DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/SRE8-NS95
Defense Date
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Art History
First Advisor
Dr. Eric Garberson
Abstract
This thesis examines how images of the Swedish singer Jenny Lind worked to distance her from the typical nineteenth-century view. Because of their position within the public sphere, female performers were thought to be sexually available and often had the reputation of prostitute. Lind achieved a level of success that made her one of the most famous women of the mid-nineteenth-century. She was known not only for her talent as a performer but also for her morality and piety. Examining the Lind images in the context of nineteenth-century social codes and feminist theatre history, it becomes evident that Lind was a different type of female performer. This thesis will also discuss how photographic portraits of Lind adhered to codes for proper bourgeois portraits of women in the nineteenth century, thus distancing her from the stigma that was attached to stage performers.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
June 2008