Truth
Letters
Primary source letters provide insight into Marie Curie's inner truth. The course of her life, and history, was altered by the personal communication, in the form of letters, between her and her future husband, Pierre. The letter from Albert Einstein demonstrates his admiration for her scientific mind, not necessarily her personal choices. Einstein's letter enabled Marie to overcome deep depression and encouraged her to continue her work, resulting in the achievement of a second Nobel Prize in chemistry. Her response to "Les Temps" shows her no nonsense attitude to those attempting to create stories.
Getty Images (1902)
Pierre and Marie Curie Portrait
Pierre Curie's Letter to Maria Skłodowska on August 10, 1894
In the summer of 1894, Marie left Paris to spend two months in Freiburg. She sent Pierre a note saying she was enjoying the fresh air. His reply convinced her to move to Paris and marry him. Their communication facilitated the combination of two great minds who changed the course of history through the discovery of new elements and the concept of radiation.
"Nothing could have given me greater pleasure than to get news of you. The prospect of remaining two months without hearing about you had been extremely disagreeable to me: that is to say, your little note was more than welcome.
I hope you are laying up a stock of good air and that you will come back to us in October. As for me, I think I shall not go anywhere; I shall stay in the country, where I spend the whole day in front of my open window or in the garden.
We have promised each other-haven’t we?-to be at least great friends. If you will only not change your mind! For there are no promises that are binding; such things cannot be ordered at will. It would be a fine thing, just the same, in which I hardly dare believe, to pass our lives near each other, hypnotized by our dreams: your patriotic dream, our humanitarian dream, and our scientific dream.
Of all those dreams the last is, I believe, the only legitimate one. I mean by that that we are powerless to change the social order and, even if we were not, we should never be sure of not doing more harm than good, by retarding some inevitable evolution. From the scientific point of view, on the contrary, we may hope to do something; the ground is solider here, and any discovery that we may make, however small, will remain acquired knowledge. See how it works out: it is agreed that we shall be great friends, but if you leave France in a year it would be an altogether too Platonic friendship, that of two creatures who would never see each other again. Wouldn't it be better for you to stay with me? I know that this question angers you, and that you don’t want to speak of it again-and then, too, I feel so thoroughly unworthy of you from every point of view.
I thought of asking your permission to meet you by chance in Friborg. But you are staying there, unless I am mistaken, only one day, and on that day you will of course belong to our friends the Kovalskis.
Believe me your very devoted.
Pierre Curie"
"One can understand, from this letter, that for Pierre Curie there was only one way of looking at the future. He had dedicated his life to his dream of science: he felt the need of a companion who could live his dream with him"
Marie Curie, from Kellog & Kellog, 1923, Autobiographical Notes
Marie Curie Discovers Radium
The Washington Herald, November 7, 1914
Letter from Albert Einstein to Marie Curie
Getty Images (1910)
Marie Curie with Paul Langevin and French Ladies
Marie Curie had an affair with Paul Langevin in 1910, four years after her husband died in a horse carriage accident. The press attacked her. Einstein suggested she ignore the press and “simply don’t read that hogwash".
The way Einstein addressed her as "Highly esteemed Mrs. Curie" reflects his admiration for her as a scientist, while the press were preoccupied with her gender.
einsteinpapers.press.princeton.edu (1911)
Marie Curie Sends a Letter to the Les Temps Correcting Them
Heritage Auctions (1910)
Letter from Marie Curie to the newspaper "Les Temps" correcting their error
"An article concerning the Radium Institute which recently appeared in the last issue of the 'Cri de Paris' has just been forwarded to me. The information contained in this article is completely false. I have not as yet received either the plans or the estimates for this institute, nor have I made any of the demands mentioned in the article. I am hoping that this article, obviously conceived with malicious intent, will not be accepted by the press in a manner likely to contribute to the propagation of such a myth."
These letters bring to light the true nature of Marie Curie's life by showing the world her actual words. The newspapers of the time falsely framed her as a motherly housekeeper which is not at all how Marie Curie viewed herself and certainly wasn't how she wanted others to picture her. It is important to have accurate sources like these letters to compare with the biased perspectives of journalists and reporters to get a complete understanding of her life and many achievements.