The secret history of Charlotte Cushman
It isn’t a hidden fact that the current history curriculum in most countries leaves out a lot of information and figures that students should and would probably enjoy learning. As a history student, knowing what the curriculum views as important sometimes saddens me as it is based mainly on a Eurocentric/Americentric/heterocentric view of the world. There is a general lack of understanding of the importance of representation in history. By this, I mean the many historical figures and events that have occurred and been left out from classroom teachings. This leads me to write this article during LGBTQ+ history month to talk about the most famous American actress of the 19th century, one that virtually no one discusses anymore; Charlotte Cushman.
I first stumbled across her in the book Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Sharpio, an absolutely fascinating account of the way that Shakespeare’s works have exhibited themselves throughout American history politically and culturally (from Othello during the abolition of slavery to Julius Caeser in the Revolutionary period). The part on Cushman was incredibly interesting as she was a talented actress and took on both male and female roles and became known for her tragic and emotional Romeo. But, I think Cushman is such a fascinating figure because of her many love affairs with other women, specifically her long romance with famous sculptor Emma Stebbins, who created the iconic Angel of the Waters statue in Central Park.
Cushman was born in Boston in 1816, first pursuing a career in opera due to her strong voice, which would later help her play a multitude of different gendered characters. However, her opera career ended rather quickly, and she turned instead to acting. Her first significant Shakespeare role was Lady Macbeth, which she debuted on April 23, 1836. Anyone familiar with Shakespeare and Macbeth in some capacity knows the intensity of Lady Macbeth and the difficulty of playing her. She is a character that has a passion that rivals and triumphs many modern female characters. She is the first female character I read in Shakespeare, and I was and still am utterly infatuated by her intensity.
Cushman took the role very seriously, practising day and night to ensure she would be able to do justice to the iconic character, and when she debuted, she was praised by reviewers. Several years later, in 1839, she became very well known for her role as Romeo, opposite her sister, Susan Cushman, as Juliet. Susan wasn’t as enthused by acting as her sister, but due to her failed marriage with a man much older than her, who abandoned her and her son, Charlotte allowed her sister to act across from her to support her and her child.
Cushman performed across America and England. In England, she acted across many famous/household names, meeting one of her main lovers, Matilda Hays, who played Juliet across Cushman’s Romeo. Hays and Cushman were not shy about their love affair on and off stage; they reportedly exchanged vows and had a ‘female marriage.’ When Cushman ultimately retired, she relocated to Rome with Hays. There she established a community of women artists (actresses, painters, sculptors, and more) in 1852, whom she referred to as the ‘jolly female bachelors’. Cushman’s establishment of a community of women artists, many of them whom were queer and were her lovers. As Dr Lisa Merill argues, “transform[ed] the expatriate community into a site of a nascent lesbian identity and cultural space.” Cushman spent several years living with her friends and lovers, and in this time, her relationship with Hays soured before breaking off completely. The break-up was particularly nasty, leading Hays to attempt to sue Cushman for putting her life on pause to support her. Cushman reportedly gave Hays a small amount of money to drop the lawsuit. Also, during this time in Rome, Cushman met the sculptor Emma Stebbins, who, after her break with Hays, started a relationship. The two remained together until Cushman’s death and exchanged vows, with Cushman often calling Stebbins her wife.
In 1869, Cushman was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cushman and Stebbins went to Scotland for surgery before returning briefly to Rome. Then the two moved to the U.S., where Cushman began acting again, despite her deteriorating health. Finally, on February 18, 1876, Cushman passed away in Boston. Although in the Times’ obituary of Cushman, there was no mention of Stebbins or her other lovers, she was described tragically as “liv[ing] and d[ying] a virgin queen of the dramatic stage.”
After Cushman’s death, Stebbins finished the Angel of the Waters statue at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, which is thought to be modelled after Cushman.
What makes this incredibly fascinating is that Cushman and Stebbins are relatively forgotten figures, despite Cushman being the most famous actress in the English speaking world at the time and Stebbins being the first woman who commissioned a work of art publically for New York City. Cushman and Stebbins are both women who should be in the history books but have been pushed aside to focus on more white/Eurocentric/Americentric/heterocentric history narratives. Stebbins created one of the most iconic landmarks of NYC, and Cushman virtually changed acting and Shakespearean performance history. Yet both women remain buried behind the history and the curriculum’s efforts to prioritise what is commonly perceived as important.
However, despite this effort to conceal this history, the two women and their love has been symbolically and physically cemented in Central Park in the form of the Angel of the Water statue.
Sources:
Carrie Maxwell, “Charlotte Cushman- Nominee,” The Legacy Project, 2020.
Lisa Merrill, “old maids, sister-artists, and aesthetes,” Women’s Writing, 10:2, 367-383, 2003.
“Emma Stebbins & ‘The Angel of the Waters,’” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, , 2016.