Blood Water Paint: Part II

by Joy McCullough
Growing up in Renaissance Italy, Artemisia becomes a talented painter — but her father gets credit for her work. This novel in verse tells the story of how Artemisia finds her voice, both as an artist and as a young woman.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
40 words 65 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grovel
    show submission or fear
    No, these are ladies of a certain station, always groveling, hoping their proximity to a woman like Susanna will help them ascend.
  2. proximity
    the property of being close together
    No, these are ladies of a certain station, always groveling, hoping their proximity to a woman like Susanna will help them ascend.
  3. render
    show in, or as in, a picture
    Envy! Of the Holy Mother!
    Rendered by my own brush!
    Surely I commit several damnable
    sins even as I stand here, immobile.
  4. fervent
    characterized by intense emotion
    The moment he’s poised
    to turn his gaze on me,
    my most fervent wish
    is that he’ll never stop
    examining the Mother and Child
    because I am not prepared
    for what’s to come.
  5. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    My neck has flushed, I feel it;
    that color travels down
    a vast expanse—it’s far too vast—
    until it meets the bodice of my dress
  6. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    But Mr. Tassi’s deep in contemplation,
    doesn’t pay me any mind.
  7. subtlety
    the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
    His cheekbones are chiseled from marble
    by a sculptor with no subtlety,
    but there’s softness too.
  8. mortified
    made to feel uncomfortable because of shame or wounded pride
    Suddenly I’m mortified
    by these dismal surroundings.
  9. brocade
    thick expensive material with a raised pattern
    The rich brocade
    of his jacket is more valuable
    than all my clothes combined.
  10. frazzle
    exhaust physically or emotionally
    As if in answer to the unasked question,
    Signor Tassi wrenches his gaze
    from my Madonna,
    turns his charcoal eyes
    upon my frazzled face
  11. inconceivable
    totally unlikely
    There are intruders lurking just out of reach. It seems inconceivable at first.
  12. perspective
    appearance as determined by distance from the viewer
    In single-point perspective
    there’s one vanishing point.
  13. jockey
    compete or struggle for an advantage or a position
    But do you know, the constant kicking, pushing, jockeying for the best position leads me to believe you’ll have a sister soon enough.
  14. constrain
    restrict
    Your brothers never kicked this much. But you...oh, darling girl. Even from the start, you couldn’t bear to be constrained.
  15. palatial
    relating to or being a large and stately residence
    Why should a little corner of the garden be so important to a woman like Susanna? A woman with a palatial home, and the finest garments.
  16. retribution
    the act of taking revenge
    She can pretend her parents never handed her over like one of the prize goats that came along in the deal. That her sister never wept at the injustice, never slashed the robe she was to wear on her wedding night in retribution for something Susanna never wanted to begin with.
  17. obscurity
    an unimportant and not well known standing
    Then she holds her breath and sinks into obscurity.
  18. fawning
    attempting to win favor by flattery
    No fawning maidservant
    is Tuzia.
  19. exploit
    use or manipulate to one's advantage
    I don’t entertain
    a suitor. I learn
    from one my father
    wishes to exploit.
  20. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    Still it’s not preposterous,
    what I must ask.
    There’s no way
    he can do it all himself—
    assistants are expected.
  21. exalt
    praise, glorify, or honor
    In my mind,
    the woman in the bath
    is no exalted doll.
  22. loathsome
    highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
    The way the masters paint her,
    the men are monstrous,
    creeping, loathsome beasts,
    obvious villains.
  23. stature
    high level of respect gained by impressive achievement
    When still they say nothing, Susanna speaks. Susanna, who has been taught over and over again that a woman must not speak unless spoken to, especially not to men of this stature.
  24. compromise
    expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute
    Susanna knows her maidservants feel no real loyalty. If they should hear her cry, see her compromised position, there’s every chance they’d spread the word throughout the village how the virtuous Susanna spends her time when Joaquim is away.
  25. subservient
    compliant and obedient to authority
    “The way your husband tells it, you are nothing if not subservient.”
  26. roil
    be agitated
    Susanna’s stomach roils. Is it possible Joaquim discussed her in this way? Is that how all men talk?
  27. chattel
    personal property, as opposed to real estate
    She knows that just because many men use women like chattel, it does not mean her heart should grow hard.
  28. compliance
    the act of submitting, usually surrendering power to another
    She will not do what they’re asking. There will be consequences, she knows. But there would be consequences to compliance, too.
  29. cavort
    play boisterously
    ...if you deny me, the world will hear how the faithless wife of Joaquim cavorted in her garden with a man who was not her husband.
  30. nubile
    (of young women) attractive and eligible to marry
    No nubile nude is Judith—
    more a warrior
    in my mother’s telling.
  31. rail
    complain bitterly
    It’s only when her lady rails like this, impassioned by injustice, not yet hardened to the world, that the servant is reminded how few years Judith has trod upon the earth.
  32. infiltrate
    pass through an enemy line in a military conflict
    When Malachi did not return with his fellow scout, Judith was certain he must have infiltrated Assyrian ranks, searched for a way to take out their captain and thereby halt the onward Assyrian march.
  33. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    Abra doesn’t have so many years on Judith. She’s more older sister than wizened aunt.
  34. feebleminded
    deficient in intellectual development
    She is not weak. She will never, ever be feebleminded.
  35. petulant
    easily irritated or annoyed
    But I do not
    let him see
    my pleasure.
    Instead I stare, petulant,
    at the canvas before me.
  36. cerulean
    bright blue in color, like a clear sky
    I’m not blue.

    You are positively
    cerulean.
  37. confidant
    someone to whom private matters are told
    But he is here
    to be my teacher,
    not my confidant.
  38. uncanny
    surpassing the ordinary or normal
    Truly? He bears
    an uncanny resemblance
    to Susanna in the garden.
  39. lout
    an awkward, foolish person
    You are remarkable,
    to have survived
    your lout of a father
    this long with such grace.
  40. befall
    happen or be the case in the course of events or by chance
    But just the thought that someone else
    might care what fate befalls me—
    it changes everything.
Created on Tue Oct 09 11:02:10 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 16 15:52:41 EDT 2018)

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