Monday, January 21, 2008

elizabeth holloway marston

who?

i just heard of her myself a few minutes ago. elizabeth marston was the wife of william, the creator of the comic strip character 'wonder woman'. and then, of course, she was so much more!

this 3-page article in the boston u alumnae quarterly from 2001 describes her life in much greater detail. here are a couple of highlights:

"Elizabeth's husband, William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph (forerunner to the magic lasso), struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. "Fine," said Elizabeth. "But make her a woman.""

"In an era when few women earned higher degrees, Elizabeth received three, starting in 1915 with an A.B. in psychology from Mount Holyoke College. Next came law school. William, then her fiancé, was headed for Harvard Law, but the school excluded women and would until 1950, funneling them instead to its sister school, Radcliffe. Elizabeth rejected the program as "lovely law for ladies" and opted for Boston University. "She approached her father for support," recounts her granddaughter, Susan Grupposo. "He told her: 'Absolutely not. As long as I have money to keep you in aprons, you can stay home with your mother.' "Undeterred, Gram peddled cookbooks to the local ladies' clubs. She needed $100 for her tuition, and by the end of the summer she had it. She married Grandfather that September, but still she paid her own way.""

an amazing woman. go. read.

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