Mr and Mrs Miller

Fifty years after her death Marilyn is still a favourite topic of biographists and album publishers. You can always find a wide range of books devoted to her and her glamorous and at the same time tragic life in shops. There's also a recent film about her episode in England during the making of The Prince and the Showgirl. Marilyn was a star, a sex icon, a great comedy actress, a lonely and unhappy woman who died in unexplained circumstanes. She was also probably addicted to medicines and drank definitely too much alcohol. But she was also the wife of Arthur Miller. Or rather Arthur Miller was the husband of Marilyn Monroe.

I was intrigued, how was it possible that an intellectualist and a famous playwright married a film star like Marilyn? And how was it possible that gorgeous Marilyn, the film and sex icon married a man like Miller? Neither handsome nor particularly attractive wrinkled intellectualist, 11 years older, with a wife and two children. She could have all the men in the world. How could it happen that they were married?

I looked for the answer in Christa Maerker's book Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, published in Poland by Wydawnictwo literackie publishing house. I don't find the book particularly good as I am sceptic of the new trend in biographic literature with authors tending to present their interpretations of facts and judging the protagonists. Still, thanks to the book I discovered many interesting facts.

Arthur Miller was Marylin's third husband. After her teenage marriage with James Dougherty and a tumultuous one with a baseball player Joe DiMaggio, and million romances on the way, Marilyn started the romance with Arthur. They met years before and since their first meeting Marilyn was writing letters to Arthur, perceiving him as a father she never had. She explained him that she needed a man to admire. At that time he advised her to admire Abraham Lincoln and Marilyn put the president's photo in frames.

Arthur was unhappy in his marriage, Marilyn felt insecure and needed a man she could trust. She was attracted by his intellectual charm and loved his glasses. He left his wife and two children, she converted to Judaism for him. They got married in 1956.

But they quickly realised that neither Marilyn was a perfect woman partner with her insecurity, addictions, hysterical moods and constant dissatisfaction with herself, nor Arthur was a perfect supportive husband, as he was absorbed by his playwright carrer. They simply didn't understand each other. However, they spent together over four years. This must have been a great love. There is no other explanation for the fact that two such different people decided to live together. They left multiple pictures showing this happy, caring love.