How is flying a plane round the world the same as publishing a novel? In this case, funding. There were a lot of theories about Amelia's marriage to G.P. Putnam, (yes, as in G.P. Putnam and sons, or as we call it now, Putnam which now specializes in best sellers). No one ever seemed to find the relationship romantic, most viewed it as a marriage of convenience. I see it more as a meeting of two very clever and driven minds.
To manage to achieve a goal that is both so difficult and so expensive, you have to have incredible focus. And you have to believe that whatever it costs is worth it. I mean that in every possible sense. You have to have a huge ego. And an endless supply of energy and enthusiasm. What you want, what you believe, what you intend, you have to have such confidence in it, such a deep seated belief in your own importance. You have to know that what you write is worth reading. And what you're attempting matters. More to the point, whatever it is, has to be worth the cost.
It's not solely financial after all. In order to soar Amelia refused the more traditional pleasures that her sister chose, hearth, husband, home. They felt constricting to her, as they do to many women of this generation. Still, I think about the way she raised money for each new adventure, how she sold herself and did it gladly, knowing that she'd get what she needed in return. If she had doubts, she hid them. She was a remarkably unself-conscious role model. Think of who girls look to and look up to now and the kind of artifice that's attached to these so-called heroines. Fame seems to be an end in itself. It's not what you do that brings you fame. It's you. Just you. Everything is image these days.
And so I think about being a writer, and what I've chosen to write about, nothing as brave or as daring as what Amelia did. But still, it's not solely me on the page. I write because I want to create something surely more fascinating than my own, unremarkable life. As for image? I have to admit, I find it hard to know how to construct one that's commercial. I know this is not time to be self-effacing, that it's a bad habit, still. So I think of Amelia and how she was willing to use her image in order to get what she wanted most. It was a means to an end, not an end in itself.
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She used her fame as a pulpit from which to advocate for women's rights and capabilities. That advocacy was her mission in life; she worked the message into virtually everything she wrote and spoke (3 books, 45 magazine articles, and several hundred public lectures). I think she probably best summed up how she saw her career and her purposes in the sentence, "Probably my greatest satisfaction has been to indicate by example now and then that women can do things when given the chance." 'Indicating by example' is a reference to her own record flights.
ReplyDeleteAnd think of what so many women use fame for now. Women and men, hey let's not just damn my own sex. I find it disconcerting and really kind of depressing, still there are many examples of selflessness out there, and of people who inspire. I just find that there's a much lower threshold, fame should have something to do with accomplishments, and being famous though undoubtedly wonderful, seems like a fairly frivolous goal.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of great and thought-provoking questions in this post and the comments. I read a short book by Maria Shriver (takes about an hour to read) called "Just Who Will You Be?: Big Question, Little Book". She cites a study that found that the number one goal of young people in the United States is to be famous. She makes the exact point you make Naomi, being famous is all well and good, but the real question is- what are you doing to become famous- what is your passion or creative contribution that will lead you to become famous? She talks about how she was famous because of the family she was born into and the man she married, but that she was really driven to achieve because she is an insecure people-pleaser. It seems to me that there is a natural drive to communicate, to create, and to connect with others that is healthy. And then it seems like there is a craving for external approval and validation that is different, that springs from self-doubt and in the end reinforces that self-doubt.
ReplyDeleteIt springs from self-doubt and poses as self-confidence. I find it actually kind of maddening. Yet this is what's rewarded in our insta-culture.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Amelia, though I've always admired her from the little that I do know. I had heard that she felt uncomfortable with the fame that she received for being the first female passenger in a trans-Atlantic flight; that she felt that she hadn't done anything as just a passenger and therefore didn't deserve the glory she received. (I think she was incredibly brave to be the first female passenger on such a flight and that she completed deserved our admiration for this.) It's my understanding that part of what drove Amelia to undertake her fatal flight was that she wanted to pilot the plane herself and therefore become worthy of the acclaim she had received- is my understanding correct? Also, about fame, I was wondering what fame actually is, and it boils down to human attention. The famous person receives a lot of human attention. What is human attention and why does it feel so good to receive it?
ReplyDeleteYour reference to Amelia wanting to pilot the plane herself, and thereby become worthy of the fame she already had, pertains to her 1932 solo crossing of the Atlantic. Soon after that flight, she wrote a thought-provoking article for Mercury magazine concerning her motives for the flight. It's called "Flying the Atlantic" and I can look up the reference if you're interested. As to why she undertook the world flight in 1937, I think there was a complex mix of motives, not least of which was that she'd always wanted to see the world. Read her book "Last Flight" and notice how she reminisces about childhood fantasies of travel to exotic lands. Another factor was that she planned to retire from record-setting (though not from ordinary flying) and wanted to finish up with a notable record; no one had ever flown the equator before.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this clarification! The more I learn about Amelia the more my appreciation for her grows. I'm glad you've corrected my understanding which was very fuzzy and incorrect. If it's not too much trouble to locate, I would be interested in reading her article "Flying the Atlantic." My e-mail address is colleen.loehr@gmail.com. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteNo trouble at all to locate; I have a copy at home. I just need to note the reference when I get home tonight.
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