The author opens up from the beginning about how male friendships exist in the twenty first century. They use this as a way to lead into the articles main theme, which was about how Abraham Lincoln’s friendship with Joshua Speed allowed him to recover through his depressing times, and put him in a position to have confidence to run for president.
Key Takeaways:
- Men talk of bromance and a new kind of buddy system, of searching for soul mates, even love, but not in the context of sex.
- Historians have broken apart the period from 1837 to 1842 to fit their interpretations of young Lincoln.
- Primarily through his friendship with Joshua Speed, Lincoln vicariously resolved his deep confusions about love and intimacy and found his way back to Mary Todd, who had graciously waited for him.
“Inevitably, in our fluid and uncertain times, we long for models of such friendship, and none is more dramatic and appealing than the friendship of Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/history-and-psychoanalysis/201608/the-new-world-male-friendship