68 pages • 2 hours read
The First Ladies
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Character Analysis
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune, the “First Lady of the Struggle,” is one of the two protagonists, and her point of view equals Eleanor’s in depth and chapter length. She has many roles: mother and grandmother, activist, educator, entrepreneur, and friend. Mary is smart, eloquent, persistent, hard-working, thoughtful, stubborn, patient, savvy, and empathetic. Mary is steadfastly committed to her all-girls school and to the many organizations that help her advance education and opportunity for Black youth. She never wavers in attending conferences, giving speeches, and fundraising, making connections with people like Mr. Gamble to ensure her school is well-funded and her students properly educated. She values family and supports her son, Albert, and lovingly raises her grandson, Albert Jr.
Though she has high ideals and clear goals, Mary is pragmatic and a problem-solver. When one of her students is denied medical care, she builds a hospital on the Bethune-Cookman campus that not only provides medical care but also trains Black nurses. When Albert Jr. is denied access to a white beach, she works for years to purchase a stretch of shoreline and create a beach that welcomes Black beachgoers.
Mary is also open-minded. A longtime Republican, Mary changes her affiliation to Democrat after connecting with Eleanor, despite others’ criticisms. Mary is open-minded and believes that Eleanor and Franklin will make progress for her people, so she aligns herself with them. Throughout the novel, Mary works hard with Eleanor to fight for equality, help the poor and unemployed, and give Black people powerful roles in government.
Mary’s biggest challenges include defending her choices to the Black community, fighting racism, weathering criticism and threats of violence, overcoming her health problems as she ages, and realizing that even as an educator she can still learn daily. One of her challenges that runs through the novel is her demand for respect. Mary has a firm and unshakeable sense of her innate worth; when others, primarily white people, do not treat her with the respect she deserves, she doesn’t let her anger come to the surface. Instead, she quietly asserts her dignity and worth.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt is a protagonist. She has many roles; she is Franklin’s political partner and acting “conscience,” first lady, mother (and later a grandmother), activist, teacher, speaker, writer, and friend. Eleanor is intelligent, passionate, emotional, independent, caring, and unconventional. Unlike other first ladies or political wives, Eleanor doesn’t conform to a traditional feminine role. She can barely cook, doesn’t enjoy fashion or dress to impress, and finds little meaning in the typical tasks for politicians’ spouses, such as decorating, making small talk, and event-planning. Instead, Eleanor is a trailblazer who cares strongly about assisting others. Like Mary, she is persistent in her efforts to help the less fortunate, earn equal rights for all women and Black people, and abolish evils such as lynching. Eleanor, like her husband, wants what is best for the people of America, but she finds herself taking the role of his conscience often: “Why does Franklin’s resistance to doing the right thing enrage me more in this context than any other?” (168). She often holds him accountable for moral decisions. Because Eleanor is well-respected by the American citizens and her husband, she is a catalyst to push Franklin to make decisions that uplift all people.
Unlike Mary, Eleanor was born to wealth and privilege. In the beginning, the respect others afford her is based on that position and privilege. As the wife of governor and then president, she is afforded the respect those titles bring. Because this respect is based on circumstances and not her innate worth, she at first struggles with her identity. She knows her mind but feels pressure to behave or react in ways people expect. As she begins to chart her own path apart from being Franklin’s wife, she grows in confidence. By the end of the novel, she demands respect based on the moral rightness of her convictions (though she knows how to use her various positions to her advantage to accomplish her goals). Though her journey to understanding her innate worth is different from Mary’s, their paths converge with their moral convictions.
Eleanor faces numerous hardships in her life, and her greatest character flaw may be letting go of bitterness and healing. Years after Franklin has an affair with Lucy Mercer, she’s still greatly hurt by this betrayal. Only through Mary’s advice can Eleanor learn to let go of the pain. To keep her station of power and flexibility to be an unconventional activist wife (and later first lady), Eleanor chooses to stay with Franklin as a spouse in name only. She puts aside her need for love and loyalty to do what is best for her family and the nation. As such, she remains at Franklin’s side as a political partner, rather than a romantic one.
Another opportunity for love comes with an unconventional awakening: her romance with a woman. She is infatuated by Lorena “Hick” Hickok, but though she thinks she loves Hick, she can’t give her the same commitment and true love Hick deserves. Eleanor tries to keep Hick at her side, but she realizes she must allow Hick to find her lasting happiness with someone who can give her their whole body, mind, and soul.
Eleanor is also challenged by letting go of what others think of her. She falls into depression due to the death threats, bad press, and criticisms leveled against her for being herself and following her passions. The press disapproves of her “frumpy” dress, involvement with Black rights, and refusal to adhere to racial boundaries. With Mary’s help again, Eleanor learns another lesson: to not let these outside voices drown out her own, to get back up and start fighting again with renewed spirit. Due to Mary’s influence and firsthand struggles with depression, Eleanor finds the courage to move forward and keep striving to meet their goals without worrying what others will think—or say or write—about it.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt is a lesser character in the novel though much of the action revolves around his positions as governor and president and the actions he takes to further (or to thwart) Mary and Eleanor’s goals. After straying from his marriage with Lucy Mercer (and maintaining that relationship in some form for the rest of his life), his romantic relationship with Eleanor ends. With his mother’s persuasion, Eleanor doesn’t divorce him but stays as a loyal political partner and ally as they work toward accomplishing the social reforms they both want for the American people. Eleanor is often his conscience; when Franklin sees limits to what he can do without alienating political factions he needs to stay in office, she convinces him to find ways to fulfill his promises to the Black community and to the American people. He relies on Eleanor’s advice but occasionally acts without her knowledge or approval, and Eleanor addresses those instances, often with anger and insistence that he correct course. His paralysis from polio he contracted in 1918 presents lifelong challenges, and he relies on Eleanor to help him maintain the illusion of health and hide the reality of his condition from the country.
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