Hadley Richardson - Early Life

Early Life

Elizabeth "Hadley" Richardson was born on November 9, 1891, in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of four children. Hadley's mother, Florence (née Wyman), was an accomplished musician and singer, and her father, James Richardson, Jr., worked for a family pharmaceutical company. While a child, Hadley fell out of a second-story window and consequently was bed-ridden for a year. After the accident, her mother became overly protective, not allowing Hadley to learn how to swim or engage in other physical activities. Hadley's father was less protective, but in 1903 he committed suicide in response to financial difficulties. As a teenager Hadley became painfully shy and reclusive. She attended Mary Institute in St. Louis and then attended college at Bryn Mawr. However, when her mother decided Hadley was "too delicate, both physically and emotionally," she left college. The death of her sister Dorothea (who sustained burns from a house fire) earlier that year may have also contributed to Hadley's decision to leave college. Hemingway scholar Jamie Barlowe believes Hadley represented a "True Woman" as opposed to a "New Woman" of the early 20th century. The "True Woman" was "emotional, dependent, gentle—a true follower."

After her return from college, Hadley lived a restricted life—her sister and her mother continued to worry about her health—with little opportunity for physical activity or much of a social life. Her mother did allow Hadley to visit her former Bryn Mawr roommate Katy Smith in Vermont one summer. While visiting her friend, she enjoyed playing tennis and she met Maxfield Parrish but when her mother became worried over her well-being, she was forced to return home. While her mother became reclusive and immersed herself in spiritualism, Hadley spent some years attempting to attain a career as a pianist until she abandoned music, believing she lacked talent. When her mother developed Bright's Disease, Hadley nursed her until her death.