Mary Todd Lincoln

“Who? Me? No. Yes. I mean, my maiden name was Todd. I am always addressed by my married name – Mrs. Lincoln. Please come in and have some refreshments. Lemonade?”

—Mary Todd Lincoln, Mario's Time Machine

Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was the wife of American president Abraham Lincoln. They married in 1842 in the town where Mary lived, Springfield, Illinois, and they stayed together until the president's assassination in 1865. They had four children together, all sons, and only one of them outlived Mary: Edward Baker Lincoln, William Wallace Lincoln, Tad Lincoln, and Robert Todd Lincoln (who also became the United States Secretary of War). In Mario's Time Machine, she meets Mario after he travels back in time to the White House in Washington, D.C. to January 1, 1863 (the day of Abraham's Emancipation Proclamation) to return Abraham's Spectacles.

History

Mario's Time Machine

In Mario's Time Machine, Mary Todd Lincoln lived in the White House in 1863. The game also depicts her as being forgetful and scatterbrained (traits that have been rarely, if ever, associated with her in real life). When Mario first meets her after traveling back in time, he asks her if she is really Mary Todd, and she confusedly replies both no and yes. She says that nowadays, people always refer to her by her married name, Lincoln. She then offers Mario some Lemonade, which he accepts. Mario recognizes the name, and asks her if her husband is the president. She says yes, and mentions that they married in 1842 and that, before Abraham Lincoln was the president, he was a woodsman, a store clerk, a surveyor, an attorney and "so much more". Mario then asks if he was ever a plumber, and Mary says that she does not think so, as Abraham is very honest (earning him the nickname "Honest Abe") and truthfully tells her everything. Mario asks if he can see him, but she tells him that he is too busy dealing with the American Civil War before noticing that she is missing the Cloth that she needs to finish making some new clothes. Mario then provides her with the missing Cloth, and she thanks him while commenting that he must be a friend of General Tom Thumb (a circus performer and dwarf). She mentions that her sons, Robert, Tad and Willy, enjoy his performances, and she also mentions that one of them, Eddy, died young and that she never fully recovered from the loss. She is also struggling with the war herself, and she hopes that her husband can end it soon. She believes that her husband can reunite the country together, and she also says that its reunion is his highest priority. She ends the conversation by saying that she cannot properly explain the situation, and tells Mario to see Abraham's speechwriter for more information.