Actresses in the Theatre

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how the introduction of women into the theater was an epic move beforehand acting had not been considered a suitable pursuit for a woman. It considers the effect upon theater of introducing the actress to the stage and in particular the effect had upon the portrayal of women in plays. It uses three plays as examples, one from before the advent of actresses Ben Jonson's "Volpone"?, one from the same year as the first actress was allowed onstage, Aphra Behn's "The Rover" and one from several years afterwards, "The Two Foscari" by Lord George Byron.

From the Paper:

"And indeed it became so obvious that with the Restoration came change, and around 1660 women were allowed on the stage for the first time. Obviously the classics such as Shakespeare were still being produced, but the roles for women in the plays written before this era are woeful. New plays were constantly demanded in the theater, and with the introduction of actresses, a change arose in the plays. Influential playwright Aphra Behn typifies this. Her play "The Rover", written in 1677, is a great change from "Volpone" - it has many strong, convincing female characters. The main two of note are Florinda and Hellena. Both are in many ways in control of their lives, despite the best meant intentions of other men in their lives."

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