Monroe

= Marilyn Monroe =

Biography
Marilyn Monroe epitomized Hollywood with her captivating outward beauty and her charming persona that reflected both childlike innocence and overt sensuality. She depicted youthful naivety, but had undeniable womanly features and was viewed by most as sex goddess. Monroe’s combined features of both vulnerability and promiscuity may stem from her disoriented and unstable childhood. Marilyn Monroe escaped her childhood and fled into modeling and acting shortly after being photographed by the Army and quickly named a “photographer’s dream” (Learning, 1998, p.101). Her career as an actress lasted sixteen years in which she acted in 29 films and posed for several photographers and magazines. Despite her rising fame and popularity, her stardom ceased when she chose suicide (Lewis, 2010). Monroe’s charismatic and enticing personality that she often portrayed to the public did not diminish that she, as an individual, oftentimes felt incomplete and miserable despite her seeming pursuit of happiness. Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1st. 1926 in Los Angeles, California with her original name of Norma Jean Mortenson. Gladys Barker was her mother, and her father’s identity continues to remain desolate. Eventually, Norma Jean was baptized as Norma Jean Baker due to her father’s absence. Gladys proved her inability to mother Norma Jean properly as result of mental illness and depression. Norma Jean lived in the foster home of Ida and Albert Bolenda the first seven years of her childhood. She moved in with her mother for brief period in 1933, but Gladys was soon institutionalized in 1934. Norma Jean then moved in with her mother’s good friend, Grace McKee. Unfortunately, although Grace was the most loving and constant element in Norma Jean’s life, she was unable to continue supporting her because of financial difficulties, subjecting Norma Jean to life in an orphanage for the next two years. Grace visited Norma Jean very frequently as to make her feel less abandoned. Following her time spent in the orphanage, she was released in June of 1937 and spent the rest of her youthful years admitted from one foster home to the next, including some of whom were family members. She again lived with Grace McKee for a brief period before meeting and marrying James Dougherty on June 19th, 1942 (Learning, 1998, p.64-73). James was sent overseas in 1944 by the Merchant Marines at which time Marilyn worked at a parachute factory. While she was working, her first picture was taken by the Army in order to promote women working for the military effort. She was asked to take further pictures and was recognized shortly thereafter. She divorced James in 1946 and, by that time, she had established herself as well-known sex symbol and had already appeared on 33 magazine covers. Her first contract was established with Twentieth Century – Fox Studios on July 23, 1946. In 1949, she posed nude for the first time, depicting herself as a controversial figure early in her career. The following year she landed her first legitimate acting job in “The Asphalt Jungle” (Lewis, 2010). In 1952, Marilyn met and married Joe Dimaggio at age 25. She continued making films, including one of her most famous, “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”. Nonetheless, Marilyn began to show some unreliable behavior in her career when she failed to appear on set for one of her films and was suspended from Fox. Her marriage to Joe Dimaggio began to disappate as well, as he did not enjoy the flashy lifestyle of Hollywood on which Marilyn so adamantly thrived. Marilyn and Joe had an undeniable love for one another, but the pressure of Hollywood and the untamed spirit of Marilyn led to their divorce in 1954. Marilyn took a one year absence from acting, but met up with Arthur Miller, who she married one year later. Their marriage was also doomed from the beginning as Arthur began to make comments that she was not quite as ideal as he had suspected; she was human. They divorced in 1961, the same year she was also reported to have had an affair with J.F Kennedy. It was also during this time period that her instability began to surface, and she began to see psychoanalysts. She medicated her unhappiness with drugs and alcohol and had two miscarriages. She never finished working on her last film, “The Misfits”. Marilyn’s drug addiction interfered with her work and she was rarely on time; She was suspended from the film “Something’s Gotta Give” in 1962. Marilyn was found dead in her home four months later, August 5th, 1962, from a drug overdose; most people presume that it was suicide (Lewis, 2010).

Psychoanalytic Perspective
Specific Stages of Erik Erickson’s Stage Theory greatly exemplify the deeply confused individual of Marilyn Monroe. The most predominant features of Marilyn Monroe’s personality can be explained by Erikson’s psychosocial stages of “Identity versus Role Confusion”, “Intimacy versus Isolation”, and “Generativity versus Stagnation” (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 134-139). During Marilyn Monroe’s most critical period of her life, childhood, she was neither exposed to a stable mother and father figure, nor a balanced environment. Those who did love her did not remain for long enough periods to have a substantial effect on Marilyn’s life. The closest mother-type present in her life, Grace McKee, did not possess the resources needed to raise a child and thus had to withdraw as permanent stature in Marilyn’s life (Learning, 1998, p. 64-76). Aside from Grace, Marilyn also never experienced the protection and love of a father figure, or arbitrary male in her life. Erikson’s fifth stage, “Identity versus Role Confusion”, identifies Marilyn’s confounded personality (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 134-139). . She had a childlike ambience, but her actions were promiscuous and contentious. She was idolized by many and adored by most, but she was also chastised for her fragrant sexual exploits and endeavors. It appeared that she desired to characterize herself as two types of individuals that in no way complimented one another. During Marilyn’s adolescence, the time at which an individual is usually allowed more freedom and is endowed with the ability to think for oneself, she never received any direction. She did not have anyone to encourage her talents and steer her toward what might be her purpose. Thus, she was left with an uncertainty about who she was and of what she might be capable of accomplishing. Erikson names this concept an “identity crisis”; Marilyn had a continuous struggle in her knowledge of who she was throughout her life and career. She fell captive to the pressures and men that surrounded her (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 134-139). Instead of solidifying her own place in society, she allowed Hollywood directors, the media, and her audience to dictate her life. Marilyn’s fleeting and dysfunctional relationships can be best described by Erikson’s sixth stage of “Intimacy versus Isolation” (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 134-139). It is during this period that younger adults should learn how to interact with other individuals on a more intimate level. Marilyn did not establish herself fully as a younger individual and seemingly had an extremely difficult time sharing who she was with those closest to her, including her significant others. Marilyn’s confusion concerning her individuality made it nearly impossible for her to reciprocate intimacy with other people. She remained plastic and found it simpler to maintain a superficial façade than to allow others to view her truly fragmented thoughts and emotions. She never received unconditional love that was stagnant for any enduring period of time, essentially her childhood. She did not encompass the tools needed to develop social ties, and perhaps felt she was losing her own identity in sharing it with someone else. Thus, she was loved by the public eye, but was unable to love others completely and in a way that would satisfy her or those closest to her. Marilyn Monroe was a product of her community and surroundings, and paid service to the public by entertaining them with unexpected actions and sex appeal. She did not, however, give to others or show any type of outreach as a person. In most cases, Marilyn was selfish. She was bound to herself; she felt low about herself and probably did not feel she had much to give to any one individual on a more personal level. Erikson’s seventh stage of “Generativity versus Stagnation” demonstrates Marilyn Monroe’s selfishness (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 134-139). Aside from Marilyn Monroe’s extensive fame, she found no meaning in her life and gave very little to others. =Trait Perspective= Marilyn Monroe’s complex personality is somewhat hard to decipher considering that her outward actions and appearance did not accurately depict how she was feeling inwardly. According to the traits in The Big Five model, Marilyn was highest in the traits of extroversion, openness, and neuroticism, and low in conscientiousness and agreeableness (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 267). Marilyn was extremely extroverted; she was enthusiastic and had a magnetic aura that captivated those who were closest to her as well as her fans. She could easily carry on conversations with others despite her adversity to developing close relational ties. Sadly, she was also acutely neurotic on a mental and emotional level. Marilyn was entirely perplexed and inconsistent with her feelings, because she was never content with who she was as a person. She did not find her place in society, was often very depressed and fell prey to drugs and alcohol as self medication. The immense fame and publicity she received only accentuated the void she could not fill with material objects and superficial relationships. She was incapable of acquiring any type of solidity in life due to her tragic childhood and lack of love and consistency. Another more appealing attribute of Marilyn’s personality that assisted in her star quality performance was her ability to be open to new experiences and people. She was unafraid and unabashed by controversy, which essentially helped to sell her sex appeal and personify her as a type of sex goddess. She introduced the notion of posing nude for magazines and was bold in doing so. Marilyn took the brunt of violating conventional ideas and opinions, which might have resulted from lack of constraint and loving discipline as a child. Marilyn’s free spirit and dependence on drugs also made her less cooperative and reliable as an actress, thus proving to be low in agreeableness. She was chronically late on set for films and was dropped from more than one because of her instability. Marilyn was socially inept but often angered those for whom she worked, because her irresponsible behavior eventually exceeded her talents. Furthermore, her lack of dependability also aimed her low in conscientiousness. Marilyn’s confusion about herself and her depressive attitude caused her to primarily focus on her desires and needs, ignoring her responsibilities and the feelings of others. She acted on impulse as opposed to putting thought into her actions and how they might characterize her or how they might damage or inconvenience other people. Marilyn had two strong personality traits that allured most people, but she also inhabited traits that led do her downfall and final choice of suicide (Howard & Shustack, 2009, p. 267).

Discussion
Marilyn Monroe was a glamorous and fascinating person with a very disturbing past that led her to be a very lost individual. Marilyn’s childhood was very untraditional and she lacked the nurture of a mother and father figure necessary for proper development. She was extremely immature in several facets, largely in her inadequacy to form lasting and meaningful relationships. Marilyn’s insecurities and neurotic behavior also led her to be unprofessional on acting endeavors as well. As opposed to taking time to think about herself and take initiative in solving her personal issues, she neglected her true emotions and became an artifact of the expectations placed on herself by her superiors and the public eye.