‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest

In the context of the women’s movement at the turn of the 20th century and the campaign for the vote, the Actresses’ Franchise League produced and performed a body of plays known as « suffrage drama », many of which were comedies. Drawing on a selection of these works, this article considers the rel...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Eleanor Stewart
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée 2022-10-01
Series:Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cve/11875
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832581331890995200
author Eleanor Stewart
author_facet Eleanor Stewart
author_sort Eleanor Stewart
collection DOAJ
description In the context of the women’s movement at the turn of the 20th century and the campaign for the vote, the Actresses’ Franchise League produced and performed a body of plays known as « suffrage drama », many of which were comedies. Drawing on a selection of these works, this article considers the relationship between the suffragette and humour. It sets out to show how, having been a target for ridicule in the popular press, suffrage dramatists turn the tables on their opponents. Mirroring the camaraderie and playful spirit of the movement itself, laughter becomes a powerful political tool on the stage. Within the ritualized framework of the comic genre, the suffrage dramatists use self-derision to provoke empathy and encourage derisory laughter towards their detractors. Caricature, satire and farce are all strategies deployed to undermine the ‘antis’ and expose their political stance as hypocritical and incoherent. Whilst hostile anti-suffragist discourse accused feminists of lacking a sense of humour, the comedies portray the resolutely cheerful and feisty female activists as agents of humour. By doing so, the playwrights overturn stereotypes and challenge the conventional gender power dynamics of a patriarchal society in which men dictated laughter. The attention and praise the comedies attracted in not only the suffragist but also the national press suggest that the comic form enabled the dramatists to present a future of female empowerment as logical and inevitable but in a non-confrontational manner.
format Article
id doaj-art-cb462954c5e447289059287ad474e06c
institution Kabale University
issn 0220-5610
2271-6149
language English
publishDate 2022-10-01
publisher Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
record_format Article
series Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
spelling doaj-art-cb462954c5e447289059287ad474e06c2025-01-30T10:20:55ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492022-10-019610.4000/cve.11875‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political ProtestEleanor StewartIn the context of the women’s movement at the turn of the 20th century and the campaign for the vote, the Actresses’ Franchise League produced and performed a body of plays known as « suffrage drama », many of which were comedies. Drawing on a selection of these works, this article considers the relationship between the suffragette and humour. It sets out to show how, having been a target for ridicule in the popular press, suffrage dramatists turn the tables on their opponents. Mirroring the camaraderie and playful spirit of the movement itself, laughter becomes a powerful political tool on the stage. Within the ritualized framework of the comic genre, the suffrage dramatists use self-derision to provoke empathy and encourage derisory laughter towards their detractors. Caricature, satire and farce are all strategies deployed to undermine the ‘antis’ and expose their political stance as hypocritical and incoherent. Whilst hostile anti-suffragist discourse accused feminists of lacking a sense of humour, the comedies portray the resolutely cheerful and feisty female activists as agents of humour. By doing so, the playwrights overturn stereotypes and challenge the conventional gender power dynamics of a patriarchal society in which men dictated laughter. The attention and praise the comedies attracted in not only the suffragist but also the national press suggest that the comic form enabled the dramatists to present a future of female empowerment as logical and inevitable but in a non-confrontational manner.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/11875gendersatirecomedysuffrage dramaActresses’ Franchise Leaguecaricature
spellingShingle Eleanor Stewart
‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest
Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
gender
satire
comedy
suffrage drama
Actresses’ Franchise League
caricature
title ‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest
title_full ‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest
title_fullStr ‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest
title_full_unstemmed ‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest
title_short ‘Laugh a defiance, Laugh in hope’: Suffrage Comedy and Humour as Political Protest
title_sort laugh a defiance laugh in hope suffrage comedy and humour as political protest
topic gender
satire
comedy
suffrage drama
Actresses’ Franchise League
caricature
url https://journals.openedition.org/cve/11875
work_keys_str_mv AT eleanorstewart laughadefiancelaughinhopesuffragecomedyandhumouraspoliticalprotest