Votes for Women! (1907) is a play by American actress, writer, and suffragette Elizabeth Robins. Having established herself as one of England’s leading actresses with her productions of Henrik Ibsen’s dramas, Robins retired from the stage to pursue a writing career. Votes for Women!, inspired by Robins’ own activism as a suffragette, was the first major play to represent the movement on stage. Despite its lukewarm reception and controversial subject matter, Robins’ work would inspire countless other so-called suffragette plays, not only making space in the male-dominated theatrical world for plays written by, for, and about women, but also reclaiming the political influence of the dramatic arts in order to promote a contemporary social struggle.
The play opens in the opulent Wynnstay House, a country home in Hertforshire owned by Lady and Lord John Wynnstay. There, Vida Levering, a militant activist for women’s suffrage, prepares to leave for a rally in Trafalgar Square. Defending her political beliefs and motivations against the skepticism and conservative values of her hosts, Miss Levering stays true to her values and leaves for London with a renewed sense of purpose. At the crowded demonstration held at one of London’s most iconic sites, a symbol of state power and military might, Miss Levering works up the courage to address the gathered people. Initially nervous, she overcomes hecklers and her own fears to deliver a rousing speech in support of women’s suffrage, powerfully demonstrating the determination necessary to resist the powers that be in order to achieve what must and will be done. Votes for Women! is a captivating work of political theater from one of the leading actresses and dramatists of the early twentieth century.
This edition of Elizabeth Robins’ Votes for Women! is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Tentang Penulis
Elizabeth Robins (1862-1952) was an American actress, playwright, scholar, and suffragette. Born in Kentucky, Robins was raised by her grandmother in Ohio following her father’s abandonment and mother’s subsequent commitment to an insane asylum. Educated and encouraged in her interest in the dramatic arts, she began a successful career as an actress in Boston before moving to London after the tragic suicide of her husband, George Parks. In England, she renewed her acting career, befriending such figures as Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw while playing an influential role in bringing Henrik Ibsen’s plays to the English stage. At the height of her career, she produced Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler for the first time in England, playing the title character and establishing herself as one of the foremost performers and theater scholars of her day. After retiring from the stage in 1902, Robins embarked on a career as a writer of novels, stories, and plays, authoring successful works of fiction and nonfiction alike. As the women’s suffrage movement gathered steam, she joined the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union and advocated for women’s rights through both public activism and such literary works as Votes for Women! (1907).
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