“Her mother died at the age of 29, essentially turning her face to the wall and deciding to die. And so we can only imagine the agony she felt. And Eleanor Roosevelt really wanted to make her mother happier, and - and to make her live, you know, make her want to live. And there's something about, you know, when your mother dies, this sense of abandonment. I think Eleanor Roosevelt had a lifelong fear of abandonment and sense of abandonment after her parents' death.” ThinkingKnowsWantAgeWantedFacesMotherDiesFeltParentImagineWallDiedAgonyAbandonmentLifelongEleanorMother Died Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“Her [Eleanor Roosevelt] father was the love of her life. Her father always made her feel wanted, made her feel loved, where her mother made her feel, you know, unloved, judged harshly, never up to par. And she was her father's favorite, and her mother's unfavorite. So her father was the man that she went to for comfort in her imaginings.” KnowsMenFeelsMadeWantedMotherFatherHe ManComfortJudgedEleanorUnloved Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“And in her [Eleanor Roosevelt] letters, she writes the most, you know, fanciful letters: when we are together, and when we are reunited, and you know, I will be your surrogate wife. Of course she doesn't use that word, but I will be the mother to my brothers, and I will be your primary love.” KnowsWritingUseTogetherMotherCoursesWifeBrotherLettersPrimariesMy BrotherEleanorSurrogatesReunited Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“Eleanor Roosevelt loved to write. She was a wonderful child writer. I mean, she wrote beautiful essays and stories as a child. And Marie Souvestre really appreciated Eleanor Roosevelt's talents and encouraged her talents. Also, she spoke perfect French. She grew up speaking French. She's now at a french-speaking school where, you know, girls are coming from all over the world. Not everybody speaks French.” KnowsWorldWritingMeanChildrenStoriesSchoolBeautifulGirlSpeakPerfectWonderfulTalentGrewGrew UpSpokesEssaysAppreciatedEleanorMarieSpeaks FrenchWonderful ChildrenSpeaking French Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“Eleanor Roosevelt's very helpful to a lot of children who cannot speak French, who do not write well. And Marie Souvestre is fierce. She tears up students' papers that are not, you know, perfect. And Eleanor Roosevelt goes around, again, being incredibly helpful to children in need, children in trouble. And her best friends are the naughtiest girls who are in trouble. And she is a leader. And she is encouraged to be a leader. And everybody falls in love with her. She's a star.” KnowsNeedsWritingWellsChildrenFallGirlSpeakStarsPerfectLeaderTroubleStudentsTearsPaperFalling In LoveHelpfulFiercePapersEleanorMarieSpeaks French 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
“Like traditional upper class families, there are nannies and servants, and the children, you know, come in to say good-night before they go to bed. There's very little private time with the children in the early years. Actually, there's much more private time with the children in the 20s.” KnowsYearsChildrenLittlesNightClassBedTraditionalServantGood NightUpper ClassNannies Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“I mean, in the campaign of '24 and in '28 and '32, you know, Eleanor Roosevelt insists that women have equal floor space. And this is a great victory over time. Then she wants women represented in equal numbers as men. And she wants the women to name the delegates. And the men want to name the delegates. Well, Eleanor is absolutely furious. And because they don't want her to walk away in 1924, she wins. And this is a great political victory. She has floor space equal to the men, and she has the right to name the women.” KnowsMenWantWellsMeanPoliticalWinningNamesSpaceWalksNumbersHe ManVictoryEqualCampaignsFuriousDelegatesEleanorGreat VictoryGreat PoliticalPolitical Victory Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“Well, the fact is, we can never know what people do in the privacy of their own rooms. The door is closed. The blinds are drawn. We don't know. I leave it up to the reader. But there's no doubt in my mind that they loved each other, and this was an ardent, loving relationship between two adult women.” PeopleKnowsMindWellsTwoFactsRoomsDoubtDoorsReaderAdultsNo DoubtPrivacyArdentLoving Relationships Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“She really is a completely different First Lady. Eleanor Roosevelt was not going to suffer and withdraw in the White House. And I think he's a very different President. He does not want his wife to suffer and withdraw in the White House. And they really are partners. They're partners in a big house where there are two separate courts, and they both know they have two separate courts. But these are courts that are allied in purpose, united in vision.” ThinkingKnowsWantFirstsDoeTwoDifferentBigsPurposeSufferingHousePresidentWhiteUnitedVisionWifeCourtPartnersWhite HouseFirst LadyEleanorBig Houses Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
