Women at the theatre in the modern era

At the dawn of the modern era, aristocratic women, whether at court or in the academy, shed a noble aura on the new classic theatre and were often the privileged recipients of dedicated plays and poetry essays. They were totally different from the theatre-going women that bought tickets in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. Women in the theatre, whether on the stage or in the audience, were a problem and a source of scandal for Catholic and Protestant authorities, who wanted to ban them from attendance. However, their presence kept growing and finally established itself in the 18th century, when women became the main heralds of good taste and sentiment. This essay discusses the two aspects of this story.