Friday, June 24, 2011

Norma Jean was a Birth Mother?

I picked up a book the other day about Marilyn Monroe to thumb through and see if I could find any pictures of the Icon that I have not seen before. (To tell you the truth, this is a passion of mine. Just about every time I am in a book store I pick up at least one book about her and look through it to find lost pictures that I might have missed. I am a little obsessed with that beauty!) Well, I came across a page that stated she may have been a birth mother. The book claimed that when she was young, she had a baby and was not able to keep it so she let the child go to be adopted.

WHAT?! I was confused. I had never heard that before. Really? When did this happen? How old was she when she became a mother? Were there any details? Of course not, it was speculation on the author's part but it did raise some questions in my own mind. Could she have been a birth mother?

Well, of course she could have. Anyone can be a birth mother. Back in those days, having a child out of wedlock was looked upon as a gigantic sin that many could never pay their dues for. It was shunned upon and many women who did find themselves in that position were left to feel unwanted, as if they were damaged goods. And if you look at the tragic person that she was, one could entertain the idea that perhaps there was some truth to the statement that indeed she was a woman who gave birth but did not raise her child.

***NOTE TO READERS: the above paragraph is not at all suggesting that birth mothers are tragic. Please do not send me hate mail that I am generalizing all of us into one category. I am simply saying what is true. Marilyn WAS a tragic soul who was tortured by her own demons throughout her life.

When I think about it, I believe it could be true. She was a haunted woman who never really let the public know her. She was guarded, she was mysterious, she was a brilliant light to so many but not to herself. She always seemed to have a secret that she was not revealing, and if you don't believe me then take a look at some of her pictures. If this propaganda is true, I think it would explain a lot about who she was and why she was the woman that she was. In all that I have read about her, she seemed to be constantly looking for approval. She seemed to be sad, or lost, in all that beauty that she possessed ... and happiness seemed to allude her all her life.

A birth mother knows the feelings of being lost, being tortured by something that is bigger than she is. If this theory is true about Marilyn Monroe, then I now understand why I may be so obsessed with her. Perhaps I have a lot more in common with one of my idols that I thought I did.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will have to tell my friend Ed about this post. He loves her. Each year I try and give him Marilyn gifts. This year I gave him wind-chimes. I found them at the Mall of America. Della

Kelsey said...

It is just a theory based on what I saw. I have tried to find more info about it, but alas I cannot. It does make a LOT of sense to me though, if she were a birth mother, why she was the way she was. It is just another mystery in her life that I am sure many of us would like the answer. Thank you for reading!

Anonymous said...

I think I read/saw/ heard something like this awhile ago, years and years ago. I wonder if there would be any way to find out if it is true?

Kelsey said...

Dani, I should have bough that book when I saw it and I am sure I will never be able to find it again! (It was on the bargain table and we know how quickly those sections change hands.) Here is a nice little list that I found on Answers.com that may help narrow the search. There are many biographies on her, and it would take some serious reading to find this answer.Not sure if it will help, but I intend on reading a couple of these myself. As always, thanks for reading! ~Kelsey

"As a subject of biographies and Hollywood exposé, Marilyn Monroe had no equal. More than 20 books have been written on her brief life. Some, like Norma Jean (1969) by Fred Lawrence Guiles, Edwin P. Hoyt's Marilyn: The Tragic Venus (1965, 1973), or Robert F. Slatzer's The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe (1974), investigate her life in detail. Others are memoirs: Marilyn Monroe: Confidential (1979) by Lena Pepitone and William Stadiem is one such volume. Norman Mailer's Marilyn (1973) includes photographs, and The Films of Marilyn Monroe (1964) by Michael Conway and Mark Ricci details her many movies and shows stills as well as review excerpts. A careful overall biography is Goddess (1985) by Anthony Summers. Gloria Steinem's Marilyn (1986) is an insightful account of a tragic life."

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/marilyn-monroe#ixzz1Qb8CMNXu