Does this make sense to you? It does to me. I think I figured it out. Wonder Woman was based on so many women in my Dad's life, but most especially Olive and my Mom. I always thought of them as special, but now I know just how special they were to him. Maybe Wonder Woman was meant to be a love letter of some sorts....or maybe not. But I do know now that features of both were incorporated into Wonder Woman, the legendary superhero we all know now. I think a part of me always knew that it was them, and I'm glad, because in their own way, Olive and my Mom are heroes.

This post is about my dear mother. Elizabeth Holloway Marston. I like to think that my mom was legendary. People called her sharp, they called her spindly. My Dad met her when they were just children. Mom was the type of person to let no one get in her way. She had a goal and she stuck to it, much like Wonder Woman. Mom was from the Isle of Man, Wonder Woman was from the Isle of Woman. And the similarities seem to end. Mom was actually known as an Amazon. In her time, an Amazon was a women rebel, someone who left home to go to college. Wonder Woman is an Amazon herself. Mom didn't want to be tied down by anything, even children. Neither did Wonder Woman. A difference between them is that while Mom married Dad, Wonder Woman wouldn't settle down. Dad knew my mom for so long. They were in love. And Mom really was no ordinary person. Even though she was looked down upon for being a woman, she did what she could. She got an education, she had an amazing career, all with Marston by her side. She made the best of every situation she could, when Olive came into the picture she decided this was a chance for her career to fly. Mom always made me feel inspired like no one ever could. And Wonder Woman does the same with everyone she encounters. I'm sorry if I'm going on and on and on about my mom. It's just she really was the greatest. And if there was one person that I could equate to Wonder Woman, it would be her. (And I think she knows it too, based on her smug looks every time I ask.) And because Mom was always looked down upon for being a woman, maybe Dad created Wonder Woman for her, because everyone admired her.

I feel like I'm wrapping up this mystery way too quickly. But then again, I feel like I've exhausted all points. I haven't even gotten to my "main reveal" if you will about my mom. Like I said before, I think that Wonder Woman is based off a collection of wonderful people, people that inspired Dad. But I could be completely wrong. Maybe she's completely made up. Or maybe she's just based on one person. Here's to hoping that I'm right!

I really need to stop starting my entries with "Hello again!" Well, anyway, in regards to my last post, I'm thinking that Wonder Woman really wasn't just based on one person. But one person that I know had a huge part in influencing her was my namesake, Olive Byrne. I always looked at Olive as a second mother. She was so sweet and basically took care of me when Mom was working. But honestly, she was so similar to Wonder Woman. I mean, we can start out with the physical stuff. Wonder Woman and Olive both had bracelets. Does that make it any more clearer? They both had big bracelets they wore everyday, this couldn't just be random. Growing up, I knew Olive as someone so bright and warm. She spread happiness everywhere she went. Doesn't Wonder Woman do the same? She literally spreads happiness by saving the day and making everything better. And Dad and Olive spent so much time together, from when Olive was in college to adulthood. Dad even based Etta Candy on Olive's best friend. And she and her sorority sisters were all featured in my favorite comic, the one about the evil Bullfinch corporation. Some of her had to rub off on him.

On a side note, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to actually know the people I'm writing of. Well, I don't personally know Emmeline, Margaret, or Ethel, but Dad and Olive always talked so fondly of them I feel as though they could be my next door neighbor. All of this prying around in my family will be worth it when I put together the pieces of who Wonder Woman was based on!

Hello again! I'm finding that the answer to this problem is..simple, yet complex. Does that make sense? On the one hand, in my life as well as Dad's there were so many influential women that he could've drawn on. I mean looking at the people he knew while growing up, there was Emmeline Pankhurst, Ethel Byrne, Margaret Sanger, I mean these were all such prominent women in the time where women had no rights at all. And my Dad had close connections with all three. He attended a lecture where Emmeline spoke, and he was fascinated, he was distracted, and inspired. And the person that I'm named after was the daughter and niece of Ethel and Margaret. I mean, I always kind of thought that Wonder Woman was based on my Mom and Olive, but maybe it's more. Maybe it's a collection of all of the people he knew. Maybe she was only great because she wasn't based on one person, but based on many amazing women. Hmm.

Above is a picture of Ethel and Margaret. They both advocated and were active protestors in equality and wanted to educate women on birth control. They believed in free love, socialism, and feminism. They were fearless. Much like Wonder Woman, they believed in a cause and stopped at nothing to get it. Dad had to have had some inspiration from them. I mean these two were literally fearless. And Olive probably heard stories from them and they were reunited.

Hello again! Solving this mystery is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. For one thing, my parents were always very secretive about their past. Dad was always in his room, either eating or drinking or writing the comics. Every time one of my siblings or I would ask he would just grumble about it. Asking mom or Olive was no help either, because they said they never knew. They did always give each other a sly smile when asked about it, so I had my suspicions.

So I decided to start at the very beginning of Dad's life. He was raised by my Grandma and aunts. He was cherished and adored. He was always the center of attention. (This probably led to him having such a big ego). But regardless, I'm sure that being surrounded and raised by so many women is what first planted to seeds for him to think his everlasting motto, that "women should rule the world". I swear in his office he had that written everywhere. I completely agree with that statement, however I always wondered where it came from. I mean, one of his favorite professors, Professor Munsterberg, was against women. (By the way, Dad's inspiration for for Holliday college was a mix of Harvard and Mom's last name; it was featured in most comics, including the one about the Bullfinch company, my favorite!) Even though he taught classes for them, he believed that they should've have equal rights. And Dad was always saying how his Professor had such a big influence on his life. So I guess Wonder Woman being, well a woman, and Dad being a feminist and a big advocate for women's rights really did start at his roots, with the people who raised him.

Hello world! It's me, Olive Ann Marston. As you may or may not know, I am the daughter of William Moulton Marston, aka the creator of Wonder Woman. Yes, that's right, Wonder Woman! So, for a school project we needed to research about our family and make a presentation about it. Unfortunately, this person, Jill Lepore, researched my family like crazy. I mean, she knew more about my family than I did! So I thought, why not use my dad's connection to stardom to make this project unique? So I, Olive Ann Marston, daughter of William Moulton Marston and Elizabeth Holloway Marston, am going to solve a mystery and find out just who Wonder Woman was based on. Judging from all of the people in my dad's life, this is going to be tough.