Mary's Reputation

[L Verge]

That is exactly what I suggested in one of my first postings on this subject. Women did not receive adequate pre-natal and post-natal care for centuries. Mary had gone through childbirth four times. Who knows what each pregnancy did to her system.

There were no tests for chemical imbalances until well into the 20th century. Even the questionable medicines available to them could cause side effects that doctors didn't even take into account.

From much that I have read also, the four sons were handsful to deal with; and authors have suggested that Lincoln was the child spoiler, not Mary. That would tend to get on a mother's nerves also. I also believe that Abe wasn't the easiest person to live with either.

I'm not saying that her outbursts were proper; I just think we don't fully understand what might have caused them. It's part of the Lincoln mystique to see him as a kind and gentle man with a shrew for a wife.