Catherine vs. Mamah
The news of Wright’s infatuation with Mamah hit Kitty Wright exceptionally hard. They had been more than his clients, they were friends. The four of them, Wright, Kitty, Mamah, and her husband Edwin, would spend time together, just enjoying each other’s company, talking about work, life, children, all the normal things. But when Mamah and Frank became made their affair public in 1909, Kitty refused to take it quietly. She called Mamah a “vampire seductress” in news articles of the time.
Wright had enough scruples to be conflicted about what he was doing to Kitty and his children; he attempted to get back together with her in 1910. But that did not work out, as he was deeply in love with Mamah. Even with the scandal and Wright’s clear preference, Kitty would not divorce Wright until 1922, hoping he would return to the life they built in Oak Park.
