by Elio
Portrait of Emma Darwin, after a painting from the late 1830s by George Richmond. Source
Just when you thought that everything conceivable has been written about Charles Darwin on his bicentennial, a revealing perspective on his wife, Emma, appeared in the journal International Microbiology. Written by the distinguished science writer Mercé Piqueras, the article sheds light on many aspects of the relationship between Charles and Emma, including their correspondence while he was traveling on the Beagle. Of particular interest is the clash between her theistic beliefs and his agnosticism. They both learned to live with it.
Mercè also offers a rich eclectic blog in Catalan, La lectora corrent (The Common Reader, à la Virginia Woolf) where she shares her passion for language, science, and spreading the word. It’s also available in English and Spanish, but beware! It’s machine-translated.
