Jane Addams - Part I

by
College Directory Columnist

May 15, 2010

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Do you know what the term resilience means? I found its definition in a dictionary.

Resilience in psychology is the positive capacity of people to overcome long periods of emotional ache.

The term resilience corresponds to the term fortitude. This capacity of resilience, this resistance is tested under situations of strong and prolonged stress.

Let's recall the story of a woman. Just to understand what resilience means, in a real life.

Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860, in Cedarville, Illinois. She was the youngest of six children. When she was two years old her mother died.

Her father who was a Quaker, a prosperous mill owner, besides being a local political leader who served for sixteen years as a state senator, and fought as an officer in the Civil War.In addition to this he was a friend of Abraham Lincoln.

Because of the tragic death of her mother whose tender love Jane couldn't enjoy, the little girl was especially devoted to her father, he became her idol. He taught her tolerance, philanthropy, and strong work ethic. He was her greatest influence. In spite of encouraging her to pursue higher education, he didn't want her to loose her femininity and the prospect of marriage and motherhood.

In 1877 Jane entered the Rockford Female Seminary, (later the Rockford College for Women). In this college she met whon was meant to be her friend: Ellen Starr, their friendship lasted many years. Jane was an excellent student and, upon her graduation, this young lady was named class valedictorian. Of course she loved to study, so that she wanted to continue studying medicine, just as her brothers had.

Her father didn't want her to study further. He wanted her to get married and to create a family of her own. He believed that if she continued studying at a college or university, she would never be able to do so. Then she was sent to Europe for a year or two with the rest of her family. Her father believed that this journey would allow her to meet a man, to fall in love and to get married.

Jane felt so much stressed because of her father's decision that her health began to deteriorate and she had to be often hospitalized. She was falling into a depression.

When they returned home, after 21 months in Europe, her father died, leaving Jane with an anguishing feeling of blame and pain. Those feelings pushed her into an even deeper depression. Doctors decided to operate her on her spine and for the following year she had to use a back harness.