Actresses on the Victorian Stage Feminine Performance and the Galatea Myth [Hardcover]

This book examines the figure of the Victorian actress in the context of the cult of Classical sculpture.Gail Marshall looks at actresses on the English stage of the later nineteenth century, and argues that much of their work is determined by the popularity at the time of images of Classical sculpture. They were often encouraged to look as much as possible as 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 theatrical productions.Gail Marshall looks at actresses on the English stage of the later nineteenth century, and argues that much of their work is determined by the popularity at the time of images of Classical sculpture. They were often encouraged to look as much as possible as 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 theatrical productions.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.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 thelcÀ