Are those stories about Mary abusive to Abraham overstated???

[Eva Elisabeth]

In a nutshell - I think that those interpretations come from men who have a very narrow idea of what their personal spouse has to be like and who cannot imagine other people have other views, needs and level of tolerance. I think the Lincolns were a good match to each other, neither was a spouse easy to live with, both were strong, striving personalities and had their challenging moments and features. Other than other windowed people around her (and nowadays!), Mary was faithful even beyond her husband's death and never remarried, not even had a serious affair. I think Abraham Lincoln was able and willing to deal with her weaker sides (as he once also expressed). And he was the only whose business it was, not Herndon's, Burlingame's & Co's. What do they know in the end about the Lincolns' feelings that allows them such destructive claims? And a lot of female VIPs of our times share traits of Mary (shopping mania eg.) without being judged similarly hard.