Henry Miller & June Smith Mansfield
His muse, his obsession, his destruction -- and the raw material for banned masterpieces
Key Facts
What Happened
Henry Miller married June Smith Mansfield on June 1, 1924, in Hoboken, New Jersey. She was his second wife and would become the central obsession of his literary career. June was a taxi dancer, aspiring actress, and skilled manipulator who fascinated Miller with her beauty, intelligence, and capacity for deception. Their marriage was fueled by artistic ambition and financial desperation.
June supported Miller's writing by working various jobs and, reportedly, by cultivating wealthy admirers who financed their bohemian lifestyle. In 1928, one such admirer, Jean Kronski, funded a year-long European tour for the couple. The trip included an extended stay in Paris that would change Miller's life. When they returned to New York, the marriage was already disintegrating under the weight of jealousy, poverty, and competing needs.
In 1930, Miller moved to Paris alone, determined to write. June visited him several times, but each reunion ended in explosive arguments. The violent emotional eruptions culminated in June asking Henry for a divorce before leaving Paris for the final time in late December 1932. Their divorce was finalized by proxy in Mexico City in 1934, an unconventional method that reflected both their poverty and their desire to avoid any further direct confrontation.
Miller channeled the agony of the marriage into 'Tropic of Cancer' (1934), 'Tropic of Capricorn' (1939), and 'The Rosy Crucifixion' trilogy -- works that were banned in the United States for decades due to their explicit content. June, fictionalized as 'Mona' and 'Mara,' became one of the most vivid characters in twentieth-century literature. She married insurance salesman Stratford Corbett around 1935 and lived in relative obscurity until her death in 1979. Miller's literary exploitation of their marriage raised enduring questions about consent, privacy, and the ethics of transforming a former spouse into a fictional character.
Legal Breakdown: Bohemian marriages, proxy divorce, and the transformation of personal turmoil into art
Proxy Divorce
Miller and June's divorce by proxy in Mexico City was a common practice for Americans seeking quick, inexpensive divorces in the early twentieth century. Mexican proxy divorces allowed dissolution without either party appearing in court, though their validity was sometimes challenged in US courts.
Literary Exploitation of Marriage
Miller's detailed, explicit depictions of June in his novels raised questions about the use of a former spouse's life as literary material. While fiction is generally protected speech, the thinly veiled nature of Miller's characterizations of June blurred the line between artistic expression and invasion of privacy.
No-Asset Divorces
When neither spouse has significant assets, divorce can be paradoxically simpler and more difficult. The legal process is straightforward, but the lack of resources to hire attorneys, file in appropriate jurisdictions, or support two households can lead to unconventional solutions like proxy divorces.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →Even without assets, a formal divorce is important for establishing legal clarity -- informal separations can create problems with future marriages, taxes, and benefits.
- →If your spouse writes about your relationship in published works, understand your rights regarding privacy, defamation, and right of publicity.
- →Proxy divorces and quick foreign divorces may not be recognized in all jurisdictions -- verify the legal validity of any divorce obtained outside your home state.
- →Financial hardship during divorce limits options but does not eliminate them -- many jurisdictions offer fee waivers and legal aid for low-income individuals.
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