is still very dependent on her nursemaid, and is near tears when she goes away for a few minutes, to fetch water, for example. That will disappear indeed only when the big separation comes.

Sometimes Mely knows very well how to keep herself busy. In a moment she sweeps the entry.”