Blonde: A Novel

Blonde is loosely based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, presenting her through psychological reality. It is not a biography, and details are fabricated and altered to fit a fictional style. A key detail that differs from the historical record is the fictionalized account of Norma Jeane’s mother attempting to kill her. The historical Norma Jeane Baker claimed throughout her life that this was true, but this is not a verified fact; however, this is presented as fact in the story of the fictionalized Norma Jean Baker.

Many of the relationships the historical Norma Jeane lived through are combined in the novel. For example, she lived with 12 foster parents, but in the novel, Norma Jeane only has one set of foster parents. Both the historical and the fictional Norma Jeane lived for a time in an orphanage.

Norma Jeane’s romantic relationships in the novel are also fictionalized. In real life, she married Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, and they are referred to as the Ex-Athlete and the Playwright. Because Oates does not name them in the novel, it becomes clearer that they are representations of figures rather than explicit or historically accurate depictions. Still, the relationships mirror those in real life in that her relationship with DiMaggio was short lived, and Arthur Miller wrote The Misfits for her just as the Playwright did in the novel. 

The novel also distorts reality through Norma Jeane’s death. Officially, the historical Norma Jeane is said to have died by suicide. However, conspiracy theories hold that she was murdered by the Kennedy family, as they feared that she would reveal her relationship with some of the Kennedy men. In the novel, Norma Jeane is murdered. It is not clear, however, that the man hired to kill her was sent by the Kennedys or by government entities, as she was a suspected communist sympathizer.