In Edwardian times, people still clung very firmly to the belief that "a womans place is in the home". Of course the reality was that simple economics required many women, particularly those from the lower classes, to find paid work outside of the home in order to make ends meet and feed their growing families. But even a working woman was expected to be a homemaker, with probably little direct support in that respect from her husband. However unjust this state of affairs may have been, it was what young girls were bred to expect from their lives. Consequently, although an actress may have spent long periods of her life travelling around the country and even abroad living out of hotels and guest houses, still she was indoctrinated with the imagined ideal of a little house in which she might indulge all of the domestic skills she was no doubt trained for as a child. Many successful actresses therefore, whether married or otherwise, would buy themselves a small home to manage even though they might spend precious little time in it. For some it was a little cottage in the country, for others it was a town house in some fashionable part of London convenient for the theatres in which they plied their trade.
The following is an article (written somewhat condescendingly by a man I might add) that epitomises this attitude of the times:
The Playgoer and Society Illustrated, Volume 9, Number 49. October 1913
The Actress at Home
Every actress should have a hobby. It is part of her stage equipment, as it allows her artistic energy to renew itself while her mind is occupied with matters less exacting.
Few ladies have such a practical hobby as Miss Daisy Thimm, who prides herself on being a household expert. She loves "fussing about her little home" seeing that everything is spotless and in perfect order, arranging the flowers and doing all sorts of light tasks. Going to market every morning is a joy, and so is cooking! She claims to be a finished performer on the chafing dish, and her friends are enthusiastic over the savoury dishes she prepares.
The love of housekeeping is by no means unusual among leading actresses. Many of course, cannot be much in their homes, but after an actress has toured for some years and then finds herself established in London, Miss Thimm declares, she doesn't lose any time in taking a little house or flat and creating the home atmosphere. Moreover, she often does real housework herself for the fun of it.
The popular actress thinks women are born homemakers, whether they are actresses or not. She instances Ellen Terry as an example. In all her wanderings over the globe she has kept a home in one corner of it, and her house in the country now is perfectly charming. She takes as much pride in it as if she were not the great actress she is, but just an ordinary housewife.
That charming actress Miss Julia James rejoices in the fact that she is a bachelor girl. While in Paris a short time ago, where she sang in "The Arcadians" in French, she firmly declined to become either a French viscountess or marchioness. "I don't want to marry," she protests. "I've got my own little house in London, and I collect lacquer and pewter and old prints, and I'm desirous of achieving something in my profession."
See also The Stage Favourites Cook Book.
| Author: Don Gillan, www.stagebeauty.net. |
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