No posts, my Aunt Fanny. JFK did not deserve a lady like she. Jackie had class, style, poise, savior faire, culture, actual intelligence, sex appeal, strength and determination. She was hampered by an extremely sexist culture, but she should be an inspiration to women today. She was an amazing human being.
share Agreed. Very intelligent but she seemed to downplay her smarts in order to devote herself to her husband's career. Spoke several languages and translated books for her husband. I share her great love for books and literature.
One thing she is quoted as saying has always been one of my favorite inspirational comments. Basically, "If you bungle raising your children, not much else you do in life matters."
And did any public figure ever dress better? Whenever I see trendy, weird outfits, nose rings or tattoos, I ask myself, "What would Jackie wear?" Not that crap fur sure!
Good to see you, my friend, but not surprised to find you here. I like her quote about raising one’s children! I have long thought that she was a significantly better person than either of her husbands. She did what she had to do for the good of her children. What grace and character she had!
share Yeah, she may have married up money wise, but she married down character wise.
Of course JFK had his good points but being faithful wasn't one of them. Still he did seem to appreciate what an asset his wife was to his political career. He was pressured to marry if he wanted to make a run for the White House. In one of the books I have about the Kennedys there's a quote, "He could hardly take Angie Dickenson to the White House."
He needed a classy, cultured woman beside him although his Presidential campaign tried to keep Jackie in the background at first. They feared she was too highbrow for the average voter to appreciate. "She had a little too much status and not enough quo" went their thinking.
The funny thing is, she was so far above JFK’s advisors that they could not understand she had so much, grace, charm and social intelligence that she could communicate with anyone and put the person at ease. There’s a great scene in 1 of my favorite movies, The Right Stuff, where the Project Mercury astronauts’ wives are discussing what it’s like to meet Jackie. Those that had already met her gushed about how much she puts you at ease. Class, REAL Class, is the art of putting others at ease.
shareOh yes, The Right Stuff! I remember one scene when I felt so sorry for the astronaut's wife. It was Gus Grissom's wife. I think Veronica Cartwright played her. After his splashdown there was no fan fair or meeting the Kennedys.
I don't know if it was true or just made up for the movie, but Mrs. Grissom kept saying, "Where's Jackie? I thought I was going to meet Jackie!" She was so disappointed.
At least JFK came to appreciate what an asset Jackie was. Remember what he said when the French went totally gaga over Jackie?
"I am the man who accompanied Jaqueline Kennedy to Paris."
I will give JFK this: he had an excellent sense of humor and self-effacement. He was a charming rogue, raised in a criminal family with the bootlegger patriarch James “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald. With his wit, looks, breeding and money, I can understand why he was a real pantie dropper. I also think he was a facile philander who may well have disappointed in the sack, just like Clark Gable allegedly did. I don’t know that Jackie ever found her soulmate.
shareNeither JFK nor his brothers grew up with great male role models. That doesn't excuse JFK's philandering ways. But from what I've read, his father was open about his girlfriends. He even brought them home.
Still I do think Jackie loved him. She was fiercely protective of his memory and his legacy. I believe she was the one who started the Camelot legend. She did a lengthy interview after the assassination, but didn't want the tapes released until after her children were gone. A few years ago Caroline Kennedy released them. I was grateful to her for that! It was fascinating to hear her mother speak.
But after that, she fell silent. No interviews, no appearances on Oprah, no "tell all" books. I suppose it's ironic that I have books about Jackie and I love to read ABOUT her, but an autobiography would have ruined it for me. If she ever gave an interview like the Princess of Wales did on the sorry state of her marriage to Prince Charles I would have lost respect for her.
I recall seeing Princess Diana's interview and almost shouting at the TV, "You'll be sorry!" Emulate Jackie and don't spill your guts on TV. Too bad she didn't have anyone to counsel her on how tacky and counterproductive that was. Prince Charles behavior spoke for itself. She should've stayed quiet and let him take all the heat.
Jackie never explained herself to the public. She never felt the need to air her dirty laundry. I'm sure she avoided all interviews in part because she knew she'd get the inevitable question, "So what about JFK and Marilyn Monroe?" And who needs that? She didn't need the validation of a nosy TV audience.
She sort of reminds me of a magician I saw on TV about ten years ago. It was a weekly series where he'd perform some of the more famous illusions. I always wanted to know how they were done. After he did the trick, he redid it showing HOW it was done.
I was always so curious. I wanted to know how the illusion was performed. But when I saw it, I was always disappointed, mostly in myself for watching. It ruined the "magic" for me.
I'm sure Jackie had her faults and failings like everyone else. But I am glad she kept the magic
She had such elegant beauty.
shareShe was, in the most literal sense, a professional wife. Someone who devoted her intelligence, education, breeding, and peerless social skills to the job of being a wealthy man's wife. That was the career she was raised for and the career she chose, although she could have done something else even in a sexist time, and she worked hard and excelled at being a wife!
In fact, she was SO good at it, that she made enough to retire young, and stop after the second wealthy husband.
As ever, a valuable post, Otter. I understand she had a very detailed prenup with Aristotle Onassis, which included how many times they would have sex per month.
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