More on Mrs. Lincoln's [non] faux pas

[LincolnToddFan]

Thank you Laurie, that's as fair and an accurate a description of Mary Todd as I have read anywhere. Certainly more fair than what one can find in the award winning pages of some of the so-called Lincoln scholars.

What I find disturbing is that the same writers who acknowledge that the poor woman was likely emotionally unbalanced are often the most harsh and unforgiving toward her.

As if she could have managed her illness by an act of will.

She had the most patient, understanding and loving husband on the planet, and she knew it. Here is a remark he once made to a friend who witnessed one of her outbursts during their Springfield years:

"....If you knew how much good that little eruption did, what a relief it was to her, and if you knew her as well as I do, you would be glad she had had an opportunity to explode".
(LINCOLN: An Illustrated Biography, Philip Kunhardt Jr. pg#97 hardcover)