The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-04-25

souls are filled with sacred reverence
for creative genius what wealth Of de-
light in looking back upon the daz-
zling record of the theater when the
allurements of Mrs. Betterton, Nell
q Eynne, Margaret Wellington, Nance
Oldfeld, Sarah Siddons, and more
lately, Rachel, Ristori, Fanny Kemble,
Charlotte Cushman, Helen Faucit,
Adelaide Nelson aud a host of others
stand forth as irrefutable proofs Of
the dignity and importance of wom-
ans work along the lines Of truly ar
tistic advancement.
Courage and perseverance have
been woman's battle cry since the year
1860. What greater instance of these
qualities is to be found in all history
than the grim, sad experience of the
great Rachel, who when a wretched
child Travelled in poverty, squalor and
cold from one small European town
to another, and who in order to pos.
sess a copy of Racine's plays was
obliged, through trudging through
mud and rain, to pawn her umbrella
for the, pitiful sum of 20 sous.
The history of Charlotte Cushman Is
too well known to make a review of
her untiring perseverance necessary.
The heart-rending episodes of her life
when poor, the supporting of others,
lacking beauty and charm, she strove
to influence managers to give her the
opportunity Of expressing the genius
she felt burning within her. form one
OF the most stirring chapters in the
history of womankind Consider, too,
the life of Mrs. Lander, who besides
her valuable services in the dramatic
field, took upon herself the entire
charge of the hospital department of
Port Royal, S. G. She lives in mem
ory to us as the blessed name of Flor
ence Nightingale does to the English.
1t Is unnecessary to go back in the
history of the stage for such exam
pies. We have them near at hand.
The struggles Of Nine. Modjeska and
of Miss Clara Morris and their final
and lasting artistic victories are well
known to all who have watched with
interest and sympathy the lives of ar
lists on the stage.
1t is often stated that woman is
lacking in the faculty of creative
genius, and, indeed, that in this par
tlcular, by contrast with man, she is
decidedly inferior. This is perhaps a
reasonable conclusion in view of her
history, But it is not so emphatical-
ly true when We consider her dramatic
work.
1t is by no means a new thought
that man IS by nature more intellec-
tual and woman by nature more emo
tional. OF course, it is not meant by
this that man is never emotional nor
woman never intellectual. Yet it is
surely fair to assume that to man be-
longs the power of intellectually, and
to woman the emotional quality. Does
it not seem, therefore, that the very
possession by nature of this latter
quality, which certainly is an absolute
in dramatic art, has made
her inherently suited for dramatic
Mr.. RusKln, In speaking of the nee
essary qualities that go to form grea;
says: First, sensibility anG
tenderness; second. imagination, am
third. industry" Woman's nature is
alive to all Of these condi
tions. 1t is then no wonder that WON.
en- on the stage nave accomplished
great things and will accomplish
greater things in the future, when
such women as Modjeska, Terry, Duse
and the matChless Bernhard continue
through inspiration to show their
genius to the world.
Woman's work in literature with
few exceptions has been denied any
claim to greatness. In music and in
other arts she is admitted to have
shown no particular creative power.
But her place upon the stage is as ab-
unquestioned as mans. In
having thus secured for herself an emf.
nent position in the drama the actress
has advanced the whole cause Of wom
an, since every individual triumph
raises the estimation in which the in
tellectual achievements of a whole
class are held. Woman is better un.
derstood because she has been faith
fully portrayed. She is more highly
regarded because of her ability to
make that portrayal And that por-
trayal has, l feel, powerful moral
influence in an educational sense.
1 thoroughly believe that it is the
duty of mothers to foster in the hearts
Of their children while at tender age
a serious consideration for the better
forms of dramatic literature and OF
dramatic representation. Let them
teach their children 70 avoid the un-
happy tendency of the present age
which regards acting merely as a form |
Of amusement rather than an amuse-
ment combining a means for intel |
Iectual control and artistic suggestion |
presented in an attractive and inspir
ing manner.
That woman is capable of arduous
effort and untiring devotion has been
fully demonstrated by her work on the
stage. She has hesped to elevate the
drama to it's rightful place among the
forces of life. She has
done to make true what Morley says:
'At the playhouse door, then, We may
say to the doubling, enter boldly, for