Still Life by Mary Gordon

Pierre Bonnard, Self-Portrait in the Bathroom Mirror

Mary Gordon beautifully pairs her mother's decline with the paintings of Bonnard, juxtaposing the delicacy of human life with the immortality of a painting. There is a sense of longing for the saturated colors that Bonnard used in her everyday life--especially in the nursing home where her mother lives. Gordon idolizes Bonnard for his ability to take something that maybe isn't so beautiful into something vibrant and alive with joy and color, and seems to wish she had this ability too. She brings her mother flowers and colorful food, hoping to emulate Bonnard and also hoping that her mother would notice. In the end she realizes that life and color are fleeting, and even Bonnard cannot overcome the darkness of lifelessness.

I'm going to show this article to my grandmother. Her mother is in her 90's right now, and declining. She forgets now when we visit, and spends much of her time daydreaming about something or nothing, it's hard to tell. My brother is in the Coast Guard, and he went to visit her in uniform one day. The next time he came in after, she told him "I just met the nicest man in uniform the other day, I think you two would get along very well!" But we knew she had just forgotten that it was actually my brother both times. In her younger years she was energetic and quick-witted, but now she can barely remember her family. I feel blessed to know my great-grandmother, but it's so hard to see her failing.