On The Couch With Marilyn Monroe

"When you're famous you kind of run into human nature in a raw kind of way" - Marilyn Monroe

One of the lesser known facts about Marilyn Monroe was that she did daily sessions of psychoanalysis and that rather than this being a passing Hollywood fad, therapy played a profound role in her life.

Having experienced a childhood blighted by deprivation and trauma there was much to explore, and so psychoanalysis became a gateway to a more expansive way of being, which included an interest in nineteenth century literature, radical leftist politics and counterculture. Beyond the blonde bombshell persona, Marilyn was a frustrated beatnik. She spoke out against racial segregation, openly supporting artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, and challenged entrenched gender norms by taking on the male executives at Twentieth Century Fox, setting up her own film production company in the process. In interviews she talked about non-normative sex and relationships:

"when two people love each other, who cares what colour or flavour or religion they are? It’s two human beings."

Born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926, Marilyn never knew her father, and her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from schizophrenia, spending much of her life in psychiatric institutions. As a result, Marilyn was placed in foster homes and an orphanage, experiencing repeated abandonment and abuse. These early traumas contributed to significant psychological wounds which she carried into - and played out - in adulthood. Hollywood provided a seductive escape - as the actress Bette Davis observed, Hollywood is full of daughters looking for Daddies - but the glitz and glamour, and the promise of being rescued could never offer her the healing she truly needed.  

Marilyn began therapy in the 1950s and later worked with Dr. Ralph Greenson, a prominent psychoanalyst based in Los Angeles.

"Like any creative human being I would like a bit more control ... Goethe said, talent is developed in privacy, .. and it's really true. There is a need for aloneness which I don't think most people realise for an actor."

At this time, psychoanalysis was beginning to come off the couch. Civil rights and psychedelics had begun to impact the expectation of therapy, with patients wanting more than just free association and the fantasy world of the inner child. A therapeutically relational way of working was beginning to emerge, which was uncharted territory for both patient and analyst, but which offered the potential for something deeply healing and transformative.

Greenson soon became more than just Marilyn's therapist; he assumed a quasi-parental role. He even went so far as to introduce her to his family, which blurred professional and ethical boundaries. Whilst Marilyn trusted Greenson deeply, her dependence on him would become a problematic power dynamic in itself.

Marilyn’s dedication to psychoanalysis extended beyond her sessions with Greenson. In 1956, while in the United Kingdom filming The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier, she sought out Anna Freud, the renowned child psychoanalyst and daughter of Sigmund Freud. Although details of their meetings remain scarce, Anna Freud is on record as describing Marilyn as, ‘emotionally unstable, highly impulsive, and needing continuing approval from the outside world; she cannot bear solitude and tends to get depressed when faced by rejection; paranoid with schizophrenic elements.’ It’s a harsh pathological assessment, and for both of their reputations it is important to consider the context. 

At the time, Marilyn’s marriage to Arthur Miller was unravelling. Miller claimed to have seen the vulnerability behind Marilyn’s blonde bombshell persona, but he still wanted her to be the ‘good wife’. Not long after they were married, Miller told journalists that Marilyn would only make one movie every 18 months. When asked what she would do the rest of the time, he said, “she will be my wife, that is a full time job.” This was a man who needed a woman to mirror his status and reputation whilst servicing his intellectual and political needs. Marilyn may have shared many of his political standpoints and intellectual aspirations, but ultimately she needed an equal.

"You're always running into people's unconscious ... I don't understand why people aren't a little more generous with each other."

Whilst suffering from endometriosis and the psychological and physical impact of two miscarriages, Miller abandoned her. No wonder she resorted to barbiturates and alcohol. No wonder she was late on set, or for forgot her lines. Sectioning her was not the answer, but a not uncommon outcome faced by women at this time. 

At one point, it was proposed that Marilyn star in a film about Sigmund Freud, which was to be directed by John Huston. A film about Freud, exploring the depths of the human psyche, seemed like the perfect project for Marilyn, however, when she consulted Anna Freud about the role, Freud advised against it. Whether this was out of concern for Monroe’s mental health, or down to a fear of how Sigmund Freud and his legacy would be represented on the big screen, Anna Freud’s counsel carried weight. Monroe ultimately declined the role, heeding Freud's advice. The film, Freud: The Secret Passion, was later made with Susannah York playing a key role instead.

In some psychoanalytic circles, Marilyn is referred to a ‘psychoanalytic failure’ for being a patient who could not be cured, but this misses the point, let alone the non-linear aspect of trauma and healing. Regardless of the circumstances, it is evident that Marilyn was a woman in search of meaning and purpose. Her commitment to psychoanalysis illustrates her desire to confront her past and understand herself deeply. At the time of her death, the world was changing, civil rights, second wave feminism, and gay liberation were all gaining momentum. Marilyn played a nascent part in all of those movements, and we can only speculate on the role she would have played within them moving forward.

Marilyn: The Exhibition @ Arches London Bridge is on until 21st April 2025

Marilyn quotes - Life Magazine