The Genius and the Goddess: Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe

by Jeffrey Meyers

The 1956 wedding of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller surprised the world. The Genius and the Goddess presents an intimate portrait of the prelude to and ultimate tragedy of their short marriage. Distinguished biographer Jeffrey Meyers skillfully explores why they married, what sustained them for five years, and what ultimately destroyed their marriage and her life. The greatest American playwright of the twentieth century and the most popular American actress both complemented and wounded one another. Marilyn craved attention and success but became dependent on drugs, alcohol, and sexual adventures. Miller experienced creative agony with her.  Their marriage coincided with the creative peak of her career, yet private and public conflict caused both of them great anguish. Meyers has crafted a richly nuanced dual biography based on his quarter-century friendship with Miller, interviews with major players of stage and screen during the postwar Hollywood era, and extensive archival research. He describes their secret courtship. He also reveals new information about the effect of the HUAC anti-Communist witch-hunts on Miller and his friendship with Elia Kazan. The fascinating cast of characters includes Marilyn's co-stars Sir Laurence Olivier, Yves Montand, Montgomery Clift, and Clark Gable; her leading directors John Huston, Billy Wilder, and George Cukor; and her literary friends Dame Edith Sitwell, Isak Dinesen, Saul Bellow, and Vladimir Nabokov. Meyers offers the most in-depth account of the making and meaning of The Misfits. Written by Miller for Monroe, this now-classic film was a personal disaster. But Marilyn remained Miller's tragic muse and her character, exalted and tormented, lived on for the next forty years in his work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Jeffrey Meyers, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, has recently been given an Award in Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Thirty of his books have been translated into fourteen languages and seven alphabets, and published on six continents. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Reviews

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I even gave this book one star is because it was heavily researched, which was good. However, the author's form of writing wasn't very good. Sometimes it felt as if he had done TOO much research. He went off on some tangents comparing Marilyn or Arthur to another random person in history and how alike they are.

The real reason that I despised this book, though, was the way the author took sides. Being a friend of Arthur Miller's, he seemed to decide from the beginning that he was pro-Miller and anti-Monroe. You could tell, as the reader, too. How many times do you need to refer to her as a "slut"? Which, by the way, is a disgusting term to use over and over when we're supposed to be taking you seriously as an author. How many times do you need to bash every movie she made, or call her "dumb" and "stupid"? There had to be something positive about her, otherwise, why would he have married her? Everyone has their faults, but as an author writing about two people, you should take a neutral stance on the subject and write that way. The negativity got to be quite excessive.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather negative book I felt, gossippy, & excessively biased towards Miller & against Monroe. So while the writing was fairly competent, I found it of limited value.

[Tiago Ramos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nunca me interessei muito nem tive especial fascínio por Marilyn Monroe e apesar de não ser o maior fã de biografias decidi experimentar esta, sobre a actriz e Arthur Miller com quem foi casada. O livro divide-se em momentos-chave da relação dos dois, mas aborda toda a história de Marilyn desde o seu nascimento até ao seu suposto suicídio, inclusive todas as outras relações que a actriz teve (e foram muitas). Do ponto de vista psicológico, a sua história é absolutamente interessante e especialmente quando olhamos para Marilyn como uma personagem peculiar, considerada o apogeu do sex symbol, ainda hoje em dia, mas que no fundo e apesar da aparente confiança demonstrada, era vulnerável, insegura, depressiva e por vezes patética (o estereótipo da loira burra nasceu de Marilyn).

Apesar da interessante história de vida, o autor cria um livro divisivo por múltiplos factores, sendo o principal o facto de nunca assumir publicamente o carácter de quase crónica de opinião e não necessariamente uma biografia apenas baseada em factos. Embora profundamente documentado, o livro assume demasiadas vezes inúmeros juízos de valor acerca de Marilyn e até dos seus filmes (onde critica se eram bons ou maus, do ponto de vista cinematográficos) e insiste, repetidamente e quase exaustivamente, em se referir ao passado sexual da actriz, mesmo nos momentos mais inoportunos. Insiste ainda em comparar a vida da actriz e dos seus intervenientes com outras personalidade aleatórias da história, sem qualquer sentido ou interesse. Nota-se sobretudo uma intenção de melhorar a imagem de Arthur Miller perante a de Marilyn Monroe.

Não deixa de ser um livro interessante, especialmente para quem como eu, pouco ou nada conhece da vida de Marilyn Monroe, mas é tão repetitivo e tendencioso que por vezes torna-se absolutamente fastidioso.

[September · Rating 2 out of 5]

For such an "esteemed" writer, Meyers' childish name calling seriously detracted from the book. Monroe is not the only one who is victim to such name calling, although he does rather enjoy referring to her as a "slut". It appears that everyone who is mentioned in the book is prey to such childish labeling (i.e. "the monkey-faced Carl Sandburg"). I found it interesting that he chose to entitle the book, The Genius and the Goddess. Why not The Genius and The Slut? Perhaps,like a true bully, Meyers, prefers to hide behind the cover and then sling his mud.

[Amalivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful. Academic. Proves that, as my dad corrected me, that Marilyn Monroe was "the saddest famous person who ever lived."

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very anti Marilyn and very pro miller. I read this hoping to learn more about him but it seems so biased that I don't know what the facts are or what is the authors biased opinion.

[Jessica Mudditt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this book to be a real treat - what fascinating subject matter. It took a long while to start discussing the marriage - it begins with a detailed biography of Monroe (which was interesting of itself).

I knew little of Monroe and did not realise how very sad her life was. Her marriage to Miller was sad too. Was it just me, or was Meyers sometimes brutal in his assessment of her? Some of his turns of phrase seemed a bit cruel and dismissive. He did say that she was a great talent, but sometimes I just felt that he erred on the side of favouring Miller - who I have just learned was a long-term friend.

I did very much enjoy this book nonetheless.

[Bridget Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if this should be 3 or 3.5. I’ve read almost every book there is on Marilyn and this one seemed, off, for lack of a better term. However I did learn a lot of new details about Arthur Miller’s life post Marilyn’s death.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um amor improvável. Como todos os amores feitos de urgência e desespero. Um livro bonito.

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Really interesting insights into the Arthur Miller / Marilyn Monroe marriage and how he tried to help her.

[Alonzo Rangel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had some good info but the way this biographer talked about Marilyn felt really skeevy and misogynistic most of the time

[Kira Geiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthralling and informative look at the relationship between two unlikely lovers. I knew almost nothing about the marriage between Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe before this book, and after reading it, I know so much more about the intimate details of their respective lives and their passionate (if brief) romance. Not only is it eye-opening to the day-to-day humanity of such iconic American figures, it is an interesting and enjoyable read.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I agree with the other comments that this book was a rather biased account of the Miller/Monroe marriage, it did offer some insights and interesting analysis into their respective lives. Meyers writes a lot about Norman Mailer's book on Marilyn, but Mailer was more fantastical with his liberties. Meyers presented the facts...as he knew them.

I do just think that Meyers held back his punches to Miller while he lashed out about Monroe. A good read, though.

[Jack Goodstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviews the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller in preparation for a discussion of their relationship and marriage. Does some ananlysis of Miller's work, especially the work written for Marilyn, The Misfits and the lesser known work after the marital breakup.

Marilyn's doctors, the men who used her and the hangers on like the Strassbergs are dealt with most harshly.

[Andrea]

Another analysis of Marilyn Monroe and her relationship with third husband Arthur Miller. Contains some interesting details, some mundane ones.

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

You see Marilyn I. A way like never before. Fascinating read.

[Gemma Ireland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ive ever read. Full stop.

[Barb Innes · Rating 2 out of 5]

More research than I wanted...but learned much! Read to follow through on recent TV movie! So added to knowledge of Marilyn!

[Ann Tonks · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more insightful versions of Marilyn Monroe's life.