Wallis Simpson Essay -- essays research papers fc

American socialite Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom Edward VIII gave up the hind end in 1936, is variously portrayed as a greedy snob, a sexual predator or part of the romance of the century. A multiplex figure emerges a strong-willed woman, hungry for independence, but caught up in a situation she could not control. Mrs. Wallis Simpson has become an emotional figure in history. Along with this, legion(predicate) descriptions of her personality and motives for being with Edward have caused some super negative descriptions the nicer ones range from witch to seductress. So who really was Mrs. Wallis Simpson?Bessie Wallis Warfield, named later her auntie and her father, as she was born in Baltimore, Maryland, was something of a misfit from the start. Her arrival in June 19,1896 came sound seven months after the union of her parents, causing some embarrassment to Warfield relatives for whom object lesson propriety was essential as the elite of Baltimore society. Bessies fathe r died when she was five months elder and throughout her formative years, she and her mother had to rely on irregular handouts from a wealthy relative. Because her father left hand them with no money so they relied generosity from her mothers husbands late brother. As Wallis grew into a young woman, she was not necessarily considered pretty. Yet Wallis had a sense of call and poses that made her distinguished and attractive. She had radiant eyes, good complexion and fine, smooth coloured hair, which she kept parted down the middle for most of her life. Bessie discarded her send-off name - because "so many cows are called Bessie" - and learned how to flirt. and she was still shut out of the world she regarded as her birthright. Soon after the humiliation of "coming out" without the usual debutantes celebration ball, she grasped the original nitty-gritty of escape from Baltimore by becoming engaged.      On November 8 1916 she was married t o her first husband, at the age of 20 was to a Navy pilot Earl Winfield Spencer. The marriage was reasonably good until the end of World War I when many ex-soldiers became bitter at the inconclusiveness of the war and the difficulty in adapting back to civilian life. After the Armistice, Win began to drink heavily and also became abusive. Wallis eventually left Win and lived six years by herself in Washington. Win and Wallis werent provided divorced a... ...buried alongside Edward in the royal burial ground at Windsor.     Bibliography1.Agate, James. Ego 8 Continuing the Autobiography of London, 1948. Illusts. 8vo. or.cl. (272pp).2. Bloch, Michael. The Duke of Windsors War. London, 1982. Illusts. Royal 8vo. or.cl. (398pp).3. Bloch, Michael (ed). Wallis & Edward garner 1931-1937. London Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986.4. Broad, Lewis. Queens, Crowns and Coronations. London, 1952. Illusts. 8vo. or.cl. (184pp).5. Bryan, J.B. and, C.J.V. Murphy. The Windsor Stor y. London, 1979. Illusts. 8vo. or.cl. (640pp).6. Buchan, John. Memory Hold the Door. London, 1940. Illusts. 8vo. or.cl. (328pp).7. King, Greg The Duchess of Windsor The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson Kensington taproom Corp April 20038. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2003 Columbia University Press.9. Encyclopedia, Love Stories of the ampere-second, Jan. 16, 04 www.encyclopedia.com10. The History Channel, Search Jan. 16, 04, www.historychannel.com11. Warwick, Christopher. Abdication. London Sidgwick & Jackson, 1986.12. Ziegler, Paul, King Edward VIII The functionary Biography (London Collins. 1990) 224.