In her rebellion, Henry saw exactly who Eleanor was—not just a wife who could offer him territory and politically savvy counsel and good child care, but a formidable adversary against a man who was one of the greatest leaders of the century. It was as though, after many years of trying to be a good wife, Eleanor finally reverted to being her true self. He must have thought that was pretty cool. Sometimes, we allow our partners to see us clearly only after we’re no longer with them. Given the constraints of a relationship—the desire to appear nice or sexy or cool or organized or intellectual or
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