Welcome to the Just Beautiful Newsletter where I write about making space for beauty and justice to meet, share about our journey from tinyhouse living to a home on 3 acres, and give you too many links. Right now, I’m focusing on making space for creativity in the midst of motherhood and other such chaos. If a friend forwarded you this email, hit subscribe to get the newsletter each month.
I contemplated this question quite often in music school. It seemed to me, that in the studying of composers and great musicians there really were only two categories. There were those who worshipped the Creator and thus were able to withstand the pressure of being a co-creator. Or it seemed to me that eventually the same creative genius eventually eats one from the inside if not rightly ordered. The pressure of being the one that creates seems to be too much if we think it comes only from ourselves. I don’t know that it answers the question of these mothers being judged more harshly, but I wonder if perhaps motherhood also tethers to reality in a way that those with the “luxury” of going off by themselves don’t experience.
Loved this article, Steph! I have also often wrestled all of these questions, especially the question of greatness (excellence) and goodness (character) in people and whether or not the two can (or very often do) co-exist. As you make clear, it seems to be hard to give what it takes to be an excellent public anything, much less a writer, and keep it together in other areas of life. Mandela sacrificed his family for a democratic South Africa. Einstein's wife (and apparent collaborator on his special theory of relativity) divorced him after he was unfaithful to her (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-forgotten-life-of-einsteins-first-wife/). Maybe the problem is not the "fallen" heroes but our misunderstanding about human nature. Maybe we shouldn't have heroes at all. There is only One who is truly great and truly good. Could we redefine greatness somehow and be more honest about what we write at the bottom of our statues and in our history books? Public heroes probably all have secret sins. Secret, unsung heroes don't need to be perfect. They are too busy being good to become great. I think I am ok with that.
Stephanie, this topic seems so relevant given what is happening in the (Disunited) States of America right now. Sadly, women have been discriminated against for centuries, and the attitudes towards artistic women who happen to be not so nice people comes as no surprise. It's not just male artists who get a pass on bad behavior, but also politicians, businessmen, scientists, actors, and clergymen, etc. Now I want to Google famous males in history who excelled at their craft, but were also good people. Are there any? Love your articles!
I contemplated this question quite often in music school. It seemed to me, that in the studying of composers and great musicians there really were only two categories. There were those who worshipped the Creator and thus were able to withstand the pressure of being a co-creator. Or it seemed to me that eventually the same creative genius eventually eats one from the inside if not rightly ordered. The pressure of being the one that creates seems to be too much if we think it comes only from ourselves. I don’t know that it answers the question of these mothers being judged more harshly, but I wonder if perhaps motherhood also tethers to reality in a way that those with the “luxury” of going off by themselves don’t experience.
Loved this article, Steph! I have also often wrestled all of these questions, especially the question of greatness (excellence) and goodness (character) in people and whether or not the two can (or very often do) co-exist. As you make clear, it seems to be hard to give what it takes to be an excellent public anything, much less a writer, and keep it together in other areas of life. Mandela sacrificed his family for a democratic South Africa. Einstein's wife (and apparent collaborator on his special theory of relativity) divorced him after he was unfaithful to her (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-forgotten-life-of-einsteins-first-wife/). Maybe the problem is not the "fallen" heroes but our misunderstanding about human nature. Maybe we shouldn't have heroes at all. There is only One who is truly great and truly good. Could we redefine greatness somehow and be more honest about what we write at the bottom of our statues and in our history books? Public heroes probably all have secret sins. Secret, unsung heroes don't need to be perfect. They are too busy being good to become great. I think I am ok with that.
Stephanie, this topic seems so relevant given what is happening in the (Disunited) States of America right now. Sadly, women have been discriminated against for centuries, and the attitudes towards artistic women who happen to be not so nice people comes as no surprise. It's not just male artists who get a pass on bad behavior, but also politicians, businessmen, scientists, actors, and clergymen, etc. Now I want to Google famous males in history who excelled at their craft, but were also good people. Are there any? Love your articles!