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Twarze Marilyn Monroe
Krucha piękność, którą należy się zaopiekować, czy cyniczna bywalczyni hollywoodzkich imprez? Głupiutka modelka czy skrzętnie ukrywająca swoją inteligencję femme fatale? Marilyn miała wiele twarzy.
Zachowały się po niej filmy fabularne i tomiki wierszy, powstały dokumenty, tysiące artykułów prasowych, biografie, fikcyjne opowieści autorstwa Normana Mailera czy Joyce Carol Oates. Możemy obejrzeć zdjęcia ukazujące jej urodę i życie. Wydaje się, że na temat Marilyn Monroe powiedziano już wszystko. Jaka więc była naprawdę?
Twarze Marilyn Monroe po raz pierwszy opisują powstawanie legendy. Zbierają opowieści i anegdoty, przyglądają się wizerunkowi Marilyn tworzonemu przez ludzi, którzy ją znali, aktorów, reżyserów, przez widzów, krytyków filmowych, biografów. Autorka przeciwstawia je sobie, konfrontuje z wypowiedziami samej Monroe. I dociera do źródeł tego wspaniałego amerykańskiego mitu, którym Marilyn Monroe stała się już za życia, a który szczególnie umocnił się po jej przedwczesnej śmierci.
Twarze Marilyn Monroe obalają mity przez lata tworzone na temat tej najbardziej tajemniczej aktorki.
Zachowały się po niej filmy fabularne i tomiki wierszy, powstały dokumenty, tysiące artykułów prasowych, biografie, fikcyjne opowieści autorstwa Normana Mailera czy Joyce Carol Oates. Możemy obejrzeć zdjęcia ukazujące jej urodę i życie. Wydaje się, że na temat Marilyn Monroe powiedziano już wszystko. Jaka więc była naprawdę?
Twarze Marilyn Monroe po raz pierwszy opisują powstawanie legendy. Zbierają opowieści i anegdoty, przyglądają się wizerunkowi Marilyn tworzonemu przez ludzi, którzy ją znali, aktorów, reżyserów, przez widzów, krytyków filmowych, biografów. Autorka przeciwstawia je sobie, konfrontuje z wypowiedziami samej Monroe. I dociera do źródeł tego wspaniałego amerykańskiego mitu, którym Marilyn Monroe stała się już za życia, a który szczególnie umocnił się po jej przedwczesnej śmierci.
Twarze Marilyn Monroe obalają mity przez lata tworzone na temat tej najbardziej tajemniczej aktorki.
464 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2000
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1037 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
October 6, 2021
Sarah Churchwell takes the reader to a dark place and doesn't let up until the epilogue, where she shares her version of Marilyn Monroe. I do not write this lightly: the reader is taken to a dark place. We learn of the Marilyn Monroe narrative perpetuated by her biographers and fiction writers. The darkness is made all the more disturbing after the Me Too movement. The many conspiracy theories around the death of Monroe were also that much more unsettling because of the current political climate's conspiracies.
I appreciated the author's epilogue as I feel similarly about Monroe. It was a welcome ending to a disconcerting but important read.
Reading biographies about biographies is fascinating. It twists your thought processes and makes you unsure of your reading reality.
3.5
I appreciated the author's epilogue as I feel similarly about Monroe. It was a welcome ending to a disconcerting but important read.
Reading biographies about biographies is fascinating. It twists your thought processes and makes you unsure of your reading reality.
3.5
January 24, 2014
This is an interesting approach to the story of Marilyn Monroe - not so much a biography of her herself, but a biography of her biographies. Perhaps more than any other celebrity or star, Marilyn Monroe's life has become myth, archetype, symbol. We no longer see her, if indeed we ever did. We see in her what we want to see, what we want her to be, what we want her to represent. We like to imagine that the character of 'Marilyn Monroe' was a construct, a shield for the 'real' Norma Jean underneath, the Norma Jean that her biographies set out to reveal - an approach that, as Churchwell points out, no-one ever does for other celebrities with stage or changed names, like Martin Sheen, Judy Garland, Elton John and many many others.
Churchwell sets out to deconstruct how Marilyn's life has been told, cutting through the myth and the hyperbole, highlighting the many many inconsistencies and varieties in the various 'lives' of Marilyn Monroe, the details no two biographers can agree on. On the way she exposes the misogyny and sexual obsession that so many biographers, male and female, display in retelling Marilyn's life - after all, don't we all remember Marilyn Monroe visually, the hair, the pert bottom, the lush voluptuous figure, the red lips and the white skin? Who remembers anything Marilyn said? This obsession with Marilyn's body spills over into the obsession with her dead body - to quote Elton John, "all the papers had to say / was that Marilyn was found in the nude" - and the numerous conspiracy theories surrounding her death, all of which have to do in some way with her sexuality and her rumoured affairs with one or both Kennedy brothers.
Reading this book, I felt tremendously sorry for Marilyn Monroe. Not just as a result of her wretched childhood, hard-scrabble upbringing and tragic death, but for the way throughout her life she was constantly belittled, patronised and disregarded. No-one gave Marilyn credit for having a brain or a will of her own; she was that breathy 'little-girl-lost' in the knock-out body of a sexually voracious woman, every man's fantasy. And that's all she continues to be, in every book and biography - the lost little Norma Jean, subsumed by the artificial construct that was 'Marilyn Monroe'. Because that's who we need her to be, we need to believe that the real struggles against the artificial, that no-one can lead two lives, that her death was tragic and pre-ordained, that Marilyn Monroe's life fits the archetype. Because, as Edgar Allan Poe once said, "The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world." Marilyn Monroe, the most beautiful woman in the world, one again reduced to a trope.
Churchwell sets out to deconstruct how Marilyn's life has been told, cutting through the myth and the hyperbole, highlighting the many many inconsistencies and varieties in the various 'lives' of Marilyn Monroe, the details no two biographers can agree on. On the way she exposes the misogyny and sexual obsession that so many biographers, male and female, display in retelling Marilyn's life - after all, don't we all remember Marilyn Monroe visually, the hair, the pert bottom, the lush voluptuous figure, the red lips and the white skin? Who remembers anything Marilyn said? This obsession with Marilyn's body spills over into the obsession with her dead body - to quote Elton John, "all the papers had to say / was that Marilyn was found in the nude" - and the numerous conspiracy theories surrounding her death, all of which have to do in some way with her sexuality and her rumoured affairs with one or both Kennedy brothers.
Reading this book, I felt tremendously sorry for Marilyn Monroe. Not just as a result of her wretched childhood, hard-scrabble upbringing and tragic death, but for the way throughout her life she was constantly belittled, patronised and disregarded. No-one gave Marilyn credit for having a brain or a will of her own; she was that breathy 'little-girl-lost' in the knock-out body of a sexually voracious woman, every man's fantasy. And that's all she continues to be, in every book and biography - the lost little Norma Jean, subsumed by the artificial construct that was 'Marilyn Monroe'. Because that's who we need her to be, we need to believe that the real struggles against the artificial, that no-one can lead two lives, that her death was tragic and pre-ordained, that Marilyn Monroe's life fits the archetype. Because, as Edgar Allan Poe once said, "The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world." Marilyn Monroe, the most beautiful woman in the world, one again reduced to a trope.
October 2, 2018
An interview with Claire Foy I read the other day is an example of how the notion of "celebrity" has the illusion of being far more inclusive than ever. There was plenty about Foy's life which wasn't mentioned, but this window into her mental health made her more approachable, more authentic. Plus she has some control over, which as Sarah Chuchwell's book demonstrates has not always been the case with young actors. Even before her death, Marilyn Monroe had become a myth or legend and even though she gave numerous interviews in her life, the sense of who she was gained a mythology which only increased in volume after her untimely death. Churchwell's book is a comparative study of the various biographies, fictionalised or researched, a vast river of text running down an opaque mountain from writers who all arrogantly assume that they know who the real Monroe was and the extent to which Norma Jean regenerated into the blonde bombshell.
The key take away is that no one really knows who she was, because no one external of a person really can. But her predominantly male biographers salivating over the details of her career and private life rarely agree on the simplest items, from her birth name to whether she had an affair with one or both of the Kennedy brothers and ultimately if her death was accidental overdose, suicide or murder. Employing a rorschach test containing rumour, eyewitness accounts and written materials, these writers, some over many years and numerous editions, presume to apply their own expectations and biases on the actress's life, even to the point of attempting to guess her psychological state of mind at important moments, how she "must" have been. They pretty much all seem to agree that Monroe was a facade, a protective shield for a broken personality within.
Churchwell has none of it, offering a three dimension portrait of the star through critiquing the work of others. All of the writers are taken to task for their sometimes quite sinister approaches the actor's life, point out how assertions and what's publicly known simply doesn't fit the conjecture they're presenting as fact. Much of what they apparently say about Monroe fundamentally removes her humanity, that she was incapable of existing outside the orbit of men or pills, that her so-called "good" film performances were the product of her co-stars or director. Except as the writer demonstrates much of the time Monroe was simply fighting to retain her own agency as a performer, her greatest successes happening when she's at her most relaxed, creative and autonomous rather than when, just like her biographers, she was being remodeled through another's expectations.
The key take away is that no one really knows who she was, because no one external of a person really can. But her predominantly male biographers salivating over the details of her career and private life rarely agree on the simplest items, from her birth name to whether she had an affair with one or both of the Kennedy brothers and ultimately if her death was accidental overdose, suicide or murder. Employing a rorschach test containing rumour, eyewitness accounts and written materials, these writers, some over many years and numerous editions, presume to apply their own expectations and biases on the actress's life, even to the point of attempting to guess her psychological state of mind at important moments, how she "must" have been. They pretty much all seem to agree that Monroe was a facade, a protective shield for a broken personality within.
Churchwell has none of it, offering a three dimension portrait of the star through critiquing the work of others. All of the writers are taken to task for their sometimes quite sinister approaches the actor's life, point out how assertions and what's publicly known simply doesn't fit the conjecture they're presenting as fact. Much of what they apparently say about Monroe fundamentally removes her humanity, that she was incapable of existing outside the orbit of men or pills, that her so-called "good" film performances were the product of her co-stars or director. Except as the writer demonstrates much of the time Monroe was simply fighting to retain her own agency as a performer, her greatest successes happening when she's at her most relaxed, creative and autonomous rather than when, just like her biographers, she was being remodeled through another's expectations.
November 20, 2022
Kim była Marilyn Monroe? Gwiazdą wszech czasów? Symbolem seksu? Jak dla mnie stałym elementem popkultury. Nie ma chyba osoby na świecie, która nie kojarzyłaby tych blond loków i charakterystycznego pieprzyka, dla wielu jest symbolem kobiecości. Co kryło się pod tą idealnie dopasowaną maską? Sarah Churchwell przybliża nam jej postać, rozkłada na czynniki pierwsze wielkość mitu, jakim obrosła Marilyn, a także próbuje rozjaśnić nam tajemniczą śmierć aktorki, piosenkarki i legendy.
Autorka w swej książce zachowuje pewien dystans, ale bardzo trafnie analizuje przebieg kariery Marilyn, bez zbędnego oceniania – zgłębianie czyjegoś życiorysu nie jest proste, łatwo opowiadać się za konkretną osobą, czy postępowaniem, ale Sarach Churchwell nie można zarzucić stronniczości. Przeprowadziła szczegółową wiwisekcję procesu przemiany i próbowała dokładnie określić proces przeistoczenia się Normy Jeane w głupiutką, stereotypową blondynkę, ikonę swoich czasów, Marilyn Monroe.
Jakże to jest intrygująca książka! Marilyn Monroe kojarzę jako wyzwoloną, a zarazem zagubioną kobietę, a dzięki analizie Sarah Churchwell jej osoba została mi przybliżona w sposób dosadny, lekko oceniający, a zarazem klarowny i bez zbędnych ceregieli. Bardziej ciekawie społeczna lektura, która zaliczana jest stricte do biografii, a jednak kryje w sobie dużo więcej. To dosłowna analiza fenomenu Marilyn, jej popularności, kariery i śmierci.
Autorka zastowała bardzo ciekawy zabieg literacki; mamy do czynienia z kompozycją klamrową, książka zaczyna się i kończy na śmierci aktorki.
Sarah Churchwell przeprowadziła porządny research, zebrała garść informacji, oddzieliła ziarno od plew, wzbogaciła całość anegdotami – tak właśnie powstała książka „Twarze Marilyn Monroe”. Z ciekawością czytałam i analizowałam życiorys i fenomen aktorki, która na stałe będzie już ikoną popkultury, nieodgadnioną zagadką i dla wielu ideałem kobiecości. Zdecydowanie polecam fanom Marilyn i nie tylko.
Autorka w swej książce zachowuje pewien dystans, ale bardzo trafnie analizuje przebieg kariery Marilyn, bez zbędnego oceniania – zgłębianie czyjegoś życiorysu nie jest proste, łatwo opowiadać się za konkretną osobą, czy postępowaniem, ale Sarach Churchwell nie można zarzucić stronniczości. Przeprowadziła szczegółową wiwisekcję procesu przemiany i próbowała dokładnie określić proces przeistoczenia się Normy Jeane w głupiutką, stereotypową blondynkę, ikonę swoich czasów, Marilyn Monroe.
Jakże to jest intrygująca książka! Marilyn Monroe kojarzę jako wyzwoloną, a zarazem zagubioną kobietę, a dzięki analizie Sarah Churchwell jej osoba została mi przybliżona w sposób dosadny, lekko oceniający, a zarazem klarowny i bez zbędnych ceregieli. Bardziej ciekawie społeczna lektura, która zaliczana jest stricte do biografii, a jednak kryje w sobie dużo więcej. To dosłowna analiza fenomenu Marilyn, jej popularności, kariery i śmierci.
Autorka zastowała bardzo ciekawy zabieg literacki; mamy do czynienia z kompozycją klamrową, książka zaczyna się i kończy na śmierci aktorki.
Sarah Churchwell przeprowadziła porządny research, zebrała garść informacji, oddzieliła ziarno od plew, wzbogaciła całość anegdotami – tak właśnie powstała książka „Twarze Marilyn Monroe”. Z ciekawością czytałam i analizowałam życiorys i fenomen aktorki, która na stałe będzie już ikoną popkultury, nieodgadnioną zagadką i dla wielu ideałem kobiecości. Zdecydowanie polecam fanom Marilyn i nie tylko.
August 6, 2012
She's one of the most famous people of all time. As a result, it is almost impossible not to have an opinion about Marilyn Monroe. Many people have negative reactions to her.
Marilyn Monroe is a mystery. Many biographers claim that Marilyn was only the image and that the woman underneath was really Norma Jean all along. They label Monroe as a narcissist and a liar because she falsified her beauty for her image. However, she was a wonderful comedian.
The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe by Sarah Churchwell attempts to further identify the icon in contrast to previous information written about her. So much of the legend of Marilyn Monroe relies on information made up for publicity and money. Even Monroe's own autobiography titled My Story is largely false. Churchwell said, "Monroe was an object of surveillance: she sought to control her image precisely because it was difficult for others to separate her image from herself." Her book is an effort to better separate fact from fiction concerning Monroe's true personality.
One of the biggest labels that Monroe has been given is that of a whore because of rumors that she frequented the casting couch in order to gain fame. Many contradictions exist when analyzing Monroe's personal life including who she was associated with and why. Her last two public marriages to baseball legend Joe Dimaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller seem to conflict with Monroe's image. People say Monroe was ultimately a gold digger.
Monroe might have had other motives for her marriages other than fame and fortune. Early in her career, she was proposed to by a man named Johnny Hyde. He not only could have immensely aided her career, he was to die soon and would have left his wealth to Monroe. She refused because she was not in love with him. Her marriage to DiMaggio ended for several reasons, some being jealousy and possible abuse. The marriage to Miller ended due to Miller's misconceptions about Monroe. It is true that Monroe could have endeavored in relationships because she thought they could have benefited her in ways other than to find love. Churchwell said of the negative speculations, "If these accounts are accurate, then Monroe's early relationships were as aspirational as they were opportunistic: just because she's a sex symbol doesn't mean she was immune to the cultural stories that affect the rest of us."
There is at least one piece of false information in The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. In it, Churchwell says that Jean Harlow, a predecessor of Monroe, died when her appendix burst. In reality, the star died of uremic poisoning. Although this is only one obviously identifiable mistake, it makes one wonder whether other information was false as well.
Churchwell cites that up to six-hundred books have been written about Monroe. The vast amounts of resources were utilized for this one. A 6 page bibliography shows that the book was well researched. In consequence, in order to fully appreciate Churchwell's book one is almost guaranteed the need to do prior research of the subject, the more the better. The author's writing seems a bit sarcastic and self-important in places, especially when comparing previous biographies about Monroe to this one. Other works are criticized for not using footnotes as if Churchwell is saying, "I'm better than you."
It is obvious that Churchwell loves her subject. Her final chapter called Afterward: My Marilyn is filled with amusing stories and heartfelt emotion. Most of the book is a bit dull because so many facts are presented. This last chapter is one of the most interesting.
Overall, The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe is effective. Churchwell said, "Monroe was a real woman who made difficult choices; they may not all have been exemplary; they may not all have been consistent. The inability to categorize or determine her motives is not a sign of her abnormality-it is a sign of her normality. Monroe was not a fictional character..."
Marilyn Monroe is a mystery. Many biographers claim that Marilyn was only the image and that the woman underneath was really Norma Jean all along. They label Monroe as a narcissist and a liar because she falsified her beauty for her image. However, she was a wonderful comedian.
The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe by Sarah Churchwell attempts to further identify the icon in contrast to previous information written about her. So much of the legend of Marilyn Monroe relies on information made up for publicity and money. Even Monroe's own autobiography titled My Story is largely false. Churchwell said, "Monroe was an object of surveillance: she sought to control her image precisely because it was difficult for others to separate her image from herself." Her book is an effort to better separate fact from fiction concerning Monroe's true personality.
One of the biggest labels that Monroe has been given is that of a whore because of rumors that she frequented the casting couch in order to gain fame. Many contradictions exist when analyzing Monroe's personal life including who she was associated with and why. Her last two public marriages to baseball legend Joe Dimaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller seem to conflict with Monroe's image. People say Monroe was ultimately a gold digger.
Monroe might have had other motives for her marriages other than fame and fortune. Early in her career, she was proposed to by a man named Johnny Hyde. He not only could have immensely aided her career, he was to die soon and would have left his wealth to Monroe. She refused because she was not in love with him. Her marriage to DiMaggio ended for several reasons, some being jealousy and possible abuse. The marriage to Miller ended due to Miller's misconceptions about Monroe. It is true that Monroe could have endeavored in relationships because she thought they could have benefited her in ways other than to find love. Churchwell said of the negative speculations, "If these accounts are accurate, then Monroe's early relationships were as aspirational as they were opportunistic: just because she's a sex symbol doesn't mean she was immune to the cultural stories that affect the rest of us."
There is at least one piece of false information in The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. In it, Churchwell says that Jean Harlow, a predecessor of Monroe, died when her appendix burst. In reality, the star died of uremic poisoning. Although this is only one obviously identifiable mistake, it makes one wonder whether other information was false as well.
Churchwell cites that up to six-hundred books have been written about Monroe. The vast amounts of resources were utilized for this one. A 6 page bibliography shows that the book was well researched. In consequence, in order to fully appreciate Churchwell's book one is almost guaranteed the need to do prior research of the subject, the more the better. The author's writing seems a bit sarcastic and self-important in places, especially when comparing previous biographies about Monroe to this one. Other works are criticized for not using footnotes as if Churchwell is saying, "I'm better than you."
It is obvious that Churchwell loves her subject. Her final chapter called Afterward: My Marilyn is filled with amusing stories and heartfelt emotion. Most of the book is a bit dull because so many facts are presented. This last chapter is one of the most interesting.
Overall, The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe is effective. Churchwell said, "Monroe was a real woman who made difficult choices; they may not all have been exemplary; they may not all have been consistent. The inability to categorize or determine her motives is not a sign of her abnormality-it is a sign of her normality. Monroe was not a fictional character..."
August 18, 2024
I think it's pretty common knowledge that celebrity memoirs need to be taken with a grain of salt. They're filtered by personal ambition. What I did not know before reading this book is how biographies need to be taken with a grain of salt as well. Sarah Churchwell shows how often what is taken as fact in the Marilyn story is just regurgitated information from one biography, with this information not being proven or cited by the original author. Even as someone who loves to study Marilyn's life, I left Churchwell's book with no interest in reading any of the many popular biographies about Marilyn. Churchwell proved to me how little these books are based in fact. I believe Churchwell's book is truly the best we have in terms of analyzing Marilyn's life.
Marilyn's life is difficult to sort out. As so much is impossible to prove, conspiracy theory has taken hold in the popular imagination. Churchwell's book is the best we have, as by looking at the many biographies written about Marilyn, we can sort out what she means to us, and what she reflects. Churchwell's book proves we really need to let the woman rest, rather than reanimate her every few years for one more dissection. I find it very disturbing that it is so easy to find images of her dead body online.
I would suggest for anyone looking to read this book to ensure you have at least a cursory knowledge of Marilyn. I would suggest watching the 2022 CNN documentary Reframed: Marilyn Monroe. I would also suggest putting a little cheat sheet of the many biographies referenced on a post-it note and putting it on the inside cover. Mailer and Steinem are easy enough to follow as they are famous in their own right, but Spoto, Summers, and Wolfe can be confusing names to follow.
Marilyn's life is difficult to sort out. As so much is impossible to prove, conspiracy theory has taken hold in the popular imagination. Churchwell's book is the best we have, as by looking at the many biographies written about Marilyn, we can sort out what she means to us, and what she reflects. Churchwell's book proves we really need to let the woman rest, rather than reanimate her every few years for one more dissection. I find it very disturbing that it is so easy to find images of her dead body online.
I would suggest for anyone looking to read this book to ensure you have at least a cursory knowledge of Marilyn. I would suggest watching the 2022 CNN documentary Reframed: Marilyn Monroe. I would also suggest putting a little cheat sheet of the many biographies referenced on a post-it note and putting it on the inside cover. Mailer and Steinem are easy enough to follow as they are famous in their own right, but Spoto, Summers, and Wolfe can be confusing names to follow.
September 18, 2024
Churchwell’s book has left me puzzled much like the myth of Marilyn Monroe herself. Readers should be warned that this is no straight forward biography but rather an academic critique on the many ‘acclaimed’ works written about Marilyn over the years. Having an interest in psychoanalysis and gender studies I found Churchill’s writing fascinating if a little repetitive and hard to follow in places (my own knowledge is pretty limited!)The book reads much like a thesis on Marilyn rather than a straight forward biography/memoir (which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea) however subjects of sexual identity, Freudian pop-psychoanalysis and Marilyn as a product of 1940s advertising were just a few of many that were extremely thought provoking. Yet being a huge fan of Marilyn’s (and I think I am right in saying that most people who pick up a biography on a celebrity are fans or at least have a strong interest in that particular person) I was shocked and saddened by the lack of respect this book conveyed for Marilyn through the stories of others. As the blurb on the back of Churchill’s book says, it tells stories that ‘trivialise a woman we supposedly adore’. A large number of these biographers are male and it is clear that the writing completely fetishes a woman who was so much more than just a sex symbol living purely for the gratification of man *shock horror* I now know the ins and outs of Marilyn’s naked body in its worn and tattered state, abused by so many men in power over the years or by herself because of so many men in power over the years (if we are to believe what the biographers say). Reading the book, you feel more like a voyeur rather than a reader. Churchill states quite openly at the beginning that she was never a real fan on Monroe - something I felt disheartening - you want your biographer to love the person as much as you do, flaws and all. At least that’s my personal opinion. It wasn’t until the acknowledgments section that Churchill gives her opinion on ‘my Marilyn’ which portrays her with the dignity and respect she deserves. She talks about her steely determination, work ethic and how captivating she was on screen and camera. I wanted more of this. More about her method acting and her preparation for those iconic film roles - Some like it Hot is arguably one of the greatest American comedies and deserved much more than a few paragraphs of text.
Taking everything into account, the book had me gripped from start to finish and left me wanting to find out more about a cultural icon that the world is still obsessed with - there are not many others that have the same acclaim as her. Churchill argues that very few if anyone ever knew the real Marilyn - we all have our own version of what we want her to be. Maybe this is why I found the views of K the other biographers so offensive. This Marilyn, the submissive, the victim, is not the Marilyn I see. Churchill’s book details a part when a fan saw Monroe in New York: As she left New York to film The Misfits, a fan reports seeing her with bags under her eyes and a period stain across the back of her skirt. ‘I didn’t want to see her like that, and I turned away’ she says. Churchill’s book definitely humanises Marilyn, the myth, the apocrypha. Her life was obviously filled with tragedy and this is a huge part of her story but not all of it.
Taking everything into account, the book had me gripped from start to finish and left me wanting to find out more about a cultural icon that the world is still obsessed with - there are not many others that have the same acclaim as her. Churchill argues that very few if anyone ever knew the real Marilyn - we all have our own version of what we want her to be. Maybe this is why I found the views of K the other biographers so offensive. This Marilyn, the submissive, the victim, is not the Marilyn I see. Churchill’s book details a part when a fan saw Monroe in New York: As she left New York to film The Misfits, a fan reports seeing her with bags under her eyes and a period stain across the back of her skirt. ‘I didn’t want to see her like that, and I turned away’ she says. Churchill’s book definitely humanises Marilyn, the myth, the apocrypha. Her life was obviously filled with tragedy and this is a huge part of her story but not all of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2012
Fair and empathetic. Churchwell critically, systematically dismantles the cultural notion and dead metaphor that has become the story of Marilyn Monroe (the 'many lives' of the title refers to the many biographies Churchwell discusses throughout the book) by continuously subjecting the stories and interpretations to Occam's razor. Additionally, does the reader the favor of not condescending, either to her subject or her reader, pitting historical Monroe against modern notions of women's worth, as a figure struggling for power and actualization in a pre-second wave world. Instead of making her a subject of pity, Churchwell allows Monroe to be complicated, frustrated, curious, romantic, salty, smart, self-improving, competent, powerful, needy--y'know, human.
Really, really good.
Really, really good.
November 23, 2022
Marilyn Monroe to ikona. Jej zdjęcia od kilkudziesięciu lat nie znikają w sferze publicznej, a nawet czasami znowu trafiają na szczyt i każdy przypomina sobie o niej. Tej, która w latach 50 była symbolem kobiecości.
„Twarze Marilyn Monroe” to przekrój wszystkich biografii oraz publikacji, które starają się odkryć cała prawdę o Ikonie. Jest to o tyle trudne, że tak naprawdę nikt nie wie kim była „prawdziwa Marilyn Monroe”. Ludzie sądzą nawet, że Marilyn to jedynie wytwór Hollywood. Sztuczna poza kobiety, która miała zdobyć serca mężczyzn (co na pewno zrobiła).
Sarah Churchwell w bardzo reporterski sposób próbuje dotrzeć do prawdy. Wszystko jest tutaj rozpracowane, wytłumaczone i poparte cytatami. Naprawdę dostajemy tutaj ogromną ilość informacji, podczas czytania skojarzyło mi się to nawet z pracami naukowymi, ale w ten pozytywny sposób.
Dzięki tej książce możemy sami ustalić czy Marilyn Monroe to prawdziwa osoba czy tylko medialny wyrób.
To idealna pozycja dla osób, które kochają Marilyn, chcą wiedzieć o niej więcej i przy tym wszystkim pragną obiektywnych informacji, a nie tylko pustych plotek.
„Twarze Marilyn Monroe” to przekrój wszystkich biografii oraz publikacji, które starają się odkryć cała prawdę o Ikonie. Jest to o tyle trudne, że tak naprawdę nikt nie wie kim była „prawdziwa Marilyn Monroe”. Ludzie sądzą nawet, że Marilyn to jedynie wytwór Hollywood. Sztuczna poza kobiety, która miała zdobyć serca mężczyzn (co na pewno zrobiła).
Sarah Churchwell w bardzo reporterski sposób próbuje dotrzeć do prawdy. Wszystko jest tutaj rozpracowane, wytłumaczone i poparte cytatami. Naprawdę dostajemy tutaj ogromną ilość informacji, podczas czytania skojarzyło mi się to nawet z pracami naukowymi, ale w ten pozytywny sposób.
Dzięki tej książce możemy sami ustalić czy Marilyn Monroe to prawdziwa osoba czy tylko medialny wyrób.
To idealna pozycja dla osób, które kochają Marilyn, chcą wiedzieć o niej więcej i przy tym wszystkim pragną obiektywnych informacji, a nie tylko pustych plotek.
August 14, 2024
3.5
Recommended to me by my dissertation supervisor. Really interesting biography of the various biographies of Marilyn Monroe and how they envision/objectify/sexualise her etc
Recommended to me by my dissertation supervisor. Really interesting biography of the various biographies of Marilyn Monroe and how they envision/objectify/sexualise her etc
February 13, 2022
The point of the book is that no one really knows who the real Marilyn Monroe was. Eh
Didn't find it to be so interesting.
Didn't find it to be so interesting.
July 21, 2016
A disappointing read, despite what should have been an articulate, comprehensive piece of research by a woman well respected in academia.
Churchwell does not come across well in her book. Instead of expressing the many differing threads to the Monroe bow (as I'm sure was intended, thus the title), Churchwell instead falls into a pit of 'he said, she said,' making her work come across as childish and irrelevant to the enthused Monroe fan.
Random critiques of others work make this book read as a disseration for an English studies degree, which I believe is what most readers do not anticipate. Churchwell is to be praised, however, for her belief in Monroe's dedicatation to her craft. It can hardly be said she is a fan though, as she does not express any degree of sympathy or sisterhood support for her subject.
There are some massively, insightful biographies that exist of Monroe (many of which Churchwell chooses to critisise in her book!) so do not be disheartened by this poor excuse for a biography. Page after page requotes other authors, which poses the question - if they are so terrible, why did this author feel the need to keep using their research?
Not recommeded for Monroe fans, would better suit those who are comparing research articles.
Churchwell does not come across well in her book. Instead of expressing the many differing threads to the Monroe bow (as I'm sure was intended, thus the title), Churchwell instead falls into a pit of 'he said, she said,' making her work come across as childish and irrelevant to the enthused Monroe fan.
Random critiques of others work make this book read as a disseration for an English studies degree, which I believe is what most readers do not anticipate. Churchwell is to be praised, however, for her belief in Monroe's dedicatation to her craft. It can hardly be said she is a fan though, as she does not express any degree of sympathy or sisterhood support for her subject.
There are some massively, insightful biographies that exist of Monroe (many of which Churchwell chooses to critisise in her book!) so do not be disheartened by this poor excuse for a biography. Page after page requotes other authors, which poses the question - if they are so terrible, why did this author feel the need to keep using their research?
Not recommeded for Monroe fans, would better suit those who are comparing research articles.
August 15, 2020
This book should be read by every Marilyn fan, because it gives the reader varied perspectives of her life and personality, without making an unfair, subjective commitment to any particular version of the woman none of us actually knew.
The writing was so pedantic and academic that it truly annoyed me for the first several pages, until I realized how committed the writer was to respecting her subject and her audience by maintaining her distance. She should be commended for her effort. Many people have come forward since Marilyn's death, telling tales about her that are incredibly suspicious, to the point that it is difficult to distinguish rumors from facts. I came away from this book feeling like I had a well-rounded impression of MM as a human being, and also (more importantly) remembering that it is impossible to truly know the whole truth about this storied woman. I do wish they'd picked a different photo of her for the cover, though... she looks intoxicated in that highly unflattering photo.
The writing was so pedantic and academic that it truly annoyed me for the first several pages, until I realized how committed the writer was to respecting her subject and her audience by maintaining her distance. She should be commended for her effort. Many people have come forward since Marilyn's death, telling tales about her that are incredibly suspicious, to the point that it is difficult to distinguish rumors from facts. I came away from this book feeling like I had a well-rounded impression of MM as a human being, and also (more importantly) remembering that it is impossible to truly know the whole truth about this storied woman. I do wish they'd picked a different photo of her for the cover, though... she looks intoxicated in that highly unflattering photo.
March 16, 2025
Best described as a biography of Marilyn Monroe's many biographies. It is clear that you could read them all, as Sarah Churchill has, and be no nearer to understanding Marilyn Monroe (or "Marilyn Monroe" or Norma Jean or however a writer sees her) as each book projects the author's pre-conceived ideas about her and then corrals the appropriate evidence. With the approach Sarah Churchill has taken you find later biographies quoting earlier books, that may quote the original author, a self-generating machine building evidence for an opinion around and around. And don't get started on the fictionalised accounts, which still generate income for authors, as the recent film "Blonde" demonstrates. Between the cracks a person can be glimpsed, hard to tell when an actor is acting, where the character ends and the person begins, or maybe I am just projecting my version of Marilyn Monroe onto the many lives that have previously been written about. A worthwhile book, if not always a happy read.
July 17, 2021
This is not a biography. It is an analysis of many biographies written about this fascinating character. This is what made it so readable for me. The book was recommended, and did not disappoint. There have been so many conflicting ideas and stories about Marilyn, all of which obviously cannot be true! Personally, I agree with the author's summing up mostly. Recently, it has been reported that the truth about Marilyn's death has been confirmed - poisoned by Robert Kennedy. Whatever one believes, one cannot underestimate this women.
unfinished-books
June 27, 2008I abandoned this under the 50-Page Rule, in that it was a very scholarly treatise on Marilyn and full of the kind of psychological analysis that simply isn't my cup of tea. YMMV Under the circumstances, I am not able to give it a star rating - that isn't appropriate if I haven't completed the book.
March 11, 2008
she was so pretty
May 6, 2023
The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe was a biography published in 2000 by Sarah Churchwell. She took a bit of a different track when writing the biography basically summarizing many of the various things that have been written and said about Monroe, both while she was alive and after her death, pointing out inconsistencies and contradictions, etc. Then, in the last chapter, Churchwell gives her take on who she thinks Monroe really was, and what she was like.
The book is just over 330 pages, but it reads fairly quickly. My only real issue with the book is that the print used is pretty small and light, especially for the notes that are at the bottom of some of the pages that flesh out detail from the text. That might slow people down a bit when reading, but if you are a fast reader you can get through it in 2-3 days pretty easily.
The book is just over 330 pages, but it reads fairly quickly. My only real issue with the book is that the print used is pretty small and light, especially for the notes that are at the bottom of some of the pages that flesh out detail from the text. That might slow people down a bit when reading, but if you are a fast reader you can get through it in 2-3 days pretty easily.
October 30, 2019
As much as I like her as an actress I haven't read much of the work about Marilyn Monroe, so I found this very interesting (although I was definitely rolling my eyes at some of the quotes Churchwell includes - Mailer apparently thinks that severe period pain is a sign of lust??). I think often we want to be able to fit people like Monroe into neat boxes - the number of people who wanted to read every event as though this is a narrative leading inevitably to tragedy instead of someone's life was surprising - which ultimately does a disservice to them as complex people.
Also Churchwell clearly dislikes Laurence Olivier, which I can appreciate.
Also Churchwell clearly dislikes Laurence Olivier, which I can appreciate.
September 17, 2017
I am a lover of all things Marilyn. This explores her many obvious layers as a person. She was obviously a disturbed person living in an era with no mental health help. They just drugged you. It's a shame. She also had to do a lot to get where she was, it was just expected of women climbing the ladder at the time. I believe she was smarter than people gave her credit for. She used all of what she had to get where she was, which was great. Tragedy. Tragedy struck as it does a lot who struggle with untreated mental or emotional issues. Also she got in with a dangerous crowd.
October 22, 2022
I have waited many years to read this book after conversing with the Author.
I had to track a copy down secondhand as it had gone out of print - and Luckily Sarah Churchwell still signed it for me.
I delayed reading it as my Best Friend committed Suicide - I am glad I delayed in the circumstances- MY Marilyn has been returned to me - Thank You so much.
I do not wish to risk spoilers , hence the tersness of my review.
It is now back in print.
I had to track a copy down secondhand as it had gone out of print - and Luckily Sarah Churchwell still signed it for me.
I delayed reading it as my Best Friend committed Suicide - I am glad I delayed in the circumstances- MY Marilyn has been returned to me - Thank You so much.
I do not wish to risk spoilers , hence the tersness of my review.
It is now back in print.
September 19, 2021
Une approche académique sur les écrits portant sur Marilyn Monroe. Ces propos sur les biographies pourraient être tenus pour celles sur d'autres célébrités, et ces propos sur comment Marilyn a été maltraitée par tous ces écrits pourrait se dire sur beaucoup de femmes. Une lecture très intéressante mais un peu trop scolaire à mon goût, difficile de la terminer malgré tout.
April 3, 2022
Not one of Monroe's biographers seem to like her, this unusual account shows how little we know about this beautiful person. We all like enigma as long as we're the ones who really know the true. I especially liked the last chapter where if not her own words are used at least she comes across as human
May 5, 2019
Sometimes when something is perfect in every detail, it’s not beautiful anymore. Condescension and belittlement is linked to ownership: to own is to master, whereas perfection is intimidating and unpossessable.
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July 19, 2024“[…] there is a difference between fact and fiction, between historical reality and individual imagination. Biographies about Marilyn Monroe are interesting precisely because they reveal, and inhabit a very murky space between the two.” [CHURCHWELL, p.92; 2019]
June 8, 2025
za dużo odwołań do innych biografów, idealizowania postaci monroe (a autorka podobno stara się rozprawić z mitem marilyn) i podważanie skutków przyczynowo-skutkowych jej dzieciństwa, które przecież dosadnie wpłynęły na jej późniejsze życie.
October 3, 2022
świetnie napisana. Autorka porównuje różne źródła, innych autorów, stara się pokazać Marilyn obiektywnie.
November 9, 2022
Such an interesting project!!
June 24, 2023
Once I got into it I found this fascinating and eye opening. But there was an awful lot of waffle about Freud which really put me off. I'm glad I read it though.
October 8, 2024
A bit academic for me
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