A lot of people say that Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't a good mother. And there are two pieces to that story. One is,… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Eleanor Roosevelt started off almost every early article she wrote, starting with, "My mother was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen."… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Eleanor Roosevelt never thought that she was attractive. She never thought that she was really sufficiently appealing. And I think her whole… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Her [Eleanor Roosevelt] father was the love of her life. Her father always made her feel wanted, made her feel loved, where… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
And of course, FDR was very charming. At 6'2", he was tall enough to be her beau, and they made a beautiful… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Well, the reality of her father was that he was a very diseased alcoholic, who died at the age of 34. And… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Her mother died at the age of 29, essentially turning her face to the wall and deciding to die. And so we… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Well, when Eleanor Roosevelt's mother dies, she goes to live with her Grandmother Hall. And her Grandmother Hall is in mourning. She's… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
I mean, her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was the suffering wife of a man who she could never predict… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
She writes that one of the moments that she felt most useful was when her mother had a headache, and she would… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
And in the same way, FDR's not much of a father. Although the children in all their memoirs really talk about what… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Women who love women, who choose women to nurture and support and to create a living environment in which to work creatively and independently,… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
And Grandmother Hall really imagines that she can raise Eleanor and her two brothers differently than these children were raised. And if she is… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
And you can really see in all of these issues that are priorities for Eleanor Roosevelt, where the compromises are painful, the compromises are… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
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… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
So in 1924, Eleanor Roosevelt really gets a sense of what the limits of the battle and the contours of the battle are going… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
On international relations, Eleanor Roosevelt really takes a great shocking leadership position on the World Court. In fact, it amuses me. The very first… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Her mother died at the age of 29, essentially turning her face to the wall and deciding to die. And so we can only… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
I think her Grandmother Hall gave her a great sense of family love, and reassurance. Her grandmother did love her, like her father, unconditionally.… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
But it's also the beginning of another level of liberation for her]Eleanor Roosevelt], because when she returns to New York, she gets very involved… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
And her [Eleanor Roosevelt] Grandmother Hall provided her really with a quite wonderful education, and a freedom that, within the framework of Tivoli (which… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Eleanor Roosevelt loved to write. She was a wonderful child writer. I mean, she wrote beautiful essays and stories as a child. And Marie… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
Eleanor Roosevelt fights for an anti-lynch law with the NAACP, with Walter White and Mary McLeod Bethune. And she begs FDR to say one… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
![“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…” quote by Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8aa/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_comfort_her-eleanor-roosevelt-father-was-the-lov_1830090.jpg)
![“But it's also the beginning of another level of liberation for her]Eleanor Roosevelt], because when she returns to New York, she gets very involved in a new level of politics. She meets Esther Lape and Elizabeth Read, and becomes very involved in the women's movement, and then in the peace…” quote by Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b22/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_despair_but-it-s-also-the-beginning-of-another-l_701343.jpg)
![“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.” quote by Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/307/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_discipline_and-her-eleanor-roosevelt-grandmother-ha_759497.jpg)
