Loving Frank

While early-20th-century American society views Mamah Bouton Borthwick’s relationship with famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright as scandalous, the two lovers see themselves as expressing their true selves. For Mamah and Frank, their relationship offers a means of liberation from society’s expectations, and each uses it to explore parts of themselves through art. Marrying into the upper-middle class, Mamah’s relationship with Edwin “Ed” Cheney brings her comfort but does not spark intellectual connection—not the way her conversations with Frank do. At the beginning of Loving Frank, she is involved in the Woman Movement in Oak Park, Illinois, but it isn’t until she meets Frank that she feels like she is truly living her life and begins to contribute to the Woman Movement on a national level.

Mamah feels freed by her relationship with Frank, and “[s]uch feeling liberates and deepens the personality, inspires us to noble needs and works of genius” (132). This is a sentiment echoed later in the novel when she hears philosopher Ellen Key speak for the first time. Ellen emphasizes “the noblest type of love,” one in which “both lovers yearn to become entirely one being, to free each other and to develop each other to the greatest perfection” (132). Frank finds this love in Mamah, often noting that she is his muse and serves as his inspiration. In fact, his approach to architecture changes after her death, ending his “Prairie style.” On the other hand, Mamah both recognizes Frank’s commitment to his art and feels frustrated with his inability to compromise (especially to the point of financial strain); however, she respects how his art seeks to compromise with nature. Frank approaches love as he does his work, seeing the two as intertwined. Mamah, likewise, feels encouraged and supported by Frank in her career as a translator—which is how she contributes to the Woman Movement.

However, Mamah struggles with the relationship between honesty and its effects on her family. The nature of an affair is in itself dishonest, even if Mamah does reveal the truth to Ed of her own volition. She justifies the affair by thinking that “[t]o live dishonestly seems[] a cowardly way to use up one’s time […] To embrace Frank, to accept the gift, seem[s] to be an affirmation of life” (139). She views living with Frank as a better example for her children than staying in an unhappy marriage with Ed. A central question in the novel is whether or not Mamah’s actions are worth their consequences, and different characters offer different opinions on this—with even Mamah’s sister, Lizzie, and philosopher-turned-friend Ellen disapproving of her. After Mamah’s death, Frank attempts to dispel some of their controversy in his editorial letter in the Weekly Home News, writing, “The ‘freedom’ in which we joined was infinitely more difficult than any conformity with customs could have been” (352). He believes many of their critics failed to see the difficulty in living honestly, seeing their affair as an easy, sinful act when they could have worked harder in their marriages.