“Well, when Eleanor Roosevelt's mother dies, she goes to live with her Grandmother Hall. And her Grandmother Hall is in mourning. She's in widow's weeds. She's in her 50s, but appears very old. And she's exhausted from raising rather out-of-control children. Her favorite daughter, Anna, has died (Eleanor's mother), and she has living at home two other sons, Vallie and Eddie. And they are incredible sportsmen, incredible drinkers, out-of-control alcoholics.” WellsChildrenTwoHomeMotherDiesSonDaughterDiedIncrediblesMourningGrandmotherHallsWeedExhaustedAlcoholicsWidowsAnnaDrinkersEleanorSportsman Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“And Grandmother Hall really imagines that she can raise Eleanor and her two brothers differently than these children were raised. And if she is very strict and everything is very regimented and ordered and disciplined, that they will become the perfect children who her own children did not become.” IfsChildrenTwoPerfectImagineBrotherRaisesRaisedGrandmotherHallsImagine ThatStrictEleanorTwo BrothersPerfect Child Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“In one way, it is this sense of order and also love that, I think, really saved Eleanor Roosevelt's life. And in her own writing, she's very warm about her grandmother, even though, if you look at contemporary accounts, they're accounts of horror at the Dickensian scene that Tivoli represents: bleak and drear and dark and unhappy. But Eleanor Roosevelt in her own writings is not very unhappy about Tivoli.” IfsThinkingWayWritingLooksOrderDarkHorrorSceneAccountsWarmSavedUnhappyContemporaryOne WayGrandmotherBleakEleanor Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“I think her Grandmother Hall gave her a great sense of family love, and reassurance. Her grandmother did love her, like her father, unconditionally. And despite the order and the discipline - and home at certain hours and out at certain hours and reading at certain hours - there was a surprising amount of freedom. Eleanor Roosevelt talks about how the happiest moments of her days were when she would take a book out of the library, which wasn't censored.” ThinkingBookMomentsHomeCertainOrderReadingFatherHoursAmountDisciplineLibraryDespiteGrandmotherHallsSurprisingFamily LoveLike HerReassuranceEleanorCensored Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“And her [Eleanor Roosevelt] Grandmother Hall provided her really with a quite wonderful education, and a freedom that, within the framework of Tivoli (which is a framework of discipline and order) is also a very encouraging and loving one.” OrderWonderfulDisciplineGrandmotherHallsFrameworkEleanor Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“It's right around this time that her Grandmother Hall dies. And Eleanor Roosevelt is responsible for making all the funeral arrangements. And there are a couple of things that she really understands, as she contemplates her grandmother's life and makes the funeral arrangements. One, she's really talented, an organizational woman. She knows how to do things. She begins to compare her life to her grandmother's life. And it's very clear to her that being a devoted wife and a devoted mother is not enough.” KnowsEnoughMotherDiesKnow HowClearWifeCoupleResponsibleCompareGrandmotherHallsFuneralContemplatingDevotedArrangementsEleanorOrganizational Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“She [Eleanor Roosevelt]wants a life of her own. Her grandmother could have been a painter. Her grandmother could have done so much more than she did with her life. And Eleanor Roosevelt decides she is going to do everything possible with her life. She's going to live a full life.” WantHas BeensDonePainterGrandmotherCould Have BeenEleanorFull Life Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“And in the same way, FDR's not much of a father. Although the children in all their memoirs really talk about what a fun-loving guy Dad was, and how brooding and unhappy Mom was. The children sort of blame it all on the mother. Well, this is kind of standard and typical, and aggrieved Eleanor Roosevelt that she was not a happier mother. She wanted to be a happier mother. And I must say, she was a happier grandmother.” WayWellsKindChildrenWantedMotherGuyFatherFunMomDadStandardsBlameUnhappyMemoirGrandmotherTypicalBroodingEleanorFun Loving Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“One of the things for me, as a biographer, that is so significant is for Eleanor Roosevelt - the child who never had a home of her own, who lives in her grandmother's home and then goes to school and then gets married and lives in her mother-in-law's homes, and then in public housing (like the White House and the State House) - housing becomes for Eleanor Roosevelt the most important issue.” ChildrenImportantStatesHomeSchoolLawMotherHouseWhiteIssuesMarriedSignificantGrandmotherWhite HouseHousingIn-lawsEleanorImportant IssuesMother In LawBiographersPublic Housing Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
