“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” is a very old saying that means not to judge someone or something based on what they look like on the outside. In her memoir Behind the Scenes, Elizabeth Keckley gives us an inside look at president Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and lets us look inside her own life. Elizabeth Keckley was a black slave that bought her own freedom. She worked as a seamstress for many wealthy people; including working inside the white house for Mary Todd Lincoln. In the memoir, Keckley explains her life at the white house with the Lincoln’s; including both the good and bad times. Keckley created a relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln that started out to be just business but soon was personal (Perry). Giving us in depth looks at three people and their characteristics that the ordinary person may not know Keckley explains that: Abraham Lincoln was a fun loving, affectionate, simple kind of man; Mary Todd Lincoln was a difficult, bold, strong woman; and Elizabeth Keckley was an honest, hardworking, loyal woman.
Like every other president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was perceived to always be held to the highest standard. However, Keckley explains Lincoln as more of a fun loving and simple kind of man. She recalls a moment that she was dressing Mrs. Lincoln and he comes into the room: “ Mr. Lincoln came in, threw himself on the sofa, laughed with Willie and little Tad, and commenced pulling on his gloves, quoting poetry all the while” (Keckley 178). Keckley explains Mr. Lincoln as a very simple man. He owned two pets that he treated as if they were his own children. One afternoon he talks to Keckley about his goats he is filled with enthusiasm. He says to her “Madam Elizabeth did you ever before see such an active goat? . . . [h]e feeds on my bounty, and jumps with joy. Do you think we could call him a bounty-jumper? But I flatter