Marie Curie is an inspiration for women scientists. This extraordinary genius was awarded the Nobel Prize twice. As scientists, we know her for her achievements. But what was she like within her family? From the diary of her daughter Eve Curie………………
When I was born, my mother was 37 years old. By the time I grew old enough to understand her, she had already become a renowned elderly lady. Even though she was famous, she was still a wonder to me, because she was so unmindful about herself. I was even more amazed because I felt like I lived with a poor student who was born long before me. She was always dreaming, and that was Marie Curie.—Eve Curie।
Our mother always used to say, one must work seriously, be independent, and never waste one’s life in idleness. However, she never considered science as the ultimate path for building a life.—Irène Joliot-Curie.
The famous physicist Pierre Curie (1859–1906) shared much with his wife Marie even outside of their home life. For example, winning the Nobel Prize together in 1903. Marie, who was born in Poland, was not just young and beautiful, but as intelligent as Pierre. It is noted that many had proposed marriage to Marie, but she refused them all. However, Pierre not only won her heart, but married her as well. A letter Pierre wrote to Marie Curie on August 10, 1894:
Nothing has given me more joy than having you. Those two months without hearing from you were painful for me. To be honest, your letter brought me much happiness. I hope you will be well and return this October. I won’t go anywhere at that time; I will remain in the country. My entire day will pass by the open window or standing in the garden. We promised each other, didn’t we, at least to be good friends. You may change your mind, but not all promises are binding—some things don’t happen as we wish. I truly believe in some things, such as living together, our dreams, your patriotism, our love for humanity, and our love for science. Ultimately, I believe in justice. I do not think we have the power to change society. If we were not together, I could never be sure that suppressing some necessary changes was worse than making them. From the scientific perspective, we hope to do something different, in a place where the land belongs to soldiers and we can make discoveries for the sake of knowledge, no matter how small. It is certain that we can at least be good friends. If you stay in France, it will be Platonic love, and here, two beings never see each other. What could be better for you than staying with me? I know this question makes you angry. Perhaps you won’t want to talk about it later. You might think that gradually I will stop respecting you. I wanted to meet you at Freiberg; you are there to see my mistakes. But someday, surely someday, you will, Kovalaskas, feel our friendship.
Leave a comment