ABSTRACT
Until World War I introduced large numbers of women into the public sphere in Britain, the performing woman, because of her crossing of Victorian boundaries, continued to be morally suspect.3 Educated middle-class women began to enter the theatrical profession in the 1880s and 1890s, but, as Viv Gardner points out, ‘[i]t was still true that few of the women who entered did so with the unconditional blessing of their families [. . .].’4 Performing women were still associated in the public’s mind with prostitution, leaving them with few options for establishing a professional role. If they wished to appear respectable, they had to hide their sexuality, or, if they chose to display their sexuality, they risked society’s condemnation and, perhaps even worse, its misreading of their sexual performance. Few women could manage for any length of time the tight rope act of maintaining an artistic profile while displaying their sexuality.
