Casanova, while in Naples with his newfound cousin, found out that the interest felt towards me by my friends had induced them to obtain for me the honour of kissing the hand of Her Majesty the Queen, and I hastened my preparations to leave Naples, for the queen would certainly have asked me some questions, and I could not have avoided telling her that I had just left Martorano and the poor bishop whom she had sent there. The queen likewise knew my mother; she would very likely have alluded to my mothers profession in Dresden; it would have mortified Don Antonio, and my pedigree would have been covered with ridicule. Being an actress in the 18th century was a double edged sword. All professional actors were male for the first part of history. It was not until the Restoration period in 1660 that women came onto the stage. When Charles II, was on the throne, he did not want young men to play women’s parts anymore, he demanded that only women play their own parts. Charles was noted with having relations with several actresses himself. Many of the women’s parts were called ‘breeches parts’, this was where women played the part of a male. Audiences during this time of course found this intriguing, daring and quite appealing. from engl3621mgc.tripod/ Actresses in the 1700s were generally not regarded with the respect that men were. The stage was not a womans world as it was said to be better suited for men. On one hand women were looked down upon if they acted, as it was un-ladylike; On the other hand, women were viewed as celebrities if they were actresses, as they kept the aristocracy and royalty entertained as well as ocasionally socialized with them. It is competely different when we think of modern day actresses, who are among the highest paid, influential and idolized women in the world. Hester Booth, pictured, wasone of the first british acresses of the 1700s. from Wikipedia we read one anecdote about her: About the year 1717, writes Cibber, [Hester Santlow], a young actress of a desirable person, sitting in an upper box at the Opera, [Montague], a military gentleman thought this a proper opportunity to secure a little conversation with her, the particulars of which were probably no more worth repeating than it seems the Damoiselle then thought them worth listening to; for, notwithstanding the fine things he said to her, she rather chose to give the Musick the preference of her attention. This indifference was so offensive to his high heart, that he began to change the Tender into the Terrible, and, in short, proceeded at last to treat her in a style too grossly insulting for the meanest female ear to endur unresented. Upon which, being beaten too far out of her discretion, she turnd hastily upon him with an angry look and a reply which seemd to set his merit in so low a regard, that he thought himself obligd in honour to take his time to resent it. This was the full extent of her crime, which his glory delayd no longer to punish than till the next time she was to appear upon the stage. There, in one of her best parts, wherein she drew a favourable regard and approbation from the audience, he, dispensing with the respect which some people think due to a polite assembly, began to interrupt her performance with such loud and various notes of mockery, as other young men of honour in the same place had sometimes made themselves undauntedly merry with. Thus, deaf to all murmurs or entreaties of those about him, he pursued his point, even to throwing near her such trash as no person can be supposd to carry about him unless to use on so particular an occasion.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 01:03:53 +0000
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