The Eighteenth Century Shakespeare's Women Audiences: From Objects of Sexual Appetite to Ladies of Quality

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The Eighteenth Century Shakespeare's Women Audiences: From Objects of Sexual Appetite to Ladies of Quality Abstract Younglim Han (Kyungpook National U) This paper aims to give an account of the eighteenth century Shakespeare's women audiences who marked a turning-point in the history of Shakespeare's popularity. The 1736 formation of the 'Shakespeare Ladies Club' as a leading group of the female audience encouraged the theater managers to perform more Shakespeare. Stage productions relied more than ever on the favorites of women audiences. The establishment of female patronage was associated with the popularity of Shakespeare's crossed-dressed comedies and actresses in 'breeches' part. The outstanding achievement of the Ladies was their contribution to the promotion of Shakespeare's status as an embodiment of British culture and the acknowledgement of the dignity of national literature. They were successful in securing the native sense of Shakespeare in place of Italian opera and Harlequin pantomime. The recognition of the national significance of Shakespeare led a campaign to erect his monument in Westminster Abbey. The female audience's claim to the respectable Shakespeare provided the stimulus for transforming his plays in the interests of family values such as marital duty and domestic morality. Marina (1738), George Lillo's adaptation of Pericles that was dedicated to the Ladies, was an exemplary case. The domestic versions of Shakespeare stressed the importance of women characters and the idealization of them. Thus the reception of Shakespeare in the eighteenth century was characteristic of formulating the women audiences-performers-characters association. The female yearning for a refined theater was a significant achievement, considering its influence on ways of establishing the canonical Shakespeare in the eighteenth century.