Marjorie Morningstar (novel)

Marjorie Morningstar is a 1955 novel by Herman Wouk, about a woman who wants to become an actress. In 1958, the book was made into a Hollywood feature movie starring Natalie Wood, also titled Marjorie Morningstar.

Marjorie Morgenstern, born 1916, is a New York Jewish girl in the 1930s. She is bright, very beautiful and popular, with lots of boyfriends. Her father is a prosperous businessman, and her family has recently moved from a poorer ethnically Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx to the wealthier neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Her mother hopes that the change of neighborhood will help Marjorie marry a man with a brighter future.

Marjorie dreams of becoming an actress, using "Marjorie Morningstar" as a stage name. She begins with her school's (Hunter College) production of The Mikado, and lands the title role. This introduces her to Marsha Zelenko, who will become her best friend (for a while). Marsha encourages Marjorie in her quest, and helps her gain a job as a dramatic counselor at the summer camp, where Marsha teaches arts and crafts. During the summer Marsha persuades Marjorie to accompany her on an illicit excursion to South Wind, an exclusive adult resort with a staff of professional entertainers. There Marjorie meets Noel Airman, an older man who has won some fame as a composer, as well as Wally Wronken, a younger man who hopes to become a playwright.

Marjorie idolizes Noel, who can sing, dance, compose, and speak several languages. They begin a relationship that determines the next four years of her life. He tells her that he has no interest in marrying, or fitting in with the middle class life that he tells her she will ultimately want. Having changed his birth name from Saul to Noel to escape his Jewish origins, he mocks her Jewish observances (such as her unwillingness to eat bacon), and taunts her for her 'Mosaic' unwillingness to engage in premarital sex. Noel tells Marjorie that she is a "Shirley": a typical well-brought up New York Jewish girl who will ultimately want a stable husband and family, while he is embarking on an artistic career.

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