Even more, Van Gogh had a truly miserable life and ended up killing himself young. If you’re going to aspire to have some Impressionist’s career, I suggest Monet, who lived a long and happy life, spent his last forty years in a beautiful garden in Giverny, France, and continued to paint masterpieces past the point he was legally blind.

As for your main article — why would anyone want to work, male or female? For most twenty first century workers, particularly in America, work is a degrading, stressful, meaningless experience fraught with stress and insecurity. I’m lucky that my profession has generally been entertaining to me, but many people I know simply hate their jobs, and I’m very sympathetic.