Abigail Adams Chapter 32 Recounts

Abigail Adams

Chapter 32 recounts some tough years for Abigail's family. The chapter is rife with deaths -- first Ann's child, then Louisa and John Quincy's, and finally Nabby. Through all of the sadness, however, Abigail seems so strong, appearing as the glue that holds the family together, which isn't the first time that this is apparent in the book. What is most striking about reading this chapter is coming to understand just how far we have come in modern medicine. If a child back then got whooping cough or simply a bad fever, there was always the chance of death. The children seem especially threatened by ailments. Abigail has now lost two grandchildren, her sister and her daughter, and Holton notes how these events "aged her in a way that time alone could not" (388). When their old friend Francois Adriaan van der Kemp comes to visit, he does not recognize her and tells John that the elderly lady he saw looked nothing like Abigail. John tells Abigail this and she is not offended by the statement, just sad because of the events that brought her to look like that -- all of the deaths of her loved ones. She notes that her mirror had told her already. Abigail has never been a vain woman and so this statement says a lot. Though she has never been one to rely on femininity, it is sad to think that she notes the change, but what makes her sad is not her getting older, but the fact that it is almost like she can see each sad event in the wrinkles on her skin.

Interestingly enough, while Abigail doesn't seem to be a woman who is caught up with appearances, she takes a special interest in Nabby's daughter's -- Caroline -- appearance. She doesn't believe her to be a pretty girl and so is completely taken aback when a young man from New York asks Caroline to marry him. Abigail's preoccupation with the way Caroline looks says a lot about the time and the importance of finding a husband. Abigail believes that this man -- Peter de Windt -- must be a good man if he is asking Caroline to marry him because she isn't all that attractive. She says, clearly he wasn't given to 'fashionable pleasure' (389). Then there is Abigail -- Charles' daughter -- who has become a sort of religious zealot and Abigail Adams fears that it will be difficult for her to find a husband as well. This chapter really shows the importance of having a husband in those days. Abigail is pleased that her namesake -- Abbe -- marries well and her husband is able to take care not only of his wife, but his wife's mother as well. The relief Abigail Adams gets from knowing that her grandchildren will be taken care of is evident. Being comfortable and not having to worry about money is something that Abigail wishes for all of her children and grandchildren and it is this sentiment that is pervasive throughout the entire book.