The difference between Actors and Actresses in the Victorian Era
Actresses in the Victorian era were treated vastly different from their male counterparts. Almost all actresses have had to deal with a multitude of problems. From the occupations, career length to the view the public eye had on them. The differences that will be pointed out in this paper will largely focus on the actress and pointing out what is different for her.
Respect for an Victorian actress was an extremely hard to obtain. Actresses were judged differently from actors, and were only given certain opportunities compared to men. While men were praised and were respected for the same skill set of women, woman would never get the same level of respect. One of the main differences between men and women in victorian times is how the public sees actresses compared to actors. Victorians were incredibly suspicious of woman who skills are deception is how they make a living. The way the public seen it was, a woman who decides(acting) people for living should not be trusted. Regardless of what their sexual experience is, what social class they are or for their intelligence. In matter of fact if an actress got married their, appeal and status would disappear. The marriage would automatically put them in retirement. When men had got married they would add it the their brand and they would draw in a larger crowd than before, and therefore make more money. The reason a actress career would died is because they would be expected to start a family. Between men and woman, woman would have to stay home and take care of the children. So if a woman would want to stay and actress and have a child it would be extremely difficult. If the couple could not get onto the same show/tour the woman would most likely have to raise the child alone, or al,most never see it. And if a couple did manage to get on the same show/tour, the difficulty of raising a child while constantly traveling would be astonishing. The reason being the public's refusal/failure to give credit to actresses respectability, due to these women not conforming to the regular social roles of that era. Another point of interest is, how the way actresses were presented, did not help with the public's view on them. When performance genres were eventually established, they made no effort to break female stereotypes, they just reinforce it. For actresses(and maybe actors in general) in victorian times have come from a divise cast of backgrounds. Thought one actresses could be from an working class family, and another could be from an noble family, both would have to much of the same tasks. Some tasks would be to negotiate their pay so they do not get swindled, and to fend off unwanted sexual advances from men, whether it be their boss or an actor. Another difference is the ending …show more content…
The first to end an career would to be involved in and scandal. If an performer had problems, they would not reach the public. Being and performer in the victorian era meant that the life of said performer was on display. And if the public found out something incriminating about the performer, it would be an career ender. More so for an actress due to the already negative reputation and actress would have. Men would also be affected hugly if they had an scandal, but it would not be as severe. As mentioned earlier, marriage can kill a career, but so can age. The usual age ranges for an professional victorian actresses would start in the women's twentys. And her career would be mostly over by her forties, if they managed to not to get married before that point. Meanwhile men would be employed for longer than woman. The main reason an actress's career would end due to age. The older a actress, the less likely they are to be employed. The nature of the industry at that point in time. The theatre industry would just take in any new people whether they were good at it or not, and throw away the older actresses. The only way an actress could refrain from having to retire was to have a strong determination, and to not just quit when people said
Actresses in the Victorian era were treated vastly different from their male counterparts. Almost all actresses have had to deal with a multitude of problems. From the occupations, career length to the view the public eye had on them. The differences that will be pointed out in this paper will largely focus on the actress and pointing out what is different for her.
Respect for an Victorian actress was an extremely hard to obtain. Actresses were judged differently from actors, and were only given certain opportunities compared to men. While men were praised and were respected for the same skill set of women, woman would never get the same level of respect. One of the main differences between men and women in victorian times is how the public sees actresses compared to actors. Victorians were incredibly suspicious of woman who skills are deception is how they make a living. The way the public seen it was, a woman who decides(acting) people for living should not be trusted. Regardless of what their sexual experience is, what social class they are or for their intelligence. In matter of fact if an actress got married their, appeal and status would disappear. The marriage would automatically put them in retirement. When men had got married they would add it the their brand and they would draw in a larger crowd than before, and therefore make more money. The reason a actress career would died is because they would be expected to start a family. Between men and woman, woman would have to stay home and take care of the children. So if a woman would want to stay and actress and have a child it would be extremely difficult. If the couple could not get onto the same show/tour the woman would most likely have to raise the child alone, or al,most never see it. And if a couple did manage to get on the same show/tour, the difficulty of raising a child while constantly traveling would be astonishing. The reason being the public's refusal/failure to give credit to actresses respectability, due to these women not conforming to the regular social roles of that era. Another point of interest is, how the way actresses were presented, did not help with the public's view on them. When performance genres were eventually established, they made no effort to break female stereotypes, they just reinforce it. For actresses(and maybe actors in general) in victorian times have come from a divise cast of backgrounds. Thought one actresses could be from an working class family, and another could be from an noble family, both would have to much of the same tasks. Some tasks would be to negotiate their pay so they do not get swindled, and to fend off unwanted sexual advances from men, whether it be their boss or an actor. Another difference is the ending …show more content…
The first to end an career would to be involved in and scandal. If an performer had problems, they would not reach the public. Being and performer in the victorian era meant that the life of said performer was on display. And if the public found out something incriminating about the performer, it would be an career ender. More so for an actress due to the already negative reputation and actress would have. Men would also be affected hugly if they had an scandal, but it would not be as severe. As mentioned earlier, marriage can kill a career, but so can age. The usual age ranges for an professional victorian actresses would start in the women's twentys. And her career would be mostly over by her forties, if they managed to not to get married before that point. Meanwhile men would be employed for longer than woman. The main reason an actress's career would end due to age. The older a actress, the less likely they are to be employed. The nature of the industry at that point in time. The theatre industry would just take in any new people whether they were good at it or not, and throw away the older actresses. The only way an actress could refrain from having to retire was to have a strong determination, and to not just quit when people said