BIOGRAPHY
A portrait of opposites in the White House
The story of another union rent asunder during the Lincoln presidency
Posted on Tue, Jul. 22, 2008
BY CATHERINE ALLGOR
THE LINCOLNS: Portrait of a Marriage.
Daniel Mark Epstein. Ballantine. 559 pages. $28.
Who hasn't been fascinated by the contrasting characters of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln: the lanky, lugubrious, long-faced man and the woman who described herself as a ''ruddy pine knot with periodic exuberances of flesh.'' The Lincolns themselves played on their differences; Abraham, lengthened by his famous stovepipe hat, would stand next to his wife, rendered even rounder by ruffles and decorations. He would point to himself and say, ''My friends, this is the long of it.'' Then, his hand on Mary's head, he added, ``And this is the short of it.''
No surprise, then, that the strongest elements of Daniel Epstein's The Lincolns are his portraits of the two as individuals. Epstein succeeds in delineating Abraham Lincoln, studious and thoughtful (sometimes to the point of catatonia), and Mary Todd Lincoln, whose high-energy existence could tip her into full-blown psychotic rage or the depths of depression.
But Epstein has set himself a harder task than merely chronicling each spouse; he wants to study that third character in every marriage -- the union itself. Epstein also wants to tell the story of a presidential marriage occupying the charged space of the White House during the charged time of the Civil War. Unfortunately for him, the personal and political do not mesh easily: Politics displaces the Lincoln marriage, which was all but destroyed by the pressure of the war and life in the White House.
The day Mary Todd Lincoln arrived in Washington, sons in tow, she met her husband at the Willard Hotel, where they would stay until the inauguration. Their reunion scene at this triumphal moment might have been the stuff of which Mary's favorite novels were made. But in the lobby, her husband met her surrounded by his political colleagues and soon left her for a dinner at William Seward's. This set the pattern of their life in the White House, a pattern of separation and isolation. The unrelenting press of the war and the personal devastation of their son Willie's death in 1862 only increased their estrangement. As Epstein points out, their marriage had been built on ''a rhythm of necessary separation following periods of domestic intimacy.'' Life at the White House changed that rhythm into a ``frustration that came of constant proximity in a world where intimacy was almost impossible.''
Given the current political climate and the prominence of political power couples in Washington, readers will sympathize with Epstein's attempt to tease out the Lincolns' political partnership. Incorporating women's lives into the traditional historical narrative is a worthy goal but requires more sophisticated understanding of the role of the first lady, or the importance of the social sphere to politics, than is on display in this work.
And, again, the reality of the Lincolns' marriage pushes back against Epstein's attempt to spin a tale of political partnership. For Mary Todd Lincoln, as for many first ladies, the most active politicking took place in the years before her husband won the highest seat in the land. Once in Washington, far from her networks and bowed with grief, she was not the most involved political partner.
Still, Epstein's literary talents shine. He relishes period details (such as how to clean a lamp), and his description of the Lincolns' famous 1862 ball truly brings the scene to life.
But it is difficult to categorize this work as serious history. History demands a certain level of exactitude, usually found in the source notes. The notes here are sketchy, citing only direct quotations and not all of them at that.
The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage may inspire scholars to substantiate Epstein's work. For Lincoln lovers less fastidious about their history, the story and writing will hold their attention.
Catherine Allgor reviewed this book for The Washington Post.
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