Charles Lindbergh In The Aviators Wife

The Person Underneath Everyone has someone that they look up to or idolize. Depending on the person, there are multiple reasons for why they look up their idol, but those reasons are not always what their idol is actually about. Frequently, people look up to someone famous. Often times, famous people are not always as perfect as they seem. The media can portray them differently depending how they want the public to perceive the person. In Melanie Benjamin's novel, the Aviators Wife, the reader sees Charles Lindbergh through his wife, Anne's eyes. Anne describes the ups and downs her and Charles went through, and she admits that her life was not as much of a fairytale as some believe. The novel portrays Charles Lindbergh differently from the Charles Lindbergh many have come to know and idolize. First, there are many names from the past that go without forgetting, one would be the famous

A main example being that a fair number of people are aware of Charles Lindbergh's mistresses, but they are hardly ever discussed in order to protect his image. Everyone knew that he had a family, but it is never mentioned how much of an absent father he was. In pictures, he is shown as a loving and supporting father. However, when he was around, he made his children feel as if they were not good enough. Adding on to that, he would also place a great amount of pressure on them to live up to his incredible standard. Near the end of his life, Anne questions Charles for abandoning his children to support the children of his affairs. He then described that he wanted a chance to be as great of a parent as Anne was, and she responds with, "Why didn't you give our children that chance? They would have welcomed it. All you had to do was ask" (385). Charles may have been a brave hero to the public, but in private he was the complete