Marie Souvestre, one of the most important intellectual
influences of Eleanor Roosevelt's youth, was born
in 1830 in France. An educator known for her high
academic standards and liberal political beliefs,
Souvestre founded and ran schools for the daughters
of the prominent European and American families
in
both France and England. The best known of these
was
Allenswood Academy in
England, which ER attended from 1899-1902. While
at
Allenswood, Eleanor became Souvestre's protégé.
For ER, orphaned at a young age, Souvestre was a
combination
of teacher, mentor, parent, and friend as well as
the model of a fiercely independent woman. She instructed
ER in French, all the while encouraging her to become
more confident in her abilities and to express her
personality.
The two were extremely close, and ER credited Souvestre
with forming both her character and her intellectual
outlook.
ER thrived on Souvestre's intellectual method, which
stressed rigorous analysis and independent thinking.
She also responded to Souvestre's humanism and commitment
to human justice. Watching Souvestre fight for seemingly
lost political and social causes, Eleanor wrote many
years later, "I think I came to feel that the underdog
was always the one to be championed."
(1) Souvestre also introduced ER to the
settlement movement (privately funded inner city institutions
that provided education and social services to immigrants
and the urban poor), which Eleanor later became part
of through her work with the Rivington
Street Settlement House in New York City. In addition,
Souvestre also taught ER the pleasures of independent
travel, which gave ER great confidence and influenced
her own subsequent love of travel.
ER wanted to stay on at Allenswood for another year,
but her grandmother insisted that she return home
in 1902 to make her debut in society. Eleanor complied,
but she and Souvestre maintained a correspondence
until Souvestre's death in March 1905. Thereafter,
Eleanor kept Souvestre's portrait on her desk and
carried her letters with her.
Notes:
- Eleanor Roosevelt, "The
Seven
People Who Shaped My Life," in What I
Hope to Leave Behind: The Essential Essays of
Eleanor
Roosevelt. ed. Allida Black. (Brooklyn, N.Y.:
Carlson Publishing Inc., 1995), 40.
Sources:
Black, Allida, ed. What I Hope to Leave Behind:
The Essential Essays of Eleanor Roosevelt. Brooklyn,
N.Y.: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1995, 39-40.
Burns, James MacGregor and Susan Dunn. The Three
Roosevelts: Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America.
New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001, 88-89.
Caroli, Betty Boyd. The Roosevelt Women.
New York: Basic Books, 1998, 248-252.
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume
One, 1884-1933. New York: Viking Press, 1992,
103-116.
Lash, Joseph. Eleanor and Franklin. New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1971, 80-85.