Il professionismo delle attrici: stato degli studi e nuove domande

Abstract

: in the second half of the 16 th century, the arrival of women on the stage caused a revolution, the effects of which extended to the entirety of modern society. A troupe on the move and always at risk, faced with waves of condemnation, the women actors, nomads by trade, were preceded by a diffidence that was both twofold and simultaneous: towards the principal makings of professional work in the theatrical arts and towards the moral qualities of which they had been regarded as the heralds, not individually but as a social group. The process of deconstructing the artistic identity of these pioneering actresses, who tended to be equated with harlots or to their opposites, that is, virgin actresses, was not limited to the first appearance of women on the professional scene, but, rather, it became a long-standing historical category. The article is concerned with removing prior moral judgments that were stratified over the actresses and freeing the historiographic field from preconceived viewpoints; it is concerned with dismantling misogyny and anachronistic sidelong glances. Between masks and prejudices regarding the perturbing aesthetic perception represented by the entrance of women into the world of art, distinguishing that which separates the actress’s profession from sexual adventures, talent from reputation, art from seduction, is essential to provide new historiographic categories and new coordinates to the study of the commedia dell’arte . in this way, other past experiences come to light: the launch towards professionalism, the role of marriage, and the violence that women underwent are a few of the problematic issues to reconsider and overcome based on prior documentary studies.