Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-10, Section: A, page: 3322. / Traditionally, the offspring of illustrious, respected citizens are not studied unless they become famous in their own right. Traditionally, too, the daughters of prominent eighteenth-century men have been largely ignored or referenced casually in a footnote. From the age of four, however, Charlotte Cibber Charke, the youngest daughter of the Poet Laureate, Colley Cibber, made certain that she would not be ignored. In her childhood began adventures and escapades that would lead her through a riotous, tragic life that deserves to be remembered. Charlotte Cibber Charke's notoriety is well-deserved, but not so much for her passing as a man as for her unflinching struggle to survive as an unattached woman against all the dictates of propriety of the eighteenth century. Her attempts at the careers of actress, entrepreneur, and author have been examined and the judgment is that she is well worth remembering. Dressing as a man onstage soon carried over into her personal life, especially after her irascible temperament and the Licensing Act of 1737 thwarted her London theatrical career. Versatile acting abilities and a ferocious desire to preserve her autonomy enabled her to pose as a young man while attempting diverse male occupations to support herself and her daughter. Waiting tables in a tavern, selling sausages on the street, trading teas in her shop, running a boarding house, and managing an elaborate puppet show were some of her survival schemes. On more than one occasion she was pursued and proposed to by young women. Labeled a transvestite by modern critics, Charlotte Cibber Charke was, rather, a survivor. In a time when women alone were either protected as mistresses or exploited as prostitutes, she faced these two choices and determined she could accept neither. Deserted by her husband of less than a year and left alone with an infant, she attempted the logical route to survival and independence--she went on the stage in her father's theatre at Drury Lane and became as famous for her breeches roles in her time as Nell Gwynn had been in hers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_67246 |
| Creators | Courtoy, Ava Diann |
| Publisher | Florida State University Libraries |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
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