Q: Was acting a profitable career?

A: Not for women (Castle-Smith 57). A high paying actress would make 50 shillings a week, while a man would make 7 pounds. Higher paying jobs were available at the theatres as orange girls, that is, selling oranges, fruits, etc. (57). Nell Gwyn actually started out as an Orange girl, which helped her break into the life of an actress. One did not become an actress because of immediate better wages (54). Actresses worked very hard,  200 days a year (Roach 19). They did not work Sundays, but the rest of the week they worked mornings, afternoons and nights in rehearsals or performance, and studied their parts in their spare time (Wilson 35). Actresses often supplemented their incomes from the theatre with money and other gifts from male admirers who received sexual favours in return (39).

Q: What happened when women got pregnant?

A: Actresses were still able to act when they were pregnant. In fact, their pregnant bellies were commonly used for comedic purposes if they were impersonating a man or virgin (Buchanan 284). Incorporating this kind of humour actually advocated for women’s rights to continue working while pregnant (284).

Q: What were the complications of married working women?

A: Women had to be careful when choosing their husbands because their husbands would have complete control over their careers (Castle-Smith 51). Husbands gained the right to refuse or accept acting opportunities on behalf of their wives, giving them the power to essentially ruin the wives’ careers. Even though acting was a source of independence for some women, the patriarchy still reigned in marriages. They also were unable to accept their own earnings if they were married, even if they were separated from their husbands (51). Being married protected women from the assertive advances of men (52). Women who wanted to be independent had to share the details of their private lives to prove to the public they were sensible enough to do so. Unfortunately, this connoted a disregard for private life, causing the public to still disapprove (52-53). In all, a woman’s relationship status played a major role in how she was perceived by the public.