I’m not sure why I do this, but there are certain people in history that I worry about. Or sometimes, I am sad for them. I mean, these people are long dead and gone, yet when I hear their names or see their photos, I am full of wonder. Wonder in the way that I am curious to know about them.
And when this date comes around, November 7, I get sad for Eleanor Roosevelt. It was on this day, in 1962, that Eleanor died. I worry that she was alone, that she didn’t have that “someone.”
To get the formalities of blog information out of the way, we know she was the longest-serving First Lady. Yes. She was there in the White House as the wife of the President, holding the post from March 1933 to April 1945. Her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had an unmatched four terms in office.
Eleanor could be a bit controversial. She had opinions on things, and she let people know about them. She was the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences. She was also the first one to write a syndicated newspaper column. She spoke boldly at national conventions.
Eleanor was born into this world on October 11, 1884. Right there in New York City. And 78 years later, she left.
But in that time, she did so very much for people and so much for our country.
I recently read a historically fictional novel about her relationship with Lorena Hickok. The book is called White Houses by Amy Bloom. I liked it well enough. Regardless, Eleanor and Lorena met in 1932 while Lorena was reporting on Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign. And there is enough evidence to support they had a “relationship” of some measure. In truth.
What I’m getting at is this. It is clear that Franklin and Eleanor had a relationship of leniency. Maybe at some point, they loved one another. Maybe always. They definitely had sex, as they yielded six kids over a period of ten years. But we all know Franklin had several other love interests, and for the most part, the two of them lived separate lives even though they shared the big White House. So she accepted her marriage as he defined it. On the other hand, she found deep and rewarding romances of her own. Some of those were with women.
Yet overall, their union seemed sturdy enough. But they were boats sailing along in different parts of the deep blue sea.
And in the end, when Franklin died, he had all sorts of people around him, caring, fussing, and close by.
When Eleanor passed, she had gone through a lot of physical suffering with her illness. It stretched out for some time. And in the end, Eleanor’s daughter Anna cared for Eleanor. Eleanor stayed with Anna during that time, as I understand it. But was there anyone in her life? A love? A longtime partner? Or did she go on her way without the great affection of someone?
I doubt she did, and it makes me sad. I wish I could have talked to her about it. Any many other things. Yes, I wish I knew her. And so I wonder.
She is one of those people in life I would have liked to meet.
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“You not only have a right to be an individual. You have a responsibility.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
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“I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
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“Be confident, not certain.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
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I sure do wonder, Eleanor.
