Category: Biography

Historical Context

To properly understand the cultural significance of Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie, one must understand the historical context in which she wrote and performed.

American drama offered its participants no prestige. The stages were no more populated with citizens of class and esteem than the seats in the theaters. In antebellum America, it was said that “the greatest opportunity for the aspiring dramatist lay in becoming an actor or actor-manager-dramatist,”[1]. The vocation of playwright held no special place of honor, and the overwhelming majority of them were white males, churning out formulaic melodramas. The popular plays emphasized spectacle, and favored exaggerated situations over faithful depictions of reality. Actors and actresses were not accepted into the upper echelons of society, and were considered morally corrupt. The public was especially suspicious of actresses.

Why the women? “The cult of the true womanhood,” also called the cult of domesticity, had reached its peak in America during the 1860s, building in popularity since the 1830s[2]. This cult defined feminine behavior, and violators were to be shunned or shamed by all respectable members of society. A respectable woman would not to showcase her body on a stage and would not work outside of the home. She must always be pious, pure, and submissive. Even Mowatt admitted in her autobiography that “the idea of becoming a professional actress was revolting,” which explains why her first foray on the stage was not as an actress, but as an orator[3].

Mowatt carefully framed her reading as high-class event, only done to support her family and as a last resort. Additionally, Mowatt “further manipulated her social and gender identity vis-à-vis her self-presentation” wearing a simple costume of a plain white dress, and no adorments except a rose in her hair, and one at her bosom.[4] Her careful cultivation of her presentation ensured the protection of her reputation and allowed her to begin her career without sacrificing her honor or place in society. Later, Mowatt’s transition to the stage did still shock and awe those in her social circles, but she had laid the groundwork so that it did not cost her everything.

By the turn of the century, drama was “established as a source of entertainment, a political weapon, a means of glorifying the nation and a teacher of moral behavior,” – a starkly different environment than at the start of Mowatt’s career[5].

[1] (Meserve 42).

[2] (Macki 4).

[3] (Macki 5)

[4] (Macki 4).

[5] (Meserve 42).

Biography

The esteemed playwright, actress, and orator was born in New York in the year 1819, the daughter of Samuel Ogden, a wealthy merchant, and Eliza Lewis Ogden, whose grandfather, Francis Lewis, had signed the Declaration of Independence. As a result of her families good connections and wealth, she received a great deal of education in private schools and independent tutoring. The family encouraged her to write, and she began crafting pieces in childhood. After marrying a well-off lawyer named James Mowatt when she was only fifteen, she entered into society and maintained a social circle of a high pedigree. This comfortable position was threatened after the economic crash of 1837, which nearly wiped out the couple’s fortune, as James Mowatt had participated in risky stock speculations and contracted an illness that compromised his sight and made it impossible for him to work in his law practice[1].

Facing ruin, Anna Cora Mowatt took matters into her own hands. While she had always written, she had done so under pseudonyms and so could refer to it more as a hobby than a means for economic gain. Now, she began a career as an orator, and so had to use her own name and risk her social status in order to support her family. Mowatt carefully packaged herself as a dutiful wife providing for her family as a last resort, rather than a performer seeking attention or fame, in order to preserve her honor and also draw audiences from her upper-class social circle. Successful in oratory, Mowatt would perform in crowded rooms of elites – social and literary. Always, Mowatt would be escorted to the front of the room by her husband. After a respiratory illness prohibited her from continuing to read, Mowatt returned to writing[2].

“Fashion” was published in the year 1845 to widespread acclaim, and would become her best known work. Additionally, “Fashion” was published under her real name. Buoyed by the success of her play, Mowatt would go on to transition into a career in acting and eventually toured through out America and Europe for years[3]. Mowatt would continue to write in various styles, including another play and an autobiography.

Two years after the death of her first husband, Mowatt would marry William Ritchie in an extravagant fashion, with noted guests including president Franklin Pierce and members of his Cabinet. After seven years, she would leave Ritchie and live on her own first in the North, and then abroad in England, always continuing to write and publish[4]. Anna Cora Mowatt died on July 29th, 1870 at the age of fifty-one[5].

[1] (Macki 2).

[2] (Richardson 100)

[3] (“Anna Cora Mowatt – Index”).

[4] Ibid.

[5] (Barnes 360).