Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876) was one of America’s first celebrities of the stage. She bent gender norms, playing lead roles typically reserved for men, like Romeo and Hamlet.
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Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today, we’ll meet one of America’s first big celebrities,-- though you may have never heard of her. She bent gender norms, playing lead roles typically reserved for men, like Romeo, and Hamlet. And, she hosted a cadre of prominent women artists at her Italian retirement home -- called by some, a harem.
Let’s talk about Charlotte Cushman.
Charlotte Cushman was born in Boston July 23, 1816. She had fond early memories of playing at her father’s warehouse on Long Wharf. Her father was a successful merchant, for a time.
One afternoon, Charlotte and her brother Charles were hopping from the Wharf to a docked boat that was being loaded. She and Charles lept back and forth, delighting in the freedom of it all. Until… Charlotte missed the boat and landed in the water. The children cried out for help, and a kind bystander dove in to bring Charlotte to safety.
Back on dry land, her father was quick to give her something dry to wear -- a set of men’s overalls and a large jacket.
When Charlotte was 13, she had to start working to support her family. By some accounts, that’s when her father died, leaving the family without a breadwinner, and impoverished. But other tellings of the story mention that her father returned to his children from a previous marriage, or just that his business failed. Either way, Charlotte’s childhood came to an abrupt end.
Despite that, she was determined to follow her dream of becoming an opera singer. She took music lessons, and developed an impressive contralto voice.
After joining a touring performance, where she had to sing parts higher than her range, Charlotte’s voice failed. And so, she turned to acting. Her first role was Lady MacBeth, in 1836, at New Orleans’ St. Charles Theatre. To help earn enough to send back to her family, she was also editing and publishing poems and short stories at the time.
Charlotte was known, in her early days, for her meticulous preparation -- what we might think of today as method acting. In 1837, she played Nancy Sykes in Oliver Twist. Nancy was a sex worker. Charlotte wanted to learn the mannerisms and details of the role she was about to play, so she spent time in New York’s impoverished Five Points neighborhood. She even brought back some clothing to complete her character’s costume.
But as time went on, Charlotte became known for playing male roles. There was a term for this: They were called “breeches parts.” Because the women who played them wore breeches, rather than skirts or dresses. Typically, these parts were played as something of a burlesque -- to show off some skin that would usually be hidden under skirts. There was a raunchiness to it. But, Charlotte didn’t do that. She played the male roles convincingly.
One reviewer wrote: “In walk, gait, gesture mode of speech and freedom of attitude, she was every inch the man.”
Charlotte’s next acting challenge was wooing the British theatre crowd -- a rare feat for an American. She set sail for England in October, 1844. Though she wasn’t wealthy at the time, she made sure she had enough to keep her family comfortable, and enough that she could return home to the states, if she were to fail. She didn’t fail.
Charlotte’s big break came when the manager of the Princess Theatre asked her to act alongside Edwyn Forrest, a prominent American Shakespearan actor. Forrest was making his debut in England, and they wanted Charlotte to act alongside him. She was adamant, though, that she should have her own debut, and negotiated on her own terms.
In February 1845, she opened with her first role in England, playing Bianca in the play Fazio. It was a brilliant and triumphant success. So much so that she was able to bring her family over, and reprise her role as Romeo, opposite her sister Susan as Juliet. That performance opened at the Haymarket Theatre In December 1845.
During her time in England, she also met Matilda Hays, a writer, journalist, and actor. For the next ten years, Charlotte and Matilda had a public relationship, which a friend described as a “female marriage.”
In 1852, she retired from acting and moved to Rome -- though, Charlotte never truly quit the theatre. In Rome, she attracted a community of smart, artistic women. Men viewed Charlotte and her fellow female “Jolly Bachelors” with a note of fear. Henry James called them a “harem-scarem.”
Matilda and Charlotte broke things off after a period of jealousy and strain. Soon after, Charlotte started a relationship with Emma Stebbins, a sculptor who arrived in Rome in 1857. The two women became close almost immediately. In 1858, Charlotte wrote to a friend:
“Do you not know that I am already married and wear the badge upon the third finger of my left hand?”
Charlotte was an ardent supporter of Emma’s work. Emma also drew inspiration from her partner, which can still be seen today. Emma was commissioned to create a statue for the Bethesda Fountain in New York’s Central Park. The triumphant angel at the center of the fountain was modeled after Charlotte.
The public may have known about their relationship, but the papers only ever described it as a closeness -- omitting the romance.
Charlotte and Emma lived together until Charlotte’s death. Died of pneumonia in 1876 at the age of 59.
Immediately after death, she was celebrated. The newspapers wrote glowing, beautiful obituaries and remembrances. But just a few years later, 1880, society began to shift. There was now language around queer desires, and those desires were seen as perversions. A mix of homophobia and misogyny meant that after her death, Charlotte’s star faded.
But, still, Charlotte accomplished so much with so little support from society. She remained true to herself, and adamant in what she deserved.
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