Frank Lloyd Wright is often known as a visionary and revolutionary architect, but his autobiography has earned him the titles of "manipulator" and "hypnotic" due to its contradictions and exaggerations. One example of this is the inconsistent dates of birth for his parents, with three different years listed for his mother Anna and an increased age for his father William. Wright also changed his father's name to include "Russell" and claimed he was born in Hartford, Connecticut rather than Westfield, Massachusetts. Additionally, Wright increased the age of his grandfather at the time of his death from 93 to 99 years old. These inconsistencies in the dates and ages within the autobiography show a characteristic trait of Wright's personality to change facts as he pleased.
However, Thomas S. Hines argues in his article "The Search for Frank Lloyd Wright: History, Biography, Autobiography" that the autobiography should not be studied as a precise source of history, but rather as a work of fiction. Hines references Erik Erikson's article "Psychological Reality and Historical Actuality" which states that the best history and biography combine both the psychological reality of the subject and the historical actuality of events. This idea is supported by Hayden White's observation that historians focus on events that can be assigned a time and place, while "imaginative" writers such as poets and playwrights also consider invented and imagined elements. Wright seems to embrace this inconsistency in his own work, with William Cronon stating that Wright "cherished his inconsistencies as if they were among his most beloved creations."
The vivid imagery and detailed descriptions of nature and surroundings in the opening pages of Wright's autobiography provide insight into the way his mind worked and his ability to blend the psychological and historical in his storytelling. Despite the discrepancies and exaggerations in the autobiography, it offers valuable insight into Wright's personality and the complexity of his mind. To know more about the life and works of Frank Lloyd Wright, have a look at my in-depth research paper: Frank Lloyd Wright: Separating The Man From The Myth (ijsrp.org)
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