Summary Of Ron Chernow's 'Ghosts'

Lin-Manuel Miranda altered and emphasized certain details from Ron Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton when composing the lyrics to Hamilton. Miranda emphasizes Hamilton’s faltering relationship with Eliza Schuyler while altering the order of events regarding Hamilton’s relationship with Angelica Schuyler to increase audience interest in the story.

Both Miranda and Chernow choose to include details that emphasize the time that Hamilton often spent away from Eliza, portraying the relationship as faltering. In the lyrics to Miranda’s “Non-Stop” Eliza is often seen attempting to get Hamilton’s attention. She wishes to “share a fraction of [Hamilton’s] time” (Miranda 25) so as to be a good wife and give him something that will “be enough” (Miranda

Eliza is desperately pleading with Hamilton to spend time with her, showing the distance that Hamilton puts between him and his own wife. She wants to be enough for Hamilton so that he can finally be satisfied. Eliza is depicted as desperate and dissatisfied when it comes to her relationship with Hamilton, showing the growing tension between the two. In “Ghosts” Chernow similarly shows that Hamilton often spent time away from Eliza, reinforcing the idea that the distance in their relationship was tearing them apart. Chernow observes that throughout their marriage Eliza was often “either pregnant or consumed with child rearing” (Chernow 1). This created a gap that “may have encouraged Hamilton’s womanizing” (Chernow 1). By often being busy with their children, Eliza spent less time with Hamilton. Chernow believes that the boredom that resulted from this lack of attention may

In Chernow’s “The Lovesick Colonel” Hamilton’s deep connection with Angelica is expressed. Hamilton often expressed his love of Angelica, an affection that “would certainly have been forbidden with other women” (Chernow 5) under the cover of Angelica’s special relationship with Eliza. By sharing these flirtatious comments with Angelica, Hamilton has confirmed that his affection towards Angelica is much deeper and more intimate than depicted by Miranda. Miranda, on the other hand, minimizes Hamilton’s affection for Angelica, allowing her to make the majority of the flirtatious comments. Miranda does this to protect Hamilton’s character to the audience because this could be seen as Hamilton cheating on his wife Eliza for Angelica, an idea that is not positively accepted by the audience. Miranda also alters the timeline of the story to make it appear as though Hamilton could have been with Angelica instead of Eliza. In “The Lovesick Colonel” Chernow mentions John B. Church had “eloped with Angelica in 1777” (Chernow 6). Angelica was married to Church in 1777, but Miranda only mentions her marriage later in the production. In Miranda’s “Satisfied,” Angelica reflects on the first time she met