the cost to varina's sense of herself was great. a fact that jefferson davis probably never noticed and if he did, did not care. yet, varina's power of observation and her appreciation of the absurd within her society could simply not be squelched. in her memoirs, she leaves us proof of her irrepressible character as she observes and die secretaries the foils of leading politicians, ridicules the conformity of women of her own social class and rudely assesses her husband's poor political instinct. her memoirs are filled with portraits of the great leaders of the era that revealed their flaws of steven a. douglas, she wrote, he would be more charming if he bathed more often. it's wonderful to see these men's character exposed outside of the marvelous debates that are going on in the congress. she recorded their surprising acts of kindness, that is enemies of jefferson davis', with she was delivering a baby and she couldn't get a nurse to her in washington. one of his fiercest enemies, as soon as his own sled to bring a nurse to varin