Quote by Mary Ann Todd Lincoln, From lett
We have met with so overwhelming an affliction in the death of our beloved Willie, a being too precious for this earth. All that human skill could do, was done for our sainted boy. I fully believe the severe illness [scarlet fever], he passed through, now, almost two years since, was but a warning to us, that one so pure, was not to remain long here and at the same time, he was lent us a little longer to try us and wean us from a world whose chains were fastening around us; and when the blow came it found us so unprepared to meet it. …He has fulfilled his mission and we are left desolate. When I think over his short but happy childhood, how much comfort, he always was to me, and how fearfully I always found my hopes concentrating on so good a boy as he was - when I can bring myself to realize that he has indeed passed away, my question to myself is, ‘can life be endured?’.
Summary
This quote is an expression of grief and profound loss over the death of a beloved child, Willie. The speaker suggests that Willie's illness may have been a foreshadowing of his untimely departure from the world. They believe that his purity meant he was not meant to stay on Earth for long, but rather served as a temporary gift to try and detach them from worldly attachments. The speaker acknowledges the immense pain and feeling of being woefully unprepared for Willie's death, reflecting on the joy he brought to their lives. The quote ends with a haunting question, pondering whether life can even be endured in the absence of such a cherished presence.
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