This lovely painting reminds me of young Jimmie and I. The young boy is oblivious to his sister's feelings and is looking carelessly at the ground while the older sister is trying to direct the two of them with fear in her eyes. I did not want his innocence to be taken away from him so I would not allow him to see the pain that I went through for him. Through my toughest times even though so much was changing all around me there was one thing that was constant-- family. Jimmie was my only family. He was always there for me and he was my biggest supporter. The artist of this painting paid very close attention to detail in order to make the children the main focus. By having a plain background and giving the children very bright and elegant clothing it brings the viewer closer in to see the two children. Much like that little girl, for most of my life I was dressed to look wealthy and I was set up for the perfect life. My sad teenage self was dressed in wealth but much like the girl in the picture I was falling apart inside. However, I had to stay strong so that Jimmie and I could grow from our situation. Being thrown into the lion’s den at the time when just emerging into adulthood is terrifying but even from a young age I knew that I could not accept handouts. The only way that I would be able to make myself happy was to not rely on anyone else for any aspect of my life. I worked long and hard hours but in the end I do not regret anything.
Editorial Commentary: This painting depicts a wealthy child during the 1890’s. It shows that an innocent child with money can still feel empty inside. Even from a young age there was pressure on young girls to act and dress a certain way. As much as young girls just want to enjoy childhood, they already have responsibilities that they have to keep up with. However, as shown in the painting, this same pressure was not put on young boys. This can be seen through the way the young boy seems unaware of what is going on around him. Mary sees the good in this picture because she is too kind in order to go into full detail as to what happened and how she felt as an orphan attempting to raise her younger brother once her father died. The fear in this little girl’s eyes matches the fear that Mary felt when she had no clue of what was going to happen in the future. What would happen when her father’s money was gone? What would happen if she couldn't find a job? What if Jimmie blamed everything on her? This painting shows how the two orphans were walking blindly into the unknown even when they had so many odds against them. Specifically for women during this time it was so difficult to earn enough money in order to support themselves but since she also had to support her younger brother and send him off to school she was under a lot of stress in order to make the right decisions so that her tiny family would not fall apart.
Citation: John Everett Millais, The Girlhood of St. Theresa, 1893, oil on canvas. Private Collection