Mary MacLane (May 1, 1881 – ''c''. August 6, 1929) was a controversial

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-born

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writer whose frank memoirs helped usher in the confessional style of autobiographical writing. MacLane was known as the "Wild Woman of

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

".Watson, Julia Dr. (2002). "Introduction", ''The Story of Mary MacLane''. . MacLane was a popular author for her time, scandalizing the populace with her shocking bestselling first memoir and to a lesser extent her two following books. She was considered wild and uncontrollable, a reputation she nurtured, and was openly

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

as well as a vocal

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. In her writings, she compared herself to another frank young memoirist,

Marie Bashkirtseff Marie Bashkirtseff (born Mariya Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva, russian: Мария Константиновна Башки́рцева; 1858–1884) was a Ukrainian artist from the Russian Empire who worked in Paris, France. She died aged 25. Li ...

, who died a few years after MacLane was born,Story of Mary MacLane (1902 and 1911), first entry. and

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

called her "the Butte Bashkirtseff."

Early life and family

MacLane was born in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada in 1881, but her family moved to the Red River area of Minnesota, settling in Fergus Falls, which her father helped develop. After his death in 1889, her mother remarried a family friend and lawyer, H. Gysbert Klenze. Soon after, the family moved to

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, first settling in

Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and finally in

, where Klenze drained the family funds pursuing mining and other ventures. MacLane spent the remainder of her life in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She began writing for her school paper in 1898.

Writing

From the beginning, MacLane's writing was characterized by a direct, fiery,

individualist Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...

ic style. She was, however, also influenced by such American regional realists as

John Townsend Trowbridge John Townsend Trowbridge (September 18, 1827 – February 12, 1916) was an American author. Early life Trowbridge was born in Ogden, New York, to Windsor Stone Trowbridge and Rebecca Willey. His birthplace was a log cabin his father constructe ...

(with whom she exchanged a few letters), Maria Louise Pool, and

Hamlin Garland Hannibal Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 – March 4, 1940) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working Midwestern farmers. Biog ...

. In 1901, MacLane wrote her first book, which she originally titled ''I Await the Devil's Coming''. Prior to the manuscript's printing the following year, MacLane's publisher, Herbert S. Stone & Company, altered the title to ''The Story of Mary MacLane.'' The book proved to be an immediate success, especially among young women, selling over 100,000 copies during its first month of release. It, however, was pilloried by

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

critics and readers, and even lightly ridiculed by

. Some critics have suggested that even by today's standards, MacLane's writing is raw, honest, unflinching, self-aware, sensual, and extreme. She wrote openly about

egoism Egoism is a philosophy concerned with the role of the self, or , as the motivation and goal of one's own action. Different theories of egoism encompass a range of disparate ideas and can generally be categorized into descriptive or normative ...

and her own self-love, about sexual attraction and love for other women, and even about her desire to

marry Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

. Her second book, ''My Friend Annabel Lee'' was published by Stone in 1903. More experimental in style than her debut book, it was not as sensational, though MacLane was said to have made a fairly large amount of money. Her final book, ''I, Mary Maclane: A Diary of Human Days'' was published by

Frederick A. Stokes Frederick Abbott Stokes (November 4, 1857 – November 15, 1939) was an American publisher, founder and long-time head of the eponymous Frederick A. Stokes Company. Biography Stokes graduated from Yale Law School in 1879. He worked at Dodd, Mea ...

in 1917 and sold moderately well but may have been overshadowed by America's recent entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1917, she wrote and starred in the 90-minute autobiographical

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

titled ''

Men Who Have Made Love to Me ''Men Who Have Made Love to Me'' is a 1918 American silent biographical film starring Mary MacLane, based on her book ''I, Mary MacLane'' (1917), and directed by Arthur Berthelet. The film was produced by early American filmmaker, George K. Spoo ...

'', for

Essanay Studios The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, ...

. Produced by film pioneer

George Kirke Spoor George Kirke Spoor (December 18, 1871 – 24 November 1953) was an early film pioneer who, with Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, founded Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1907. He was a founding partner of V-L-S-E, Incorporated, a film distri ...

and based on MacLane's 1910 article of the same title for a Butte newspaper, it has been speculated to have been an extremely early, if not the earliest, sustained breaking of the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

in cinema, with the writer-star directly addressing the audience. Though stills and some subtitles have survived, the film is now believed to be lost.

Influence

Among the numerous authors who referenced, parodied, or answered MacLane were

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

, Harriet Monroe, lawyer

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

Ring Lardner Jr. Ringgold Wilmer Lardner Jr. (August 19, 1915 – October 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter. A member of the "Hollywood Ten", he was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studios during the late 1940s and 1950s after his appearance as an " ...

Sherwood Anderson Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and ...

and

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typi ...

Ice Haven ''Ice Haven'' is a 2005 graphic novel by Daniel Clowes. The book's contents were originally published as the comic book '' Eightball'' #22 and were subsequently reformatted to make the hardcover ''Ice Haven'' book. ''Ice Haven'' takes the form o ...

. Gertrude Sanborn published an optimistic riposte to MacLane's 1917 ''I, Mary MacLane'' under the title ''I, Citizen of Eternity'' (1920).

Personal life

MacLane had always chafed, or felt, "''anxiety'' of place," at living in Butte, a mining city far from cultural centers, and used the money from her first book's sales to travel to Chicago and then throughout the East Coast. She lived in

Rockland, Massachusetts Rockland is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,803 at the 2020 census. As of December 31, 2009, there were 11,809 registered voters in the community. History Rockland was a part of territory given to ...

, wintering in St. Augustine, Florida, from 1903–1908, then in

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from 1908–1909, where she continued writing and, by her later published accounts, living a

decadent The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...

and

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existence. She was close friends with the feminist writer

Inez Haynes Irwin Inez Haynes Irwin (March 2, 1873 – September 25, 1970) was an American feminist author, journalist, member of the National Women's Party, and president of the Authors Guild. Many of her works were published under her former name Inez Haynes ...

, who is referenced in some of MacLane's 1910 writing in a Butte newspaper and who in turn mentioned MacLane in a 1911 magazine article. For a period, she lived with her friend Caroline M. Branson, who had been the long-time companion of Maria Louise Pool until the latter's death in 1898. They lived in the Rockland's house that Pool left to Branson. Mary Maclane also had a multi-decade friendship with Harriet Monroe. MacLane died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in early August 1929, aged 48. She was less frequently discussed through the mid to late 20th century, and her prose remained out of print until late 1993, when ''The Story of Mary MacLane'' and some of her newspaper feature work was republished in ''Tender Darkness: A Mary MacLane Anthology''.

Contemporary collections and performances

In 2011, the publisher of ''Tender Darkness'' (1993) published an expanded anthology titled ''Human Days: A Mary MacLane Reader'' (with a Foreword by

Bojana Novakovic Bojana Novakovic (, sr-Latn, Bojana Novaković) is a Serbian-Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Lizzie Needham on the drama television series '' Instinct'' (2017–2018). Novakovic's film roles include '' Drag Me to He ...

). In 2011, Novakovic wrote and performed "The Story of Mary MacLane – By Herself" in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, which was subsequently staged in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

in 2012. In the 2010s, MacLane's work was translated int
French
an
Spanish
A German edition was published in 2020.

Bibliography

Books

* ''The Story of Mary MacLane'' (1902) * ''My Friend, Annabel Lee'' (1903) * ''I, Mary MacLane: A Diary of Human Days'' (1917, 2013) * ''Tender Darkness: A Mary MacLane Anthology'' (reprint) (1993) * ''The Story of Mary MacLane and Other Writings'' (reprint anthology) (1999) * ''Human Days: A Mary MacLane Reader'' (foreword by Bojana Novakovic) (2011) * ''I Await the Devil's Coming'' (2013)

Selected articles

* ntitled article on stoicism(1898) * Consider Thy Youth and Therein (1899) * Charles Dickens – Best of Castle-Builders (graduate oration, 1899) * Mary MacLane at Newport (1902) * Mary MacLane at Coney Island * Mary MacLane on Wall Street (1902) * Mary MacLane in Little Old New York (1902) * On Marriage (1902) * A Foreground and a Background (1903) * Mary MacLane Discusses the ‘Outward Seeming of Denver’ (1903) * The Second 'Story of Mary MacLane' (1909) * Mary MacLane Soliloquizes on Scarlet Fever (1910) * Mary MacLane Meets the Vampire on the Isle of Treacherous Delights (1910) * The Autobiography of the Kid Primitive (1910) * Mary MacLane Wants a Vote – For the Other Woman (1910) * Men Who Have Made Love to Me (1910) * The Latter-Day Litany of Mary MacLane (1910) * The Borrower of Two-Dollar Bills – and Other Women (1910) * A Waif of Destiny on the High Seas (1910) * Woman and the Cigarette (1911) * Mary MacLane Says – (1911) * Mary MacLane on Marriage (1917) * The Movies and Me (1918)

Screenplays and filmography

* ''

'' (1918)"Mary MacLane", IMDb.com.
Accessed: December 16, 2012.

In popular culture

The 2020 novel '' Plain Bad Heroines'' features MacLane's life and work as a reoccurring interest for multiple characters in the book, which draws its title from a passage from MacLane's ''The Story of Mary MacLane''.

References

External links

Website with biography, photos, private letters, reviews

Encyclopædia Britannica article by Julia Watson

2013 Atlantic article by Hope Reese

2013 New Yorker article
* * *
Mary Maclane at Women Film Pioneers Project
* Mary MacLane in Spanish: ''Deseo que venga el diablo'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclane, Mary 1881 births 1929 deaths Bisexual women American people of Canadian descent American feminist writers LGBT memoirists LGBT people from Montana People from Butte, Montana Writers from Chicago Writers from Winnipeg People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota American women memoirists Canadian feminist writers 20th-century American memoirists Canadian memoirists Canadian expatriate writers in the United States People from Rockland, Massachusetts Women film pioneers Canadian women memoirists 20th-century American women Canadian bisexual writers American bisexual writers