Eve Arnold’s portrait of Marilyn reading graces the cover of a new book, Look Closer: How to Get More Out of Reading. The choice is for illustrative purposes only, however, and she isn’t featured inside.
“As an English literature professor, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst has delighted in sharing his love of reading with his students. Bringing together more than twenty years of teaching, Look Closer explores the iconic works of literature that have formed, sustained and entertained him, from timeless classics like Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice to modern masterpieces such as Normal People and The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as children’s books, poetry, plays, short stories and comics. It is a masterclass in how to be human.
By revealing the simple techniques to slow down, take note and bring a text to life, Look Closer is the culmination of a life spent reading. This book is for anyone interested in how literature works and makes clear why reading is more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. Funny, illuminating and personal, Look Closer ultimately shows us how great writing can change a person’s life. It is a celebration of the simple joy of reading, and how becoming more attentive readers can open up worlds and bring us closer to ourselves in delightful and unexpected ways.”
The photo was taken in a children’s playground at Mount Sinai, Long Island, over the Labour Day weekend in September 1955. Marilyn had brought along a copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses as she was rehearsing Molly Bloom’s soliloquy – which closes the novel – for her private class with Lee Strasberg, head of the Actors Studio.
Ulysses wasn’t found among the 430 books in Marilyn’s personal library (see here.) But Eve Arnold’s photo remains synonymous with the 1922 opus, making the cover of Declan Kiberd’s literary guide, Ulysses and Us (2008), and later promoting a centennial exhibition held in Zurich, where Joyce partly wrote his masterpiece.
More broadly, the image has been used for the UK edition of Simon Mason’s The Rough Guide to Classic Novels (2008), and on the back cover of Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters, a 2010 anthology of Marilyn’s own writing. It has also appeared on magazine covers, including Poets and Writers in 2008, and Stylist in 2011.
However, it’s not the only Ulysses photo. Marilyn changed her clothes – but kept the book – for another iconic shot on the same day, which made the cover of Time Out in 1992.
And finally, some thoughts from Eve’s grandson and archivist, Michael Arnold, via Instagram.
“Monroe reading James Joyce’s Ulysses. A photograph that has puzzled and facilitated for decades.
Though it’s often misunderstood, the scene was entirely natural. Monroe was actually a voracious reader. Eve noticed that Monroe had brought the book with her—and simply asked her to continue reading. And by doing so she turned the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype on its head.
That’s what Eve did best. She noticed. She didn’t manufacture the moment. She made space for it. And in that space, something honest could rise to the surface.”
The Marilyn Report 