Abstract
This essay examines how Elizabeth Robins borrowed from the theater to fashion new forms of modern identities for women. Robins combines melodramatic and burlesque performance genres in ways that alter the conventions of realist narrative and prefigure the cosmopolitan, fluid subjectivities of high modernism. Ranging from anti- and pro-British women's suffrage rhetoric to emergent forms of leisure activities and crowd theories, this essay contextualizes the problems, fears, and advantages of cross-class identifications. While Robins ultimately contains these sexualized, working-class energies, she nonetheless documents a powerful critique of middle-class forms of subjectivity and knowledge that imagines a leveling of class hierarchies.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.