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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 claims 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 rationalizes that something in her unrecorded years in Hollywood must contain a “psychic cyst” or memories so bad that she could not face them.{{sfn|Mailer27|1980|p=45}} | 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 claims 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 rationalizes that something in her unrecorded years in Hollywood must contain a “psychic cyst” or memories so bad that she could not face them.{{sfn|Mailer27|1980|p=45}} | ||
Mailer’s rationalizations are unconvinicing and this sordid and sensational section of ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' is a prime example of Mailer’s “piling on.” To demonstrate the appropriateness of this football metaphor, at the point in her life at which Mailer claims to need a defining episode, like a downed quarterback, Marilyn’s background of illegitimacy, foster homes, absent father, family insanity, and a remembered attempted strangling in her crib have effectively already left her “sacked.” Any one or any combination of the events of her childhood could more than adequately explain why she would be the unhappy and disturbed person Mailer portrays. Dumping more excrement on her can serve little purpose other than to warrant the author’s desire to give license to his lascivious imagination. The pictures he paints are almost cliché in their pornographic purpose. For Marilyn’s first Hollywood party Mailer evokes rooms of filthy pictures filled with naked people and the imaginary Bobby “naked except for cowboy boots and a Stetson hat,” walking a Doberman named Romulus who tries to get in on the sexual action of the lustful couples.{{sfn|Mailer28|1980|p=130}} | |||
But the party is only the destination point for the heart of this imaginary episode. Traveling to this party, Mailer indulges his fantasy by having Marilyn engage in a brief fling with a fictional | But the party is only the destination point for the heart of this imaginary episode. Traveling to this party, Mailer indulges his fantasy by having Marilyn engage in a brief fling with a fictional “Rod” (the double entendre is almost funny). They ride to the party on his motorcycle, all the while having sexual intercourse at eighty miles an hour. Making the most of his imaginary license, Mailer has Marilyn explain how she had only “to lean up on the handlebars a little, and he was in the proper place, if from behind, my dear. I could have become an addict.”{{sfn|Mailer29|1980|p=129}} The situation only gets more sordid after that.{{efn|Stephan Morrow writes of Shelley Winters getting up and objecting when he played that scene in ''Strawhead.''}} As if picturing Marilyn as so dissolute that she rides to the party on a motorcycle having sex with the fictional Rod, after which she gives him | ||
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a | a “blow-job” only to spend the night in an orgy with Bobby is not enough, Mailer also gives her murderous inclinations. When the nefarious Bobby suggests they go over and cut his wife’s throat, Mailer’s Marilyn creation responds with “excitement.” The prospect of murder stimulates her to the declaration that “I was nearer to myself than I ever wanted to be.”{{sfn|Mailer30|1980|p=137}} She relishes the idea that "everyone would talk of me," seeing it as "beautiful".{{sfn|Mailer31|1980|pp=137-138}} She acknowledges that she is “ready to commit murder.”{{sfn|Mailer32|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 a 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|Mailer33|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 adds the information that she had 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 his actions as “outrageous.” {{sfn|Mailer42|1980|p=45}} And I would add self-indulgent. | ||
Even on his own terms, with himself as judge and jury, | 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 one 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|Mailer34|1980|p=45}} And that is, I would argue, because the thousand smaller episodes 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|Mailer35|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 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 | ||
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remarks to the | 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” the quality of Monroe’s early Hollywood days.{{sfn|Mailer36|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 offensive 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 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 | 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|Mailer37|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|Mailer38|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|Mailer39|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|Mailer40|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 of Marilyn Monroe Productions occurs. With the comment, “It was not my idea to make | ||
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money on Marilyn Monroe, | money on Marilyn Monroe,” Greene explains why he takes only $100,000 for his share when all had expected him to hold out for five times that much. The irony is not lost that Mailer, who ''is'' trying to make money on Marilyn Monroe, chooses this vindication for Greene. One might also say that Mailer uses this opportunity to pay the Greenes back by telling their stories along with Marilyn’s. We learn a lot of their histories and talents. One of the last things Mailer has Marilyn do is recall how beautiful Milton’s photographs are and remember, “Oh, how exquisite he could be.”{{sfn|Mailer41|1980|p=235}} | ||
The reception of ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' was mixed. The exploitive nature of | The reception of ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' was mixed. The exploitive nature of Mailer’s use of Monroe did not go without notice. Although David Marshall considered it a “wonderful treasure,” mainly because of the photographs, he also remarked that Mailer was “squeezing the last dollar out of a woman he never met.” Lawrence Wright’s ''Texas Monthly'' article that explores the connections between fact and fiction, particularly in what is called the “new journalism,” compares Mailer’s ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' unfavorably to ''The Executioner’s Song.'' Wright terms the former “reader abuse” and concludes that Mailer’s depiction of Marilyn is unconvincing as he is “trying to fill the unexplored spaces in her personlaity with his own.”{{sfn|Wright|1981|p=202}} In addition, beyond the critiques of the text of the book, it has the dubious distinction that the 1999 ''Esquire'' Book Awards named ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' as Worst Title. | ||
It took Mailer a few years to get back to | It took Mailer a few years to get back to “piling on” Marilyn. This time, the medium was theatre. Although ''Strawhead'' is often categorized as a dramatization of ''Of Women and Their Elegance,'' there are a number of variances, probably occasioned by the differences in media and perhaps by Mailer’s desire to emphasize the imaginary truth aspect of his take on Marilyn. Richard Hannum is listed as the co-author of the play. Among the number of drafts housed at the Harry Ransom Center is a bound copy that emphasizes the “staged” quality of the production.{{efn|There are numerous drafts in the Mailer collection, reflecting pre- and post-production rewrites.}} It begins with the ACTRESS, the DIRECTOR, and the PLAYWRIGHT discussing the issue of whether or not the ACTRESS should take the part and whether she feels up to it. She names her boyfriend, her agent and her consciousness-raising group as reasons not to take the part. In terms of the latter, Mailer’s cognizance of previous feminist reations to his “Marilyn” works may be in play. The ACTRESS names feminist indecision about whether to consider Marilyn a martyr, a victim, or a collaborator with the enemy. | ||
Further removal of the distance between audience and subject is accom | Further removal of the distance between audience and subject is accom | ||
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plished by the way, when the play is ready to begin, the audience watches as the Marilyn character is created. The actress draws a small black mole on her cheek and puts on a blonde wig. In addition, Mailer uses the timeworn theatrical technique of the aside to indicate that the | plished by the way, when the play is ready to begin, the audience watches as the Marilyn character is created. The actress draws a small black mole on her cheek and puts on a blonde wig. In addition, Mailer uses the timeworn theatrical technique of the aside to indicate that the “mirror of her mind” is being reflected to the audience. These he indentifcies as D.A.—Direct Address. There are many occasions for this. Much of the action begins at Marilyn’s dressing table as she remembers. Stage directions call for the “actors who play varying roles in Marilyn Monroe’s life [to] appear...like ‘cat calls.’ They are verbal memories for Marilyn.”{{sfn|''Strawhead''|1986|loc=1.1}} | ||
Among the changes from text to stage is a different initial setting. Whereas ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' begins with an excerpt from a ''Life'' magazine interview shortly before she died and then moves to a Waldorf Towers suite, all of ''Strawhead'' takes place in | Among the changes from text to stage is a different initial setting. Whereas ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' begins with an excerpt from a ''Life'' magazine interview shortly before she died and then moves to a Waldorf Towers suite, all of ''Strawhead'' takes place in Marilyn’s mind. Added sound effects contribute to the wistful and tragic tone of the piece. In a number of scenes there are claps of thunder heard and in one version, “Smile Though Your Heart is Aching” is played at the end of the play as Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chapline walk off together. | ||
Although ''Strawhead'' was never produced on Broadway, it did receive some attention before going | Although ''Strawhead'' was never produced on Broadway, it did receive some attention before going “kerflooie” in Mailer’s words.{{sfn|Mailer42|1986|loc=letter}} In 1983, The American Repertory Theatre at Harvard had a staged reading for alum of Mailer’s spec script. That same year, Provincetown Playhouse also produced a version. Mailer’s sexual obession was blatantly evident in the early script that began with a fantasy interview wherein the Marilyn character gives a blowjob to the Mailer-interviewer character. Shelley Winters had such a negative response that it resulted in a Mailer rewrite. The 1986 Actor’s Studio production was attended by many of Mailer’s friends, some of whom, such as Kitty Carlyle wrote that she found herself “enormously interested.” Less complimentary is a letter from Elia Kazan who diplomatically writes, “Your play is worth more work. You can and should improve it.” | ||
On three occasions, Norman Mailer made use of Marilyn Monroe and I choose my language advisedly. He | On three occasions, Norman Mailer made use of Marilyn Monroe and I choose my language advisedly. He “used” her shamelessly. In an earlier study, I argue that Mailer, in ''Marilyn,'' creates an auto-erotic fantasy to satisfy his actual inability to consummate a sexual relationship with her. Obviously, the illusion was not fulfilling enough and so he was to attempt satisfaction two more times—again through photograph and text and finally, when those did not suffice, by bodying forth his imaginative vision with live actors in a theatrical production of his script ''Strawhead.''{{efn|Several writers have skirted around the quirky choice of his daughter Kate to play Monroe in the production, noting the Freudian associations. Stephan Morrow comments on the “various and delicious Oedipal” implications, especially during one rehearsal where Mailer demonstrated how he wanted the “blowjob” scene between Marilyn and Rod played. Kate got so disgusted that she refused to go on with the “tabloid bullshit.”{{sfn|Morrow|2008|p=278}}}} Barry Leeds has a less cyni- | ||
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cal take on the subject of | cal take on the subject of Mailer’s repeated return to the subject. In his biographical study ''The Enduring Vision of Norman Mailer,'' he suggests other reasons for Mailer’s repeated return to the subject. Leeds rhapsodizes on what he considers the many similarities between NM and MM. ''Au contraire,'' I would counter, if there is a oneness of the two, I would invoke the Yin/Yang oneness, the oneness of opposites: in this case, I would suggest, the user and the used. However, Mailer’s uses were progressively less effective. ''Marilyn'' was a critical and financial success, ''Of Women and Their Elegance'' less so, and finally, ''Strawhead'' was never published and after a two week run at the Actor’s Studio, it had no further production. | ||
Lest I be accused of piling on Mailer, a few lines about his success in writing in | Lest I be accused of piling on Mailer, a few lines about his success in writing in Marilyn’s voice are called for. Among her other attributes, Mailer gives his Marilyn a sensitivity to color, a trait that escapes many male writers who create female characters. She describes the colors of the furniture and walls in her Waldorf Tower apartment, using the word “buff” to describe the walls. Buff is not a word men often use; gradations in color tones are definitely a predominantly feminine bent. ''Strawhead'' also captures the terrible sense of loneliness Marilyn felt by staging her as the only person onstage, all the others being her remembrances. Among the bits printed in ''Fragments'' are the lines “''Alone!!!!!/ I am alone''—I am ''always/ alone/no matter what''.”{{sfn|Monroe44|2010|p=35}} Unfortunately, he gets little of her poetic side, her fears of aging captured in lines such as those written on hotel stationary in Surrey. “Where his eyes rest with pleasure—I / want to be still be—but time has changes / the hold of that glance./ Alas how will I cope when I am less youthful—.”{{sfn|Monroe45|2010|p=119}} Finally, the issue divides itself into two conflicting parts. On the one hand, Mailer cannibalizes Marilyn for his own purposes, be it fantasy, financial, or ego-maniacal. On the other hand, his writing imagination is sometimes so spot-on as to create a viable portrait, first through biography and then autobiography. Michael Glenday also suggests that there is a certain pleasure associated with “encountering not just the memoir, but also the vitality of interaction between Mailer’s imagination and his subject.”{{sfn|Glenday|2008|p=350}} In addition, if the commonplace is that a man can’t write from a woman’s perspective, in ''Of Women And Their Elegance,'' although Mailer’s Marilyn voice is totally fictional and does not fully capture Marilyn, it is certainly a plausible creation. | ||
To date, the obession with | To date, the obession with Marilyn does not seem to have abated.{{efn|As far back as 1974 the obsession was in full flower. In his biography, Robert F. Slatzer noted that over forty books had already been written about Monroe. Mailer was not the only famous novelist to write about her. Joyce Carol Oates tried her hand at it in ''Blonde,'' also labeled as a novel, published in 2000. Gloria Steinem is another celebrity biographer.}} Nor is it limited to Mailer. In a 2010 article, Maureen Dowd lists a number of current “Marilyn” projects. One is a biopic starring Naomi Watts, based | ||
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''Blonde,'' the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. Another movie is in the works about the conspiracy theory that Marilyn was murdered and not a suicide. A recent novel in Britain uses the trick of having | ''Blonde,'' the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. Another movie is in the works about the conspiracy theory that Marilyn was murdered and not a suicide. A recent novel in Britain uses the trick of having “Maf” (short for Mafia), the Maltese terrier gifted to her by Frank Sinatra, as narrator. Still another film with Michelle Williams is titled ''My Week With Marilyn.''{{sfn|Dowd|2010|p=18A}} The dress Marilyn wore in the famous subway grate scene of ''The Seven Year Itch'' brought a record $5.6 million at Debbie Reynolds’ movie memorabilia sale in June, 2011. And, finally, a bittersweet footnote about the Marilyn/Mailer connection: A recent ''New York Times'' article about the sale of Mailer’s last home includes a reference to, among other items, a framed original print of Milton Greene’s photograph of Marilyn Monroe. “Mailer’s obsession and the subject of two affectionate books” is the identifying phrase for the picture, one among the many eclectic possessions left when Mailer died. One might conclude that Marilyn was with him to the end.{{efn|My thanks to my colleagues Robert Gunn and Ezra Cappell who read the first draft of this article and made several useful suggestions.}} | ||
''My thanks to the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin for permission to examine the Norman Mailer archives in researching this essay.'' | ''My thanks to the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin for permission to examine the Norman Mailer archives in researching this essay.'' | ||