CHARACTER
The First Ladiesby Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Quick Facts

Eleanor Roosevelt is a co-protagonist of The First Ladies and the sitting First Lady of the United States. She evolves from a self-doubting political spouse into a daring public advocate whose influence rivals the administration she serves.

Who They Are

Eleanor is defined by transformation. Shaped by a lonely childhood and a bruising marriage, she initially mistakes quiet endurance for duty. The friendship she forges with Mary becomes the hinge of her life: it turns private empathy into public courage. As First Lady, she rejects ornamental politics for substance, wielding access, media, and moral clarity to confront injustice, especially around civil rights and the New Deal’s inclusion of Black Americans. Her story isn’t just about gaining a voice—it’s about choosing to use it.

Personality & Traits

Eleanor’s temperament is an alloy of wounded self-consciousness and moral resolve. The novel traces how her empathy—once confined to private feeling—hardens into strategy and risk-taking. Even her perceived plainness becomes part of her power: she favors utility over spectacle, signaling that results matter more than appearances.

  • Initially insecure: Haunted by her mother’s “granny” taunt and by Franklin’s affair, she hesitates at first contact with Mary, anxious about social backlash (Chapter 2).
  • Deeply empathetic: Her compassion for those harmed by racism is visceral and self-reflective; she feels responsible not just to feel, but to act.
  • Courageous and determined: She challenges racist women at her own luncheon (Chapter 2), refuses segregated seating in Birmingham (Chapter 47), and confronts her husband and advisers when principle is at stake.
  • Intellectually curious, earnestly serious: She craves “meaty discussions” over small talk (Chapter 14), a disposition that deepens her bond with Mary and grounds her learning about systemic racism.
  • Politically astute: Though allergic to empty ceremony, she masters persuasion—leveraging press visibility, public opinion, and quiet pressure to move policy, even crafting her own “rule book” for First Ladyship (Chapter 24).
  • Presence and self-image: Described as “somewhat gangly…with prominent front teeth” (Chapter 3) and a voice that grows “even more high-pitched” when anxious (Chapter 2), she often dresses “dowdy” beside Mary’s elegance—an outward sign of her preference for substance over style.

Character Journey

Eleanor begins constrained—by a marriage reconfigured after betrayal, by the expectations of the presidency, and by the controlling presence of [Sara Delano Roosevelt]. She pours herself into teaching at the Todhunter School and finds sanctuary at Val-Kill with friends, but her world changes when Mary invites her to see America unvarnished. That education reorders her priorities: she moves from private sympathy to public defiance, starting with a luncheon where she chooses companionship with Mary over social approval, and escalating to high-risk acts like defying segregation in Birmingham (Chapter 47). She joins the NAACP (Chapter 30), pushes for anti-lynching legislation, advocates for Black inclusion in New Deal programs and the military, and stages the Tuskegee flight (Chapters 66–67) to force the military’s hand. Even as she challenges Franklin, she remains a crucial partner—his conscience and strategist. By the end, she claims her own authority, illustrating how a woman can convert proximity to power into power exercised.

Key Relationships

  • Mary McLeod Bethune: The most consequential relationship in Eleanor’s life—Mary is confidante, teacher, and co-strategist. Their partnership models Friendship Across Racial Lines: Mary supplies hard truths and historical context; Eleanor supplies access and amplification. Together they transform moral conviction into coordinated action.
  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Their marriage becomes a pragmatic alliance after his affair with Lucy Mercer. Eleanor functions as Franklin’s moral barometer, urging him to pursue justice even when it threatens his coalition; he, in turn, grants her visibility and latitude that expand the office of First Lady.
  • Sara Delano Roosevelt: Sara’s dominance initially constrains Eleanor’s independence, yet the relationship is complex. Sara can surprise—defending Mary early on (Chapter 4) and joining Eleanor to press Franklin on anti-lynching (Chapter 32)—revealing how power within families can be repurposed for reform.
  • Lorena “Hick” Hickok: Hick offers affection and forthright counsel that embolden Eleanor’s voice. By encouraging Eleanor to write her own “rule book” (Chapter 24), Hick helps her turn sincerity into public craft.
  • Steve Woodburn: As a White House press secretary allied with Southern Democratic interests, Steve Woodburn personifies the institutional resistance Eleanor faces. He treats her activism as a liability, forcing her to refine her tactics while hardening her resolve.

Defining Moments

Eleanor’s courage is not a single leap but a series of public commitments that make retreat impossible.

  • The First Luncheon (Chapters 1–4): She chooses to sit with Mary despite racist pressure. Why it matters: It’s a conversion scene—allyship becomes visible, and Eleanor accepts the social costs of solidarity.
  • Birmingham Conference (Chapter 47): Ordered to obey segregated seating, she places her chair in the aisle. Why it matters: A small, staged gesture becomes a national image of refusal, showing how symbolism can puncture unjust norms.
  • Joining the NAACP (Chapter 30): After meeting with Walter White, she becomes the first First Lady to join the organization. Why it matters: She converts private convictions into an institutional commitment, lending presidential aura to a civil rights group.
  • Tuskegee Air Field Flight (Chapters 66–67): She publicly flies with instructor Charles Anderson, a Black pilot. Why it matters: The spectacle forces military accountability and accelerates deployment of the Tuskegee Airmen, proving that moral theater can move policy.

Symbolism & Significance

Eleanor symbolizes the possibility of ethical awakening within privilege: she listens, learns, and then spends her capital to dismantle the very exclusions that protected her. Her arc argues that leadership is chosen, not inherited, and that it requires Personal Sacrifice for Public Service. In redefining the First Lady’s role, she shows how proximity to power can be converted into public good.

Essential Quotes

My mother-in-law and I wanted to bring together women who run clubs across this nation. I expect us to find common ground so that we may bring change and opportunities for women and girls of all kinds.
— Eleanor Roosevelt (Chapter 2)

This articulates Eleanor’s earliest vision: convening as a political act. Even before her bolder protests, she frames the First Lady’s platform as a lever for women’s leadership and material change.

"You must never apologize for a sin someone else has committed," she says with a shake of her head.
"I appreciate that, but still, I’m terribly sorry. May I join you for lunch?"
"I was hoping you would," she answers with a nod. "I have a feeling we’ve got lots to talk about."
— Mary and Eleanor (Chapter 2)

The exchange dramatizes the moral terms of their friendship: Mary rejects empty guilt; Eleanor responds with chosen solidarity. Sitting together makes remorse actionable and inaugurates their political partnership.

I have never perceived silence around violence or racist actions to be the same as the acts themselves. But why shouldn’t it be? Silence suggests agreement, and anyone who knows about these terrible acts—including me—should take a stand against them.
— Eleanor Roosevelt (Chapter 14)

Here Eleanor indicts complicity, including her own. The insight converts empathy into obligation, justifying her shift from private discomfort to public intervention.

"I’d be proud to have Negro blood, and I suppose that if I did, and if my relatives and people were regularly tortured, murdered, and mutilated, I might make a nuisance of myself, too."
— Eleanor Roosevelt (Chapter 34)

Provocative and strategic, this line flips racist logic to expose the justice of Black protest. Eleanor uses wit and moral clarity to make complacency untenable.

"We’re missionaries in our own land, normalizing the integration of the races."
— Eleanor Roosevelt (Chapter 43)

By casting their work as “missionary” labor, Eleanor emphasizes persistence and example over decree. The phrase captures her theory of change: normalize what is right until the country must follow.