To Keep a Name

I had to go to court

To keep my name

My maiden name

The name I was born with

I had to go to court

And defend my right

To keep it

My name

Something that was mine

Was no longer mine

Was no longer my--right

Because I got married

I was married in 1913

And by then

I was already the head

Of the New York Consumers League

I had worked with Jane Addams at Hull House

I had taught chemistry

I had attended UPenn and Columbia

And I’d studied economics and political science

And lived in Greenwich Village

I had a master’s degree

I was active in the suffrage movement

And I helped changed the labor laws in New York

All before I was married

And they wouldn’t let me keep my name

Even after everything I’d done

To make sure my name meant something

And not that it’s any of your business

But wanting to keep my name

Had nothing to do with

With not being traditional

Or a suffragist

I was protecting my husband

I didn’t want my...activities

To affect him

He was--

He was the secretary

To the Mayor of New York

At the time

And he was…

A good man

I was looking out for him

I always looked out for him

And he had a nice name

Wilson

But I went to court

And said--

I don’t want that name

I had to

That was what

They made me say

They were most likely punishing me

Making the whole situation as--

Unfortunate

As it could be

I was a very happy wife

I didn’t do much

While we were married

Aside from take care of our daughter

Our daughter Susanna

And that was all right

That was just fine with me

But then

Paul, my husband,

Became ill

And I had to get back out there

And sustain us

Because, you see,

He often needed treatment

For his--

For what he was going through

We would visit doctors

I would ask questions

They were--

Well, they were ill-equipped

To deal with the sorts of things

Paul was dealing with

At the time

He was a brilliant man

But sometimes brilliance

Has a cost

I would ask the doctors questions

And they would turn to Paul
And answer them

As if I wasn’t even in the room

When I did get them to talk to me

They would, without fail,

Take the opportunity to ask me

Why my husband and I

Had different last names

As if that had something to do with…

It would be the same for Susanna

When I would take her to doctors

She and Paul--

They had similar difficulties, and…

It was very trying

As you can imagine

When she was little

Susanna once asked me

Why she and I had separate names

And it’s a very difficult thing

To try and explain

To a child

Especially to a child

Who has--

Who is looking for comfort

And is troubled by

A variety of things that…

That…

I’m very proud

Of my professional accomplishments

And I would like to talk more about them

I only brought up

The issue of--

Of my name

Because

Well--

You mentioned people forgetting it

My name

Who I am

My legacy

And, well, that doesn’t surprise me, you see

Because

When you spend most of your life

Defending the right to keep your name

It doesn’t shock you to know

That as soon as you’re gone

The first thing they do
Is erase it