Marilyn Monroe syndrome

Marilyn Monroe syndrome defines those people whom everyone loves, but whom no one bothers to meet. in deep. They are profiles broken by loneliness, like Norma Jean herself. That woman in her eternal role as a “naive blonde” but who in reality had a deeper, reflective and self-demanding side that very few knew.

We do not want to go into what the end of the diva par excellence of the world of cinema was like. Much has been written about it. Recent books like “”Marilyn Monroe: A case for Murder”, by journalists Richard Buskin and Jay Margoli, already give us a clue on the subject. Now, what interests us on this occasion is that psychological profile that characterized Marilyn herself and whose essence has given shape to a syndrome that bears her name.

In the book “The Marilyn Syndrome” Dr. Elizabeth Macavoy explains to us that before she died, she had already died of emptiness and loneliness.. Beyond the glamour, the spotlight and that Happy Birthday Mr. President that he cheekily dedicated to John F. Kennedy, There had been a fragmented woman for a long time. Someone who had understood that happiness was what everyone expected to see in Hollywood movies, but that in reality (his reality) the only thing that existed was selfishness and falsehood.

Marilyn Monroe syndrome, what exactly is it?

Marilyn Monroe syndrome is occurring very frequently today. It appears in those people, actors, singers and profiles in general who enjoy a certain social success and who tend to outshine others due to their charm.their beauty or their skill in some activity.

Everyone loves them, everyone adores them and wants to get closer to them, to be part of them… But in reality, Most of the time they are mere instruments, dolls and dolls that others handle at will to climb socially. and enhance your image, by having close to that “dazzling” being that everyone admires. Likewise, the “object person” is not aware that they are at first, because being the center of attention of all the universes is almost addictive, it is comforting and very pleasant, especially when one has very fragile and low self-esteem. .

Thus, and in the case of Marilyn, all that maelstrom was very cathartic after a traumatic childhood and a hasty adolescence that led to very early marriages. However, little by little she began to realize something. To survive in that scenario of cameras, producers and film directors, she had to create the role of a tremendously naive woman., carefree and always radiant. That was the image that everyone wanted, the one that sold tickets, the one that made everyone fall in love equally.

Norma Jean built her role to perfection and yet no one gave her an Oscar for masterfully interpreting that role called Marilyn Monroe. Few knew that she was forced to continually lower her intellectual level to survive in Hollywood and to make her naivety the key to her success; taking maximum care of that childish tone of voice with which to seduce, shaping a woman who barely looked like her…

Marilyn Monroe syndrome or lost self-esteem

The danger of creating a role to gain admiration and always be the center of attention and permanent desire is that one’s own identity ends up withering.. Arthur Miller, Marilyn’s last husband, said of her that she was like “Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” Miller was perhaps one of the few people who did get to know that other side of Norma Jean, the taciturn, lonely and reflective woman who enjoyed writing poems.

He said of her that “she had an instinct for poetry” and that she had been a skilled woman when it came to getting to where she had. However, and according to Arthur Miller himself, she lacked cynicism, she lacked having her feet on the ground. It may have been like that, but What Marilyn really lacked was good self-esteem.

However, those were not good times, it must be said. Testosterone and machismo reigned in the world of cinema. Although one’s own Marilyn tried to create her own production company (Marilyn Monroe Productions), Such audacity was harshly recriminated and considered a challenge to the film industries. So surrendered, she meekly returned to the role of her naive woman.

Marilyn Monroe syndrome tells us that playing a role in order to survive and be loved by others has a high price. We may not realize it today, we may now be dazzled, ecstatic by all those positive reinforcements that feed our self-esteem. However, far from feeding our self-love, what we are doing is poisoning it.

Social approval and success do not always bring happiness, most of the time it leaves us empty and It tears us apart slowly and irremediably.

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