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
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
It's right around this time that her Grandmother Hall dies. And Eleanor Roosevelt is responsible for making all the funeral arrangements. And… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
And in her [Eleanor Roosevelt] letters, she writes the most, you know, fanciful letters: when we are together, and when we are… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share Image
She really is a completely different First Lady. Eleanor Roosevelt was not going to suffer and withdraw in the White House. And… — 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
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 to be. The men are contemptuous of the women, and the women really need to organize. She writes an article which becomes an article she writes in different ways over and over and over again: Women… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share
On international relations, Eleanor Roosevelt really takes a great shocking leadership position on the World Court. In fact, it amuses me. The very first entry in her FBI file begins in 1924, when Eleanor Roosevelt supports American's entrance into the World Court. And the World Court comes up again and again - '33, '35. In 1935, Eleanor Roosevelt goes on… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share
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… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share
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… — Blanche Wiesen Cook Copy Share
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
![“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.” quote by Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/917/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_brother_and-in-her-eleanor-roosevelt-letters-she_2899813.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)
