Mary Todd Lincoln has been said as having a personality that ranged from aggressive and demanding to eccentric and overindulgent. Then there are accounts that she was a caring mother, devoted to her family. These personality traits are very contradictive to each other and this causes one to wonder about who Mary really was. Mary is commonly known to have been mentally insane; so much so that her son had her committed to a mental institution in her later years. Mary’s life, starting at a very young age, was filled with unimaginable tragedy that must have been hard to cope with, especially in the public eye of judgment. Mary was living during a time when mental illness was not yet properly diagnosed and treated, but after so many years of psychological advancement, we can see that she really could have been suffering from an overabundance of emotional trauma causing depression to be exhibited and not insanity at all. Perhaps Mary’s eccentric behavior could be explained by looking at the traumatic events that outlined her life.
Mary’s first experience with death came at the young age of six when her mother passed away and less than six months after Eliza Todd’s death, her father remarried. The sudden marriage became the “talk of the towns” but nonetheless, Betsey became Mary’s new “ma.” So, Mary lost a mother and gained a stepmother in a very short time. Certainly this caused emotional upset and is the first time Mary calls herself a victim. In Jean Baker’s biography of Mary she writes, “Mary Todd Lincoln recalled her childhood as desolate and herself a victim.” During her childhood she went to school only a mile or so from her home but instead of traveling the short distance Mary would leave on Monday and return on Friday due...
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Pouba,Katherine, Tianen,Ashley, “Lunacy in the 19th Century: Women’s Admission to Asylums in United States of America”, Oshkosh Scholar, Volume I, April (2006): 95-103. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/6687
Turner, Justin and Linda Turner. Mary Todd Lincoln: Her life and Letters. New York: Alfred A Knopf, Inc, 1972
The events that started autumn 1766 and continued for several years tested Mary's resolve more than any other time. Her sister, Rebecca, had contracted smallpox in November 1766. She passed away soon after. John Noyes, Mary's first husband, had lived with epilepsy longer than the doctors originally expected, but soon he succumbed to death as well. Having her family a distance away, Mary clutched on to John's mother as to a rock. In November 1768, the older Madam Noyes went to bed in good health but was found dead the next morning. For the first time, Mary found herself alone to take on the responsibilities of the household and family head. In May of 1770, Mary's only daughter, then 4 years old, fell ill. She died ten days later. Mary wrote, "I felt in some measure resigned, knowing that God could give a good reason why he had thus afflicted me." Despite this statement, Mary's spirit was broken and she fell into a depression, feeling that her faith had died with the child.
A basic sense of honesty is another of Mary Warren’s traits. In Act I she goes to Salem to convince Abigail to tell the truth about what really happened in the woods. When the witchcraft scare gets out of hand, Mary joins Abigail and the other girls in falsely accusing women of being witches. These false accusations are motivated by hysteria. There is evidence that Mary really believes that the women in court are bewitching her. She tells the judge that she thought she saw spirits. The other girls were screaming, and before she knew it, Mary was screaming with them. When she realizes that there are no spirits, Mary is willing to be truthful. After Elizabeth Proctor’s name is brought up in court, Mary Warren defends her against the accusation. At the end of Act II, the reader hopes that the basic sense of honesty will remain strong enough to allow Mary to testify on behalf of the accused women in Act III.
The story of “Bloody Mary” was told to me by a twenty year old male. He is a current student at a University, studying accountancy. He has very conservative beliefs regarding politics. His father is an insurance broker and his mother stays at home. This story was collected on March 18, 2006, at his residence. This is the story as he told it to me:
Mary is a 24 year old woman who has faced a series of traumatic events throughout her life. Mary's depression can be represented by the cognitive theory (Liese et al., 1997). The process in this theory can be shown through Beck's cognitive model (Liese et al., 1997). According to the model, Mary experiences depression because she holds incorrect negative views about herself, other people and the future and these beliefs take precedent over her actions, thoughts and emotions (Liese et al., 1997).
...nd recover from sorrow and grief. Throughout the memoir, there have been lots of ups and downs in Jeannette’s family thanks to Rose Mary’s bipolar disorder. At first, I often blamed Rose Mary for bringing an unpleasant childhood to those four Walls children since Rex Walls does not behave appropriately due to his alcohol abuse, but Rose Mary is actually a victim and patient of bipolar disorder, whose conditions have not only been largely ignored in the memoir, but also greatly influenced her ways of thinking and behaving.
Mary Rowlandson’s story came from the journaling of her brutal 11 weeks in captivity filled with sad and unfortunate events. She was taken captive by a group of Indians after they surrounded her house and devastated her town. Watching her family be slain in front of her, she herself was shot. Her daughter, which was a little over six years old, was shot in the stomach while Mary held her but still grasped onto life for a few more days (Lincoln, 258). Mary Rowlandson and her child were taken hostage and made to w...
Little do most people know, our sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln, suffered from a depression also known as Melancholy. Lincoln was, considered by most, one of our greatest Presidents. As a U.S. president, Lincoln had many great accomplishments. For example he had a vital role in preserving the Union during the Civil War, he ended slavery, had good speeches and letters and was very humble. On the outside “Honest Abe” was a strong, intelligent man. On the inside, he was falling apart. Few people these days and in this century know of Lincoln’s condition while he was in office. Oddly though, Lincoln was very open about his depression while running for office. Because the public knew about his condition, many people wonder if it had any effect on the peoples voting preference. He won the election so apparently the people didn’t care. Some people became curious of Lincoln’s case and if depression ran in his family or if it was just something that came up. Abraham Lincoln’s
In the reading “ Call Me Crazy, But I have to Be Myself”.Mary Seymour shares her story of with living in fear with a mental Illness. She states that having a “normal life” is a balancing act. (130) (p131). She wants people to know who she really is but she is afraid it will scare the bejesus out
According to Hannah Bailey, the writer of the magazine New Moon, “many scary stories have historical roots” (29). The story of Bloody Mary has several different origins. Several assume the ghost Bloody Mary is the ghost of the tyrant blood thirsty sister of Elizabeth the First. Others believe Bloody Mary is the ghost of Mary Worth, who supposedly kidnapped slaves who were on the run and performed cruel rituals on them. Legend says she was burned to death by the other villagers. Whether or not the ghost of bloody Mary is the ghost of Mary Worth or the tyrant Mary, their history cause people to create the story and game of Bloody Mary which is still told in
Abraham Lincoln served in many facets of the United States government and was also a respected lawyer in Illinois. He was best known for being elected as the 16th President of the United States of America. As president, Lincoln guided the United States through one of the worst times in American history, the Civil War. From the start of his political career, Lincoln was instrumental in his efforts and eventual success in ending slavery in America. He was known for his public speaking abilities and delivered some of the most popular speeches in United States history. He lived a successful life before the presidency, during the presidency, and up to the time of his tragic death. His life was cut short when he was assassinated in 1865 while still serving as President of the United States. Lincoln was revered as one of the greatest presidents in American history. Prior to becoming one of the most powerful men in the world, Lincoln grew up in a poverty-stricken family.
Early on the reader is aware that Mary Katherine thoughts are unusual and eccentric for a girl her age. Mary Katherine was brought up as upper class in a small village, living with her family until their sudden death. With only her Uncle and
Mary Warren is a follower, and when Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris resorted to hypocrisy, Mary followed. The Danforth is questioning Mary Warren in court she says, “I cannot lie no more. I am with God, I am with God,” (Miller 178). It seems to me that Mary is not sure of herself at all. When someone with authority is questioning her, she tries to tell the truth. When there is not anyone around to influence her on lying, she tries to tell the truth. But she is weakened when her life is at stake and I honestly don’t blame her. Its easy as a reader to judge Mary Warren and wonder why she could not just tell the truth and be honest and die with a good name, but we do not think about what we would do if we were in her shoes. It is so easy to fall into the dangerous cycle of judging when we would probably do the exact same thing if we were in the other person’s shoes. When Mary Warren feels the pressure of Abigail’s false accusations towards her, Mary yells, “Let me go, Mr. Proctor, I cannot, I cannot-“ (Miller 187). Mary’s morals are weak and they quickly change when she realizes that if she does not pretend to be possessed, then her life will come to an end. To Mary Warren, being a lying hypocrite isn’t something she is worried about when her life might be ending soon. We see John Proctor confess he is innocent at the end of the play although it will have him killed. We see that he values his
Mary Rowlandson was a pretentious, bold and pious character. Her narrative did not make me feel sorry for her at all, which is strange since she really did go through a lot. During the war, the Narragansett Indians attacked Lancaster Massachusetts, and burned and pillaged the whole village. During the siege Mary and her six year old child were shot, she watched her sister and most of her village either burn or get shot. She was kept as a captive, along with her three children and taken with the Narragansett’s on their long retreat. The exposition of the story is set immediately. The reader is perfectly aware of Missus Rowlandson’s status and religious beliefs. She constantly refers to the Narragansetts in an incredibly condescending way, to the point that you know that she does not even consider them human. She paints them as purely evil pe...
It was spectacular that the first lady of the United States Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincolns wife was diagnosed with schizophrenia at an unknown age. she suffered with many of the side effects throughout her adult life while supporting her husband through his presidency. its causes are largely unknown, with studies leaning towards a genetic predisposition. schizophrenia is serious and has the probability to lead a lifetime of suffering for those with this disease. unsure of or how Mrs. Lincolns case was treated since this was from 1818-1832. it is treatable with medication and mental health treatment but unfortunately it is not curable. schizophrenia requires lifelong treatment, even when symptoms have seemed to subside. about 1.1 %
In conclusion, Mary is clearly shown to have a very manipulative and sinister character because she was a cold blooded murderer who had no feelings for her husband when she killed him, and she made people believe her grieving stories to make them feel sorry for her. But, all she wanted at the end was to cover up all of the evidence so she does not get caught and go to jail.