Opening
Two women move in opposite currents of power. Eleanor Roosevelt clings to the sanctuary she builds at Val-Kill just as politics sweeps her back into public life, while Mary McLeod Bethune strides through Daytona with authority she forges herself—demanding respect, organizing voters, and shaping her community.
What Happens
Chapter 6: A Life of Purpose
February 1928. Eleanor spends a sunlit winter day at Val-Kill Cottage with her two youngest sons and her closest friends, Marion Dickerman and Nan Cook. Val-Kill is ease and candor—everything Springwood is not. At the main Roosevelt estate, the rigid formality of dinners and the social calendar answers to matriarch Sara Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor thinks back to meeting Marion and Nan six years earlier, crediting them with opening a “life of purpose” that lifts her beyond society obligations and toward meaningful work. She also sees the cottage—built on the estate with help from Franklin Delano Roosevelt—as his “olive branch for Lucy Mercer,” a tacit apology that acknowledges their past rupture.
Her youngest boys, Franklin Jr. and John, prefer Val-Kill’s simple meals to Springwood’s stuffy dinners with their grandmother, a quiet proof that here, with less ceremony, Eleanor connects more deeply than she did with her older children. After sending the boys to the main house, she settles by the fire with Marion and Nan, who share a tender moment that makes their “Boston marriage” unmistakable. The talk turns to politics. Nan, now executive secretary of the Women’s Division of the New York Democratic Party, brings the latest gossip. Eleanor feels relief: no rumors say Franklin plans a political return. She treasures the independence she has carved out—and, if she must channel that energy anywhere, she’s ready to champion Governor Al Smith’s presidential bid.
Chapter 7: Respect Goes Both Ways
May 28, 1928. Mary strolls through Daytona Beach, taking stock of what she has built: Black-owned businesses filling a vibrant district—among them her son’s Tea Room—signal economic self-sufficiency. At Miss Esther’s Fancy Fashions, she meets Mrs. Wallace, a white city councilman’s wife who praises Mary’s work and mentions hearing Langston Hughes at Mary’s school.
Then the veneer cracks. Mrs. Wallace calls her “Mary.” Mary flinches, then calmly resets the terms: “Mrs. Bethune is fine.” Because Mrs. Wallace introduced herself formally, Mary expects—and insists on—the same. Mrs. Wallace, shocked, leaves. Miss Esther laughs it off; Mary does not. She carries a childhood vow to claim the dignity her parents were denied. After choosing new business attire for campaign work on Herbert Hoover’s behalf, she heads to lunch with her beloved grandson, Albert Jr.—a quiet, personal joy threaded through public labor.
Chapter 8: A Summoning by the Governor
That same evening, Eleanor reaches Springwood late, still in her plain work dress from New York City’s Smith headquarters. Disapproval chills the table until Marion and Nan try to soften the mood. Then a telephone call—Governor Al Smith for Franklin—halts dinner. Such a call is unheard of.
Franklin wheels away. When he returns, he announces Smith’s request: deliver the nominating speech at the Democratic National Convention in Texas. “Only a speech. A bit of fun,” he says lightly. Eleanor, Sara, and Nan trade a look. This is not “only a speech.” It is a stage, a spotlight, and a path back. Eleanor’s private life begins to recede.
Chapter 9: The Wind Is Shifting
Election night, November 6, 1928. Mary works the Republican headquarters in Daytona, alive with volunteers and radio static. Florida’s Republican gubernatorial candidate loses. Moments later, news breaks that Franklin wins the New York governorship. Mary smiles—Eleanor will do good work as a governor’s wife—and then the headline result arrives: Herbert Hoover defeats Al Smith in a landslide.
Amid congratulations, Mary weighs a changing political map. She recalls a pointed conversation with Walter White of the NAACP: the GOP takes Black voters for granted, he argues, so “chronic Republicanism” must end. Mary remains loyal to Lincoln’s party but recognizes its failures and the younger leaders’ impatience. Her son Albert Sr. collects her after the returns. A gentle question about his business meets a defensive answer—trouble lurks. The night closes with Mary feeling the pull of duty from every quarter: family, school, country.
Chapter 10: Loss and Triumph
Eleanor stands beside Franklin at a jubilant Albany celebration, split between pride and grief: Franklin’s victory, Smith’s defeat. The cheers blur into a memory from a month earlier, when Governor Smith and Democratic National Committee chair John Raskob arrived at Eleanor’s New York townhouse. Franklin, recuperating in Georgia, dodged their calls; the filing deadline loomed. They pressed Eleanor, appealing to her loyalty and influence.
She made the choice. She put the call through. In that moment, she ends Franklin’s political seclusion—and her own. Back in Albany, the new head of security, Earl Miller, introduces himself, a physical reminder that privacy is over. Watching Franklin shake endless hands, Eleanor names the paradox: “With the defeat of Smith came the victory of Franklin. With the winning of the governorship comes the loss of my freedom.”
Key Events
- Eleanor’s sanctuary at Val-Kill (Feb 1928) centers her independent purpose outside Springwood.
- Mary’s firm correction—“Mrs. Bethune”—reclaims dignity in a segregated public space (May 1928).
- The Smith phone call pulls Franklin toward the DNC spotlight (May 1928).
- Eleanor connects Smith’s urgent call to Franklin, triggering his gubernatorial run (Oct 1928).
- Election Night: Hoover wins the presidency; Franklin wins New York, reshaping both women’s futures (Nov 1928).
Character Development
Both protagonists negotiate power and duty, but from opposite directions: Mary builds and wields her influence publicly; Eleanor assembles a private life only to sacrifice it when the moment demands.
- Eleanor Roosevelt: Deep attachment to Val-Kill and “a life of purpose” defines her. She dreads returning to politics yet actively enables Franklin’s comeback, revealing a complex sense of agency and duty that overrides personal desire.
- Mary McLeod Bethune: A commanding community leader who insists on respect in every interaction. Her organizing reach is national, even as family burdens—especially concerns about her son—shadow her victories.
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Ambition reignites. A “mere” nominating speech becomes a launchpad to the governorship, moving him from convalescence to center stage.
- Sara Delano Roosevelt: The family’s social enforcer at Springwood. Her wish to keep Franklin out of politics briefly aligns her with Eleanor, though their reasons diverge.
Themes & Symbols
The chapters hinge on the cost of choosing the public good over private peace. In Eleanor’s storyline especially, Personal Sacrifice for Public Service exacts a personal toll: she knows what she gives up—the autonomy and intimacy of Val-Kill—and does it anyway. Strategy hums beneath every scene: Mary’s grassroots work for Hoover and Eleanor’s high-level coordination for Smith reveal the layered machinery of Political Activism and Strategy.
Mary’s boutique confrontation crystallizes Civil Rights and Racial Injustice: a name is not “just a name” but a daily line where power is either surrendered or reclaimed. Both women demonstrate the reach and constraint of The Role and Power of Women. Mary commands her platform outright; Eleanor’s influence runs through gatekeeping and decision-making that others underestimate until it changes history.
Symbol: Val-Kill Cottage stands for Eleanor’s authentic self—informal, candid, purposeful. Every political step forward increases the distance between her and that sanctuary.
Key Quotes
“Mrs. Bethune is fine.” Mary’s correction transforms a social slight into a lesson in equality. In one line, she enforces boundaries, honors her parents’ dignity, and models how respect functions as a form of power.
“Only a speech. A bit of fun.” Franklin minimizes the DNC moment, but the family’s reaction exposes the truth: the speech is a re-entry strategy. His light tone contrasts with the heavy consequences Eleanor anticipates.
“With the defeat of Smith came the victory of Franklin. With the winning of the governorship comes the loss of my freedom.” Eleanor names the trade-off with painful clarity. The line captures the novel’s emotional core: victories in public life can be losses at home, and she lives at that crossroads.
“Life of purpose.” Eleanor’s phrase defines her North Star. It begins at Val-Kill with friends and work that feel real—and evolves into a national mission once she re-enters the political arena.
Franklin’s “olive branch for Lucy Mercer.” Seeing Val-Kill as an apology reframes the cottage: not only a refuge but also a negotiated peace after betrayal, a space where Eleanor rebuilds on her terms.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
These chapters mark the hinge of the story. Franklin’s return to politics ends Eleanor’s private season and sets her on the path that will redefine the role of First Lady. At the same time, Mary’s ascendant leadership—and her clear-eyed view of party loyalty, strategy, and dignity—establishes a power base that will intersect with the Roosevelts’ world.
Together, the parallel narratives sharpen the contrast: Mary commands public space she fought to enter; Eleanor surrenders private space she fought to keep. Their choices forge a partnership-in-the-making, one that will shape national policy, civil rights, and the meaning of women’s power in public life.