I can still remember that Saturday 25 years ago as I was getting ready to see an Art film and how I felt when I got into the car and got the news.
Ordinarily, I don’t read biographies but given that Journalist Elizabeth Beller wrote The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy I thought I’d check it out from the local library.
It didn’t read like journalistic research, but the writings of a super-fan.
Her death a tragedy was in some ways on par with the loss of Diana. Yet, we continue to be fascinated by this charismatic and dynamic power couple, married not quite three years before their plane disappeared.
Beller writes and tries to bring the real Carolyn back into the current conversation, by examining the media's treatment of famous women.
Beller states, "There is a very long history of male journalists fetishizing their famous female subjects, and Carolyn was described by her physical attributes again and again. Assumptions were made based on whether she smiled or frowned and narratives were spun, and none put her in a positive light."
She adds that she came to feel "Carolyn was a vibrant soul who ran into many of the roadblocks that women face if they step outside the lines of feminine expectation...Carolyn's experience was a larger-than-life version of many of the impossible standards that women face..."
She was miserable and frightened by the press, feeling conflicted about the disorganized JFK Jr whose constant forward motion meant that he lived in the moment, and confronting her lack of purpose as she struggled with depression.
Given that she quit her job before she married to avoid Press scrutiny did not help her spirit. It left her days free to dwell and brood and be directionless. I suppose she was doing the best she could under those circumstances.
And although I enjoy fashion, why would I have to know what Designer she wore at every event she attended? Filler. Fluff. Superficial.
Given that this was before social media, it’s as if the author now had to make this point clear. So, she too was labeling CBK as male journalists had done.
John Jr. was a bit spoiled, used to doing what he wanted when he wanted and adored and accommodated his entire life.
But how can anyone ever peek into a marriage? You don’t. It’s not our business to.
Before they married, I remember seeing JFK Jr in Central Park when I lived in NY. He was playing football, leaner and, even more handsome in person.
I expected to find interviews from those who knew her about her private life, but that didn't happen.
By day two I skimmed the book because I knew it was a celebrity bore, but reflected, Diana, inundated by paparazzi alternated with the attention she received, friendly to the commoners but stressed with photographers. Meghan ran away from England when she didn't get the admiration her ego expected. Carolyn looked like a hunted animal and hid, but Jackie O., I now have more respect for her. As the most photographed woman in the world, she handled the media attention gracefully and went on with her life as does the current Princess of Wales.
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