Eleanor Souvestre: The Influe Of Eleanor Roosevelt

In 1899, Eleanor Roosevelt, fifteen, was sent to a private finishing school, Allenswood Academy in England. The headmistress of the school, Marie Souvestre, was a feminist with critical, challenging and unusual for those times ideas, greatly impacting Eleanor Roosevelt. Souvestre saw something special in Eleanor, helping her liberate in a way and gain confidence, at least for a while. Although Souvestre made Eleanor a happier, more confident person, she was forced to return home after three years at Allenswood Academy, 1902, by her grandmother to have a social debut. Eleanor got married, 1905, and the certain liberation she had achieved took a step back, making her rather shy again. Eleanor and FDR had 6 children, forcing her to take on the duties and responsibilities of a wife and mother and to follow the expectations society held for women in the 1920s. She was influenced by Roosevelt 's mother, Sara Ann Delano, in whose house they lived, where Delano was the dominating woman in the household. This was making Eleanor depressed and unhappy, which Franklin knew about, but did not feel like he had enough strength against his mother, so it went on like that up to the point when Franklin Roosevelt was struck with polio, becoming a turning point for everyone and especially for Eleanor. The unexpected change eventually made Eleanor a stronger woman that Souvestre wanted her to be, with a more outspoken personality, while Franklin Roosevelt became much more vulnerable, and more