#sarah bernhardt

[neshamama]

sarah bernhardt, "self-portrait as a chimera," c.1880, bronze

[jstor]

In a JSTOR Daily article, Betsy Golden Kellem examines gender play in nineteenth-century theater and how performance became a space for questioning social norms.

As theater reached broader audiences, it took on new cultural weight. Women appeared more frequently in roles associated with male tragic heroes such as Hamlet and Romeo, emerging alongside changing ideas about respectability, class, and who theater was for. Kellem situates this shift within a longer history of gender play onstage while noting how the nineteenth century brought it into more prominent and serious roles. Cross-gender casting moved into the center of theatrical culture and became part of how audiences engaged with questions about identity and representation.

Actors including Adah Isaacs Menken, Charlotte Cushman, and Sarah Bernhardt illustrate how these performances were received. Menken’s work in Mazeppa drew attention that often focused on her physical presence. Cushman’s portrayal of Romeo earned recognition alongside commentary shaped by expectations about women’s ambition. Bernhardt’s Hamlet prompted debate about interpretation and character.

Critical responses varied. Some reviewers described these performances as remarkable, while others interpreted them through existing ideas about gender. Even praise reflected assumptions about which roles a woman could convincingly embody.

Image: Lafayette Photo, London. Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet. June 1899. Wikimedia Commons.

[periodinteriors]

Marie-Desirée Bourgoin (French, 1839-1911), Sarah Bernhardt's Studio, 1879, watercolor and gouache over graphite.

[blondebrainpowered]

Sarah Bernhardt brooch, by Georges Fouquet, Paris, ca. 1895.

Gold, enamel, diamond, ruby, sapphire and pearl.

[lionofchaeronea]

Title: Gismonda Artist: Alphonse (Alfons) Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939) Date: 1894 Style: Art Nouveau Period: Belle Époque Medium: lithograph Dimensions: 216 cm (85 in) high x 74.2 cm (29.2 in) wide Location: private collection

Mucha created this poster for the premiere of Victorien Sardou's play Gismonda, starring the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris.

[tyger-land]

𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘁 Ophelia. 1880. White marble: 70 × 59 cm (27 × 23 in).

[terrorignitis]

Sarah Bernhardt playing Hamlet in 1899, holding a human skull given to her by the novelist Victor Hugo, after she triumphed in his historical drama Hernani in 1877. Hugo inscribed a verse on it in French celebrating the joy of the spirit in contrast to its lifeless container:

“Skeleton, what have you done with your soul? Lamp, what have you done with your flame? Empty cage, what have you done with The beautiful bird that used to sing? Volcano, what have you done with your lava? Slave, what have you done with your master?”

[tomoleary]

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) Medee (Medea) Sarah Bernhardt (1898) Source

“Sarah Bernhardt was so enamored with the snake bracelet that Mucha depicted adorning her arm that she actually had one made by Fouquet for her to wear.”