Actresses on the Victorian Stage Feminine Performance and the Galatea Myth

Gail Marshall looks at actresses on the English stage of the later nineteenth century, and argues that much of their work was determined by the popularity at the time of images of Classical sculpture. They were often encouraged to look as much as possible like statues, and thus to appear to their audiences as sexually desirable objects rather than creative artists. The book draws for its evidence on theatrical fictions, visual representations, and popular culture's assimilation of the sculptural image, as well as on theatrical productions.

Gail Marshall argues that the professional and personal history of the Victorian actress was largely defined by her negotiation with the sculptural metaphor, and that this was authorized and determined by the Ovidian myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. Drawing on evidence of theatrical fictions, visual representations and popular culture's assimilation of the sculptural image, as well as theatrical productions, she examines some of the manifestations of the sculptural metaphor on the legitimate English stage, and its implications for the actress in the later nineteenth century. Within the legitimate theatre, the 'Galatea-aesthetic' positioned actresses as predominantly visual and sexual commodities whose opportunities for interpretative engagement with their plays were minimal. This dominant aesthetic was effectively challenged only at the end of the century, with the advent of the 'New' drama, and the emergence of a body of autobiographical writings by actresses.

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Victorian Pygmalions; 2. Acting Galatea, 'the ideal statuesque'; 3. George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, and the sculptural aesthetic; 4. Very lovely Greek statues: the London stage in the 1880s; 5. Living statues and the literary drama; Conclusion: writing actresses; Notes; Select bibliography; Index.

Examines actresses on the English stage of the later nineteenth century, and reveals that much of their work is determined by the popularity at the time of images of Classical sculpture. The book looks at many neglected plays and draws on theatrical fictions and visual representations, as well as theatrical productions.