Chapters 12 and 13 Summary

For Eleanor, World War I alters life in the United States and renders the social climbing lifestyle of her relatives irrelevant. Eleanor aligns herself with progressive organizations and adopts the position of a social feminist, political activist, and a New Woman dedicated to women's rights and social reform. During Eleanor's tenure as head of the League of Women Voters, she meets other activists such as Elizabeth Read and Esther Lape. Eleanor often stays with the women in their Greenwich Village townhouse immersed in the company of intellectual and independent women.

In spite of her own departure from New York society, Eleanor encourages her daughter, Anna, to engage in the debutante rituals of the wealthy. Eleanor's belief that each of her children should have the opportunity to make his or her own decisions is what rules most of Eleanor's childrearing efforts, although...