“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
“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
