I am not sure how I first heard about the writer Mary MacLane but in 1902 her diary "I Await The Devil's Coming" caused quite a sensation. People were scandalized that a nineteen year old woman living in Butte, Montana could write such a book. Mary boldly recorded her nonconformist thoughts and opinions into her diary and her words resonated particularly with young women of that time.
"I have the personality, the nature, of a Napoleon, albeit a feminine translation. And therefore I do not conquer; I do not even fight. I manage only to exist. Poor little Mary MacLane!—what might you not be? What wonderful things might you not do? But held down, half-buried, a seed fallen in barren ground, alone, uncomprehended, obscure— Weep, world,—why don’t you?—for poor little Mary MacLane!"
I Await The Devil's Coming became an immediate bestseller but as with most books eventually fell into obscurity. But today Mary MacLane's diary is once again available thanks to Amazon and Project Guttenberg and its author has been described as an early feminist, a bohemian free spirit, the first flapper. And there is no doubt that if Mary were alive today she would have her own blog.
But is I Await The Devil's Calling worth reading? I rated the book three stars on goodreads because Mary MacLane is a talented and fearless writer. Her memoir is also interesting from a historical perspective. What were young women like in 1902 and what were they writing in their journals?
But as much as I appreciated Mary MacLane's candor and talent I found myself struggling to get through I Await The Devil's Coming. Her diary is not very long and it started out great for me but the deeper I got into her book the more I wondered was I reading a diary by a bold nonconformist or a depressed young woman who lived during a time when depression was not discussed or treated:
"Often you hear a dozen stories of how the Devil was most ready and willing to take all from some one and give him his measure of Happiness. And sometimes the person was innately virtuous and so could not take the Happiness when it was offered. But Happiness is its own justification, and it should be eagerly grasped when it comes. A world filled with fools will never learn this. And so here I stand in the midst of Nothingness waiting and longing for the Devil, and he doesn’t come. I feel a choking, strangling, frenzied feeling awaiting—oh, why doesn’t my Happiness come! I have waited so long"
Mary writes often in her diary about her feeling of nothingness and how she has no one to talk to including her parents and siblings. No one understands her as she sees it and Mary's one close friend moved away. And so as Mary tells us she awaits the devil's coming to bestow her with happiness, badness fame, anything to take away the emptiness she feels. And its an emptiness that seems to have plaged Mary MacLane all her life even after she aquired the fame she sought. Sadly her life was a hard one and Mary was found dead in a hotel room in 1929 at the age of 48.
I don't know that I can recommend I Await The Devil's Coming. I struggled to get through it.. But I am glad Mary MacLane's books are available to a new generation to inspire them to say what they feel in their journals regardless of what others might think.
It is amazing to me that the diary was published in the first place. It does sound like it would be very depressing and hard to get through, although I am sure her feelings and thoughts were not that unusual for the time. Just not usually expressed that way.
ReplyDeleteActually the publisher would not let her publish it under the title she chose so it was published I believe as The Story of Mary MacLane. Diaries always interest me fiction or nonfiction but this one was depressing and repetitive the deeper I got into it.
DeleteHer writing is a bit depressing, and it sounds like her life was pretty sad and that she was born at the wrong time. I have to admit, I've never heard of her or her diary. But since it's on Project Gutenberg I might dip into it and read some of her entries sometime. But probably not the whole thing. I can only take a little depressing and sad writing these days.
ReplyDeleteAnd I left out parts even more depressing! It wasn't the book I thought it was going to be a young woman ahead of her time, a bohemian free spirit. Instead it's a sad book and I think alot of her sadness comes from within herself.
DeleteNicely reviewed Kathy. I have not heard of this book - but I'm glad it's available again. Poor Mary. It is courageous she was able to share her feelings to her diary. Does it say what her family was doing in Butte? We just drove thru there on our trip. Perhaps her family was in mining. It must have been quite a place in 1902 with all the mines there. thanks for sharing this book.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan, she is very open with her feelings and some of the passages in her diary would be somewhat shocking today. She was living with her mother stepfather and siblings when she
Deletewrote the book but Mary rarely talks about them except to say that they don't understand her. It was a mining community but I don't know if her family was in the mining business. I love diaries
either fictional or nonfiction and Mary's was depressing but interesting.
I enjoyed your post, but I am sure I would not enjoy this memoir. I think I would feel so much pity and frustration that would take over. Kudos for you for finishing this tough-to-read book.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane. As much as I enjoy diaries it's a tough to read book. Had it been longer I probably wouldn't have finished it. It's interesting though from the perspective that we tend to assume that a young woman keeping a diary in 1902 would be somewhat prim and lady like. Not true here. LOL
Delete