In Mary's personal letters....

[Eva Elisabeth]

(08-04-2014 12:24 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  I do not see why Tripp would regard this as fact.

Roger, when I first read the respective passage and sentence, to me the way Tripp's worded it undoubtedly expressed he regarded the injury a fact. Upon re-reading and reconsideration, it might be possible to read the following in two different ways:

"The Lincolns presumably had little if any sex for ten years, due to severe physical damage (probably vaginal tearing) that Mary had sustained while giving birth to Tad,...,damage that made later sexual intercourse painful."

I read the "presumably" as refering solely to the concluded abstinence, and the "due to severe physical damage" as fact from which Tripp drew the conclusion. Maybe though the presumably was intended for both - the injury and the conclusion (which would make the conclusion even weaker IMO!). Still I'd rather read it the first and instant way I did.