Being a Foreigner During This Time

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat
Modified: 1/19/2017
During the late 19th century, based on how the red-haired man in a yellow straw hat was treated, foreigners were often isolated from the society. In the book, Vincent Van Gogh was known to be from the Netherlands, so many of the French people would look at him as a crazy outsider. This caused Van Gogh to be a lot kinder to those like Rachel, because Rachel was a prostitute, making her seem like an outsider.