User:MerAtticus/sandbox: Difference between revisions

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''Of Women and Their Elegance,'' Mailer's second appropriation of Monroe, came some seven years after the first. Like the first, it is heavily reliant on the visual. Here, however, rather than pictures only of Monroe, there are pictures of other women and their elegance. The photographs by Milton H. Greene run the gamut from Marlene Dietrich to Grandma Moses. In ''Marilyn,'' Mailer claimed to be writing a "novel biography" and he routinely referenced the biographical works of Maurice Zolotow, Fred Lawrence Guiles, and Norman Rosten, also often citing what he called "factoids." Here he baldly stated in a note before the text that he "does not pretend to offer factual representations."

Obviously foreseeing much of the kind of criticism that this book would engender, Mailer anticipated his detractors in a make-believe trial published in ''New York'' magazine. Deftly titled "Before the Literary Bar," besides his own voice he created the parts of the ~~prosecutor~~, the ~~defense~~, and the ~~court~~. The charge was "criminal literary negligence" and Mailer himself characterized the work as a "false autobiography" or "an imaginary memoir".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|pp=27-8}} The thrust of his main argument about his fast-and-loose treatment of the facts is that what he portrayed in the book, "whether factual or not...[could] reasonably have occurred in Miss Monroe's life" and that they are therefore "aesthetically true" if not literally so.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} Mailer assumed the variety of voices, both pro and con, in an adroit manner, convincingly developing the arguments of his detractors. In some spots he even demonstrated a delightful sense of self-irony. An example is when, after having been instructed numerous times to reply only to the questions asked of him, he has the ~~court~~ remark, "Maybe Mr. Mailer thinks he is being paid by the word".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} In another instance he

Obviously foreseeing much of the kind of criticism that this book would engender, Mailer anticipated his detractors in a make-believe trial published in ''New York'' magazine. Deftly titled "Before the Literary Bar," besides his own voice he created the parts of the Prosecutor, the Defense, and the Court. The charge was "criminal literary negligence" and Mailer himself characterized the work as a "false autobiography" or "an imaginary memoir".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|pp=27-8}} The thrust of his main argument about his fast-and-loose treatment of the facts is that what he portrayed in the book, "whether factual or not...[could] reasonably have occurred in Miss Monroe's life" and that they are therefore "aesthetically true" if not literally so.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} Mailer assumed the variety of voices, both pro and con, in an adroit manner, convincingly developing the arguments of his detractors. In some spots he even demonstrated a delightful sense of self-irony. An example is when, after having been instructed numerous times to reply only to the questions asked of him, he has the Court remark, "Maybe Mr. Mailer thinks he is being paid by the word".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} In another instance he

----

has the ~~court~~ assure him, after a question of whether or not he would like it if someone made up facts about him when he is dead, that they "do not wish to rush that occasion".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45-6}}

has the Court assure him, after a question of whether or not he would like it if someone made up facts about him when he is dead, that they "do not wish to rush that occasion".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45-6}}

Mailer's self-defense in "Before the Literary Bar" is that made-up parts of his fictional autobiography can be justified as having reasonably occurred in Monroe's life. However, his creation of the Bobby de Peralta character pushes the boundaries of a reader's willing suspension of disbelief. Mailer claimed to have made him up to try to explain the tragic ambiguities in Monroe's character, attributing them to buried matters in her psyche. He rationalized that something in her unrecorded years in Hollywood must contain a "psychic cyst" or memories so bad that she could not face them.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45}}

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a "blow-job" only to spend the night in an orgy with Bobby is not enough, Mailer also gave her murderous inclinations. When the nefarious Bobby suggested they go over and cut his wife's throat, Mailer's Monroe creation responded with "excitement." The prospect of murder stimulated her to the declaration that "I was nearer to myself than I ever wanted to be".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=137}} She relished the idea that "everyone would talk of me," seeing it as "beautiful".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|pp=137-8}} She acknowledged that she is "ready to commit murder."{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=138}} ~~***~~Murder is so appealing to her that it vanquishes her headache. If Mailer's excuse for this sensationalism is that he had to create something awful in her past to explain her future bad behavior, his is a sharply flawed argument. In this fictional episode, Mailer's ~~Marilyn~~ is already so lacking in any moral compass that she goes through all the motions of participating in murder, only prevented from the act because it ~~turns~~ out that the designated victim is not there. She is willing to commit murder with a man who does not even know her "phone number or my address, or even my last name".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=142}} Logically, whatever brought her to this morally bankrupt state ~~had~~ happened earlier and Mailer's invention should be flagged by the referee as unnecessary roughness. Two days after this imaginary episode, Mailer ~~adds~~ the information that she ~~has~~ an abortion. Cleverly, in his self-defense before the imaginary literary bar, Mailer ~~has~~ the Prosecutor question him about the factual basis for Bobby de Peralta and the murder plot. He ~~acknowledges~~ that he ~~has~~ none and even ~~allows~~ his Prosecutor creation to describe is actions as "outrageous" ("Before" 40). And I would add self-indulgent.

a "blow-job" only to spend the night in an orgy with Bobby is not enough, Mailer also gave her murderous inclinations. When the nefarious Bobby suggested they go over and cut his wife's throat, Mailer's Monroe creation responded with "excitement." The prospect of murder stimulated her to the declaration that "I was nearer to myself than I ever wanted to be".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=137}} She relished the idea that "everyone would talk of me," seeing it as "beautiful".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|pp=137-8}} She acknowledged that she is "ready to commit murder."{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=138}} Murder is so appealing to her that it vanquishes her headache. If Mailer's excuse for this sensationalism is that he had to create something awful in her past to explain her future bad behavior, his is a sharply flawed argument. In this fictional episode, Mailer's Monroe is already so lacking in any moral compass that she goes through all the motions of participating in a murder, only prevented from the act because it turned out that the designated victim was not there. She is willing to commit murder with a man who does not even know her "phone number or my address, or even my last name".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=142}} Logically, whatever brought her to this morally bankrupt state happened earlier and Mailer's invention should be flagged by the referee as unnecessary roughness. Two days after this imaginary episode, Mailer added the information that she had an abortion. Cleverly, in his self-defense before the imaginary literary bar, Mailer had the Prosecutor question him about the factual basis for Bobby de Peralta and the murder plot. He acknowledged that he had none and even allowed his Prosecutor creation to describe his actions as "outrageous" ("Before" 40). And I would add self-indulgent.

Even on his own terms, with himself as judge and jury, Mailer's defense rings hollow. He ~~claims~~ that without such an episode the reader would be left with a characterization of ~~Marilyn~~ that presents only her "sweet, charming, madcap" side, thereby unable to understand why on so attractive would end so badly. Acknowledging what might have been "a failure of invention," he ~~concedes~~ that it is difficult "to conceive of one powerful dramatic episode that will substitute satisfactorily for the sum of a thousand smaller episodes".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45}} And that is, I would argue, because the thousand smaller ~~episodees~~ are more than sufficient ~~explanation~~ by themselves. Mailer, on the basis of what he calls "general knowledge" about the life of a Hollywood starlet.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}, ~~gives Marilyn~~ the kind of demeaning and humiliating experiences that, along with her genetic and childhood history, could adequately explain her later behavior. Mailer ~~has~~ her remember being sent to perform fellatio on three executives in a row, on the half hour, before going to acting class. He even

Even on his own terms, with himself as judge and jury, Mailer's defense rings hollow. He claimed that without such an episode the reader would be left with a characterization of Monroe that presents only her "sweet, charming, madcap" side, thereby unable to understand why one so attractive life would end so badly. Acknowledging what might have been "a failure of invention," he conceded that it is difficult "to conceive of one powerful dramatic episode that will substitute satisfactorily for the sum of a thousand smaller episodes".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45}} And that is, I would argue, because the thousand smaller episodes are more than sufficient explanations by themselves. Mailer, on the basis of what he calls "general knowledge" about the life of a Hollywood starlet{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}, gave Monroe the kind of demeaning and humiliating experiences that, along with her genetic and childhood history, could adequately explain her later behavior. Mailer had her remember being sent to perform fellatio on three executives in a row, on the half hour, before going to acting class. He even

----

~~remarks~~ to the prosecutor's question about the episode that "the scars" of that period in her life explain why a woman with her "angelic appearance" came to be so difficult to work with and inconsiderate of co-stars, directors and crew. Calling the excerpt "factual" he ~~quotes~~ both Lee Strasberg and Arthur Miller to verify the "call girl" and "chewed and spat out" quality of Monroe's early Hollywood days.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}

remarked to the prosecutor's question about the episode that "the scars" of that period in her life explain why a woman with her "angelic appearance" came to be so difficult to work with and inconsiderate of co-stars, directors and crew. Calling the excerpt "factual" he quoted both Lee Strasberg and Arthur Miller to verify the "call girl" and "chewed and spat out" the quality of Monroe's early Hollywood days.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}

Mailer's sly manipulation here is blatantly self-serving in an additional manner. By making this particularly egregious episode Exhibit B in the trial, he can enjoy his imaginary voyeurism again. Not only are the ~~offenisve~~ events in the book, but in case the reader of ''New York'' ~~does~~ not buy the book, Mailer ~~has~~ the opportunity to present his self-indulgent imaginings for a different audience--those who might pick up the magazine. He ~~has~~ the prosecution make him read the whole episode to the court as Exhibit B. The titillation quotient is high.

Mailer's sly manipulation here is blatantly self-serving in an additional manner. By making this particularly egregious episode Exhibit B in the trial, he can enjoy his imaginary voyeurism again. Not only are the events offensive in the book, but in case the reader of ''New York'' did not buy the book, Mailer had the opportunity to present his self-indulgent imaginings for a different audience--those who might pick up the magazine. He had the prosecution make him read the whole episode to the court as Exhibit B. The titillation quotient is high.

As a sidelight, it can be said that still another use Mailer made of his writing about Marilyn is payback or appreciation to Milton and Amy Greene. Whatever the realities of their behavior in their relationship with Monroe, in both ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' and ''Strawhead,'' Mailer casts them a very positive light and puts complimentary language in Marilyn's mouth when she speaks of them. Milton Greene's particular charm is portrayed with Marilyn's initial reaction at their first meeting: "You're just a boy".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} Her expectation, given his fame as a fashion photographer, was for an older man. Mailer also tries to make him appealing in a scruffy kind of way when he has Marilyn describe him as looking like a young John Garfield if Garfield had been chewed a bit a by a toothless lion.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} He is portrayed as the only man who did not take advantage of Marilyn and she blames Arthur Miller for ruining their relationship. Besides the direct compliments, such as when Marilyn tells Amy her eyes are like stars{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=28}} and compliments her performance during the Edward R. Murrow interview as "truly scintillating" and done with "real poise" and "real vivacity".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=126}} Mailer also portrays Amy Greene as a mentor to Marilyn in matters of fashion, introducing her to the fashions of Norman Norell.{{efn|Although Norell's fashions are given prominence in Mailer's writing, he is ignored in many of the biographies. An interesting sidelight is that Michelle Obama wore a vintage Norell dress during the 2010 Christmas season}} Marilyn lauds Amy's organization down to her color coordination of her underwear with her clothing. Of course, the Greenes are his co-authors in a way as they provided the reminiscences and the photographs that make up the bulk of the book. Milton Greene's ethics are also presented in a most favorable light when the break-up of Marilyn Monroe Productions occurs. With the comment, "It was not my idea to make

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ''Of Women and Their Elegance,'' Mailer's second appropriation of Monroe, came some seven years after the first. Like the first, it is heavily reliant on the visual. Here, however, rather than pictures only of Monroe, there are pictures of other women and their elegance. The photographs by Milton H. Greene run the gamut from Marlene Dietrich to Grandma Moses. In ''Marilyn,'' Mailer claimed to be writing a "novel biography" and he routinely referenced the biographical works of Maurice Zolotow, Fred Lawrence Guiles, and Norman Rosten, also often citing what he called "factoids." Here he baldly stated in a note before the text that he "does not pretend to offer factual representations."
-Obviously foreseeing much of the kind of criticism that this book would engender, Mailer anticipated his detractors in a make-believe trial published in ''New York'' magazine. Deftly titled "Before the Literary Bar," besides his own voice he created the parts of the prosecutor, the defense, and the court. The charge was "criminal literary negligence" and Mailer himself characterized the work as a "false autobiography" or "an imaginary memoir".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|pp=27-8}} The thrust of his main argument about his fast-and-loose treatment of the facts is that what he portrayed in the book, "whether factual or not...[could] reasonably have occurred in Miss Monroe's life" and that they are therefore "aesthetically true" if not literally so.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} Mailer assumed the variety of voices, both pro and con, in an adroit manner, convincingly developing the arguments of his detractors. In some spots he even demonstrated a delightful sense of self-irony. An example is when, after having been instructed numerous times to reply only to the questions asked of him, he has the court remark, "Maybe Mr. Mailer thinks he is being paid by the word".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} In another instance he
+Obviously foreseeing much of the kind of criticism that this book would engender, Mailer anticipated his detractors in a make-believe trial published in ''New York'' magazine. Deftly titled "Before the Literary Bar," besides his own voice he created the parts of the Prosecutor, the Defense, and the Court. The charge was "criminal literary negligence" and Mailer himself characterized the work as a "false autobiography" or "an imaginary memoir".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|pp=27-8}} The thrust of his main argument about his fast-and-loose treatment of the facts is that what he portrayed in the book, "whether factual or not...[could] reasonably have occurred in Miss Monroe's life" and that they are therefore "aesthetically true" if not literally so.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} Mailer assumed the variety of voices, both pro and con, in an adroit manner, convincingly developing the arguments of his detractors. In some spots he even demonstrated a delightful sense of self-irony. An example is when, after having been instructed numerous times to reply only to the questions asked of him, he has the Court remark, "Maybe Mr. Mailer thinks he is being paid by the word".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} In another instance he
 ----
 <span style="font-size:12px;""font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;"><div style="text-align:right;">M I M I{{pad|0.5em}}R E I S E L{{pad|0.5em}}G L A D S T E I N{{pad|1.0em}}</span><span style="font-size:20px;"font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;">&bull;{{pad|0.5em}}</span><span style="font-size:16px""font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;>271</div></span>
-has the court assure him, after a question of whether or not he would like it if someone made up facts about him when he is dead, that they "do not wish to rush that occasion".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45-6}}
+has the Court assure him, after a question of whether or not he would like it if someone made up facts about him when he is dead, that they "do not wish to rush that occasion".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45-6}}
 Mailer's self-defense in "Before the Literary Bar" is that made-up parts of his fictional autobiography can be justified as having reasonably occurred in Monroe's life. However, his creation of the Bobby de Peralta character pushes the boundaries of a reader's willing suspension of disbelief. Mailer claimed to have made him up to try to explain the tragic ambiguities in Monroe's character, attributing them to buried matters in her psyche. He rationalized that something in her unrecorded years in Hollywood must contain a "psychic cyst" or memories so bad that she could not face them.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45}}
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 <span style="font-size:16px;""font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;">272{{pad|0.5em}}</span><span style="font-size:20px;"font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;">&bull;{{pad|0.5em}}</span><span style="font-size:12px""font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;">T H E{{pad|0.5em}}M A I L E R{{pad|0.5em}}R E V I E W</span>
-a "blow-job" only to spend the night in an orgy with Bobby is not enough, Mailer also gave her murderous inclinations. When the nefarious Bobby suggested they go over and cut his wife's throat, Mailer's Monroe creation responded with "excitement." The prospect of murder stimulated her to the declaration that "I was nearer to myself than I ever wanted to be".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=137}} She relished the idea that "everyone would talk of me," seeing it as "beautiful".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|pp=137-8}} She acknowledged that she is "ready to commit murder."{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=138}} ***Murder is so appealing to her that it vanquishes her headache. If Mailer's excuse for this sensationalism is that he had to create something awful in her past to explain her future bad behavior, his is a sharply flawed argument. In this fictional episode, Mailer's Marilyn is already so lacking in any moral compass that she goes through all the motions of participating in murder, only prevented from the act because it turns out that the designated victim is not there. She is willing to commit murder with a man who does not even know her "phone number or my address, or even my last name".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=142}} Logically, whatever brought her to this morally bankrupt state had happened earlier and Mailer's invention should be flagged by the referee as unnecessary roughness. Two days after this imaginary episode, Mailer adds the information that she has an abortion. Cleverly, in his self-defense before the imaginary literary bar, Mailer has the Prosecutor question him about the factual basis for Bobby de Peralta and the murder plot. He acknowledges that he has none and even allows his Prosecutor creation to describe is actions as "outrageous" ("Before" 40). And I would add self-indulgent.
+a "blow-job" only to spend the night in an orgy with Bobby is not enough, Mailer also gave her murderous inclinations. When the nefarious Bobby suggested they go over and cut his wife's throat, Mailer's Monroe creation responded with "excitement." The prospect of murder stimulated her to the declaration that "I was nearer to myself than I ever wanted to be".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=137}} She relished the idea that "everyone would talk of me," seeing it as "beautiful".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|pp=137-8}} She acknowledged that she is "ready to commit murder."{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=138}} Murder is so appealing to her that it vanquishes her headache. If Mailer's excuse for this sensationalism is that he had to create something awful in her past to explain her future bad behavior, his is a sharply flawed argument. In this fictional episode, Mailer's Monroe is already so lacking in any moral compass that she goes through all the motions of participating in a murder, only prevented from the act because it turned out that the designated victim was not there. She is willing to commit murder with a man who does not even know her "phone number or my address, or even my last name".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=142}} Logically, whatever brought her to this morally bankrupt state happened earlier and Mailer's invention should be flagged by the referee as unnecessary roughness. Two days after this imaginary episode, Mailer added the information that she had an abortion. Cleverly, in his self-defense before the imaginary literary bar, Mailer had the Prosecutor question him about the factual basis for Bobby de Peralta and the murder plot. He acknowledged that he had none and even allowed his Prosecutor creation to describe his actions as "outrageous" ("Before" 40). And I would add self-indulgent.
-Even on his own terms, with himself as judge and jury, Mailer's defense rings hollow. He claims that without such an episode the reader would be left with a characterization of Marilyn that presents only her "sweet, charming, madcap" side, thereby unable to understand why on so attractive would end so badly. Acknowledging what might have been "a failure of invention," he concedes that it is difficult "to conceive of one powerful dramatic episode that will substitute satisfactorily for the sum of a thousand smaller episodes".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45}} And that is, I would argue, because the thousand smaller episodees are more than sufficient explanation by themselves. Mailer, on the basis of what he calls "general knowledge" about the life of a Hollywood starlet.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}, gives Marilyn the kind of demeaning and humiliating experiences that, along with her genetic and childhood history, could adequately explain her later behavior. Mailer has her remember being sent to perform fellatio on three executives in a row, on the half hour, before going to acting class. He even
+Even on his own terms, with himself as judge and jury, Mailer's defense rings hollow. He claimed that without such an episode the reader would be left with a characterization of Monroe that presents only her "sweet, charming, madcap" side, thereby unable to understand why one so attractive life would end so badly. Acknowledging what might have been "a failure of invention," he conceded that it is difficult "to conceive of one powerful dramatic episode that will substitute satisfactorily for the sum of a thousand smaller episodes".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=45}} And that is, I would argue, because the thousand smaller episodes are more than sufficient explanations by themselves. Mailer, on the basis of what he calls "general knowledge" about the life of a Hollywood starlet{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}, gave Monroe the kind of demeaning and humiliating experiences that, along with her genetic and childhood history, could adequately explain her later behavior. Mailer had her remember being sent to perform fellatio on three executives in a row, on the half hour, before going to acting class. He even
 ----
 <span style="font-size:12px;""font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;"><div style="text-align:right;">M I M I{{pad|0.5em}}R E I S E L{{pad|0.5em}}G L A D S T E I N{{pad|1.0em}}</span><span style="font-size:20px;"font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;">&bull;{{pad|0.5em}}</span><span style="font-size:16px""font=Alegreya Sans SC;""font-color=gray;>273</div></span>
-remarks to the prosecutor's question about the episode that "the scars" of that period in her life explain why a  woman with her "angelic appearance" came to be so difficult to work with and inconsiderate of co-stars, directors and crew. Calling the excerpt "factual" he quotes both Lee Strasberg and Arthur Miller to verify the "call girl" and "chewed and spat out" quality of Monroe's early Hollywood days.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}
+remarked to the prosecutor's question about the episode that "the scars" of that period in her life explain why a  woman with her "angelic appearance" came to be so difficult to work with and inconsiderate of co-stars, directors and crew. Calling the excerpt "factual" he quoted both Lee Strasberg and Arthur Miller to verify the "call girl" and "chewed and spat out" the quality of Monroe's early Hollywood days.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=33}}
-Mailer's sly manipulation here is blatantly self-serving in an additional manner. By making this particularly egregious episode Exhibit B in the trial, he can enjoy his imaginary voyeurism again. Not only are the offenisve events in the book, but in case the reader of ''New York'' does not buy the book, Mailer has the opportunity to present his self-indulgent imaginings for a different audience--those who might pick up the magazine. He has the prosecution make him read the whole episode to the court as Exhibit B. The titillation quotient is high.
+Mailer's sly manipulation here is blatantly self-serving in an additional manner. By making this particularly egregious episode Exhibit B in the trial, he can enjoy his imaginary voyeurism again. Not only are the events offensive in the book, but in case the reader of ''New York'' did not buy the book, Mailer had the opportunity to present his self-indulgent imaginings for a different audience--those who might pick up the magazine. He had the prosecution make him read the whole episode to the court as Exhibit B. The titillation quotient is high.
 As a sidelight, it can be said that still another use Mailer made of his writing about Marilyn is payback or appreciation to Milton and Amy Greene. Whatever the realities of their behavior in their relationship with Monroe, in both ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' and ''Strawhead,'' Mailer casts them a very positive light and puts complimentary language in Marilyn's mouth when she speaks of them. Milton Greene's particular charm is portrayed with Marilyn's initial reaction at their first meeting: "You're just a boy".{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} Her expectation, given his fame as a fashion photographer, was for an older man. Mailer also tries to make him appealing in a scruffy kind of way when he has Marilyn describe him as looking like a young John Garfield if Garfield had been chewed a bit a by a toothless lion.{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=34}} He is portrayed as the only man who did not take advantage of Marilyn and she blames Arthur Miller for ruining their relationship. Besides the direct compliments, such as when Marilyn tells Amy her eyes are like stars{{sfn|Mailer|10 Nov 1980|p=28}} and compliments her performance during the Edward R. Murrow interview as "truly scintillating" and done with "real poise" and "real vivacity".{{sfn|Mailer|1980|p=126}} Mailer also portrays Amy Greene as a mentor to Marilyn in matters of fashion, introducing her to the fashions of Norman Norell.{{efn|Although Norell's fashions are given prominence in Mailer's writing, he is ignored in many of the biographies. An interesting sidelight is that Michelle Obama wore a vintage Norell dress during the 2010 Christmas season}} Marilyn lauds Amy's organization down to her color coordination of her underwear with her clothing. Of course, the Greenes are his co-authors in a way as they provided the reminiscences and the photographs that make up the bulk of the book. Milton Greene's ethics are also presented in a most favorable light when the break-up of Marilyn Monroe Productions occurs. With the comment, "It was not my idea to make