Browsing by Author "Aaltonen, Sirkku"

Aims. The aim of this thesis is to cover Marilyn Monroe's relationship with food as it appears in literature written about her. The study covers the years from 1942 to 1962, when Marilyn was between ages 16 and 36. As an adult, she was responsible for her own food intake. The emphasis of this study is on the following: what kind of food Marilyn ate, how different stages of her life affected her relationship with food, whether the food she ate was made by her or someone else, how interested she was in food, and what kind of food she liked. The historical context is also an important part of this study. Methods. The research material consists of literature written about Marilyn Monroe. This literature was the analyzed using content analysis. The research material was then divided into categories, which are different times of Marilyn's life. Considering the sources was a very important part when gathering material. Results and conclusions. As a result, Marilyn's relationship with food varied during her lifetime. During her first marriage she had to learn to cook for the first time in her life, and thus she sometimes made mistakes. Food was also gathered by hunting and fishing. As a young starlet in Hollywood Marilyn didn't have a lot of money for food, so she ate very little and very inexpensively. As her career progressed she was able to enjoy food more. Marilyn's second husband was from an Italian-American family, and Marilyn learned to cook Italian food and broil steaks. After moving to New York Marilyn often ate at her friends' homes. When she got married for the third time she really wanted to be a good housewife. During this period her cooking improved considerably. She also learned to cook Jewish dishes. After the marriage ended Marilyn was facing the hardest time of her life, until she moved to Los Angeles and bought her own house. She was planning to invite friends over for food and good times, and also said that she enjoyed champagne and good food.