| OCR Text |
Show 207 If the guests came to Centerville, they ate dinner at Louisa's larger home and stayed there overnight, then arose and walked one block to have breakfast at the home of Celia, who was, by general agreement, the most immaculate housekeeper and made the tastiest pancakes and muffins.10 As in the Shipp family, the women assisted each other through their own illnesses and those of their children. Later in his life when Roberts himself became critically ill with diabetes just prior to the widespread use of insulin, he received tender ministrations from Margaret and his other wives and daughters. How did Maggie feel about life in the Roberts family? A strong clue is provided in her response to a woman essayist from Boston who was seeking verification for a remark which had been (wrongly) attributed to Margaret. The attribution was something to the effect that polygamy did not always bring happiness but it did bring beauty of character. Was this sentiment accurate, asked the woman. Margaret's reply, in part, was that plural families were not a tribulation (and she would surely have a valid opinion, having lived with two of them): ...if there is one woman in all Mormondom who is happy, I am that woman. My life has come to be one sweet, lovely day, such as comes to few mortals, I imagine The only thing which makes a woman's life worth living is love, the love of some one man in whom she believes and trusts, and the love of her children. A good husband, healthy children, and a revealed religion- these are the three things that help a woman stand being alive. A woman told me just the other day that she wondered what it was that made the Mormon women look so peaceful and contented. The ideal How could she help knowing it was our religion, the perfect faith and trust that everything is for the best, that gives us peace that the world cannot know. Why, how could we live without it?" |
