Life with Evangeline Whipple

Abstract

This chapter looks at the last years of Rose Cleveland, her relationship with Evangeline Marrs Simpson Whipple, and the altruistic efforts of the two women to help refugees in their adopted home in Bagni di Lucca, Italy. Until the end of her life, Cleveland defied conventionality, which in Italy was realized in her love and domestic bliss with another woman, Whipple. Together they contributed to war relief efforts, helping women and children, and taking care of those suffering from the Spanish fever. When she passed away in her Tuscan home, Rose Cleveland was hailed as a remarkable example of nineteenth-century womanhood. She had led a full and courageous life, and her journey toward self-realization had culminated in her last years of labor and love in Italy.