Frederick had found a modest rental house in the Philadelphia suburbs and he bought a used Saab. Elinor settled into her role as a stay-at-home mom, albeit begrudgingly, while Frederick worked nonstop, often two jobs, as the sole breadwinner. They could have used her additional income, but Frederick insisted that Elinor remain at home. He believed that a wife and mother should oversee the running of the household and take care of the children while the husband provided for the family. He didn’t want her to be a career nurse, and he preferred to work late-night shifts at a bakery rather than have his wife work at all.1

One of the many things that Elinor made Frederick feel, from the moment he met her, was that he was needed, and he relished that feeling. She played a role in creating a dynamic in which she was very much the recipient and Frederick the provider who would see that she had everything she needed both emotionally and materially. If Elinor had to contribute to the family’s household, then Frederick’s role as the one true provider would be compromised, and he couldn’t afford to give that up. The damage done by his relationship with his father created a vulnerability within him that would not have been able to withstand this blow.

Elinor, rather than protesting, focused on getting her children acclimated to American life. She certainly wasn’t going to push Frederick on the idea of working. Göttingen had been her idea, and although her husband had agreed, the move was a painful failure. Elinor felt responsible for the heartache Frederick had endured because of his parents, and she wanted something to be easy and positive for him. She decided that thing would be their relationship. Frederick’s ego had taken a tremendous blow in Germany, and she wanted to reassure him that their love, their union, would always be her number one priority.

She also wanted to get her children into a routine. Christopher was still in diapers, but because they had returned in October, school was already in session and Stephen needed to be enrolled immediately. He was almost seven years old and would have to adjust once again to a new city, a new house, and a new school where he would have to make new friends. Elinor and Frederick decided on the Sidney Smedley School, an elementary school close to where they lived.

Elinor, always impeccably groomed, dressed Stephen in smart school clothes and headed to the Smedley School for what she thought would be a routine enrollment process. She was eager to get her son back into the American school system. But Stephen didn’t get enrolled that day, and the reasons were revealed in a scathing letter Elinor wrote to the Morton School Board. A copy, showing wear and tear, was saved by Elinor and glued into one of her scrapbooks.