Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt 安娜·埃莉诺·罗斯福 Chapter 6 Marriage and Children

Although Franklin’s mother accepted the engagement¹, she had no intention of letting go of her son. After all, he was her only child. Eleanor tried her best to please Franklin’s mother. What that meant was letting Franklin’s mother make all the decisions for them. It was a problem that Eleanor would deal with for many years.

Franklin sent Eleanor flowers, poems, and books. And they talked. Some people thought that Eleanor could have chosen someone better. Not Eleanor. She said that she saw “the promise that was Franklin.” And he needed her. Franklin often said that Eleanor made him a better person. He felt that they made a good team. As time passed and they wrote to each other, Eleanor’s letters talked of how she would help him in his career. And Eleanor continued to try to win over Sara, Franklin’s mother. She spent time with her, lunching and going to the theater. Eleanor felt that they were growing closer.

Eleanor’s Uncle Teddy offered the couple the White House for their wedding ceremony. Eleanor and Franklin said no. They decided² to marry in New York. They wanted their wedding to be private. They picked March 17, 1905, so that her Uncle Teddy could attend.

March 17th was Saint³ Patrick’s Day. Her Uncle Teddy would be coming to New York City to take part in the big parade that day. Then, afterward⁴, he would arrive at the home of Eleanor’s cousin Susie on 76th Street. That was where the wedding was to be held. On the wedding day, the police closed off the street to protect Teddy. In fact, several guests were late for the wedding because of the security⁵!

Eleanor walked down the aisle⁶ on her Uncle Teddy’s arm. Guests whispered that Eleanor looked “regal” and “magnificent.” Others said that she looked like her mother. For once, Eleanor felt beautiful. She walked very tall and straight. Her thick, golden hair crowned⁷ her head. Her lovely, gray eyes shone with love and pride. And waiting for her at the end of the aisle was handsome Franklin. The two hundred guests watched the couple exchange vows⁸.

Unfortunately, the parade, which went by the house, almost drowned out the ceremony. Marchers sang loudly as they passed the open windows.

After the rings had been exchanged and the two had kissed, Teddy loudly declared, “Well, Franklin, there’s nothing like keeping the name in the family.” Eleanor was now Eleanor Roosevelt Roosevelt. Everyone laughed. Then Teddy immediately headed to the library for refreshments⁹. Eleanor and Franklin were left alone. Eleanor later wrote about her wedding and described how everyone wanted to spend time with Teddy, not the newlyweds. Later on, when she was asked about the day, Eleanor would just smile and shrug¹⁰. After all, Teddy was her favorite uncle. Teddy’s daughter, Alice, said of the day, “Father always wanted to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse¹¹ at every funeral.”

The couple first went to Hyde Park, New York, where Franklin had grown up. Then they returned to New York City so that Franklin could study for his law exams. They lived in a small apartment near Columbia University. As soon as Franklin finished his courses, the couple went to Europe for a long honeymoon¹².

Their first child, Anna, was born in May 1906. In December of 1907, James was born. Now, Eleanor’s days were filled with babies. But sadness soon replaced their happiness. Another son, Franklin Jr., was born in March 1909. He looked healthy and seemed fine, but there was something wrong with his heart. At seven months old, he caught the flu and died. There was nothing that she could have done, but Eleanor blamed herself for his death. Years later, she wrote that she never forgot the pain of burying her son. She often visited her little baby’s grave¹³.

Eleanor had three more sons. The next son she named Elliott, after her father. And her next son she named Franklin Jr. And, finally, John was born in 1916.

Eleanor spent the next ten years raising her children and trying to be a good wife and daughter-in-law. The Roosevelts lived in New York City, where Franklin worked as a lawyer. Franklin’s mother bought two houses right next to each other. She had the two houses connected. She lived in one, and Franklin and Eleanor and the children lived in the other. Sara furnished Eleanor’s home. She hired all of Eleanor’s servants. And she often told Eleanor how to bring up her children. Eleanor saw her independence slipping away. She was even afraid to fire the servants Sara hired.

One nurse treated the boys badly. She did not believe James when he said he had brushed his teeth, so she made him wear his sister’s skirt and a sign that said “Liar.” Then she made him walk up and down the street in front of their house. Eleanor’s heart broke when she came home and saw her son. But she did not have the nerve¹⁴ to fire the nurse until she found whiskey bottles in her room.

Eleanor complained to Franklin about Sara, but he did not want to go against his mother. Eleanor did not know what to do. She wanted to stand up for herself, but all her life she had been taught to be a good girl and obey her elders. Then something happened that would change both Eleanor and Franklin’s lives. The Democrats¹⁵ asked Franklin to run for the New York State Senate¹⁶. It was the beginning of his long career in politics. And it was the beginning of a new career for Eleanor, too.

1 engagement   

n.订婚，婚约，约定，约会

参考例句：

• I can't see you on Monday because I have a previous engagement.星期一我不能见你，因为我有约在先。
• It was my mother's very own engagement ring.这正是我母亲自己的订婚戒指。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

4 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

5 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

6 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

7 crowned   

adj.有王冠的，王室的

参考例句：

• to be crowned queen 加冕为女王
• The coin has a crowned lion on its reverse. 这枚硬币反面的图案是个戴皇冠的狮子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

9 refreshments   

n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待

参考例句：

• We have to make a small charge for refreshments. 我们得收取少量茶点费。
• Light refreshments will be served during the break. 中间休息时有点心供应。

10 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

11 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

12 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

13 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

14 nerve   

n.神经；勇气，胆量，沉着，果断

参考例句：

• Did he have the nerve to say that?他竟有脸说这话吗？
• He never got up enough nerve to meet me.他从没有足够的胆量来见我。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。