Historical Context
The New Woman
In the early 1900s, a growing number of women began leaving their homes to join the workforce. The rapid industrial expansion in the United States created more job opportunities than the male population alone could fill. As a result, more workers were needed in the new factories and industries, and women stepped up to meet this demand. Women were no longer confined to the roles of wives and mothers; they became active contributors to the economy. This newfound independence prompted many women to question their societal roles. They began challenging traditional norms, advocating for equal rights, and demanding a voice in governmental affairs. The "new woman" emerged as more empowered, opinionated, and self-reliant than previous generations. However, this rise in women's self-assurance also sparked resistance, leading to a significant debate over women's proper role in society. From this debate, the feminist movement emerged, advocating for women's rights and equality—a struggle that continues today.
Women’s Suffrage
By 1915, the campaign for women's voting rights was in full momentum. Between 1905 and 1910, the National American Woman Suffrage Association expanded its membership from seventeen thousand to seventy-five thousand. In 1912, the Progressive Party, led by Theodore Roosevelt, officially supported the suffrage movement. However, on January 12, 1915, the women's suffrage amendment was defeated in the House of Representatives. Despite this setback, the suffragettes remained undeterred and persevered in their efforts, ultimately securing the right to vote for women in 1919.
Little Theatre Movement
In the early 1900s, the theatre scene was dominated by large commercial enterprises controlled by affluent entrepreneurs. These commercial entities prioritized popular and "safe" productions to maximize profits, often neglecting artistic innovation and experimentation. This began to change around 1912 with the rise of the "little theatre" movement. These small theatres, inspired by similar independent venues in Europe, were established by local artists. The actors and technicians volunteered their time, and the theatres relied on subscriptions and donations for funding. They typically presented small, cost-effective productions and explored new forms and styles unfamiliar to most audiences. One of the most influential of these was the Chicago Little Theatre, founded by Maurice Brown in 1912. Alice Gerstenberg was associated with this theatre during its inaugural season.
Freud and Psychoanalysis
In 1909, renowned psychoanalysis pioneers Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung traveled to the United States to deliver the first American lectures on psychoanalysis at Clark University in Massachusetts. These lectures were published in 1910, sparking a surge of interest in psychology and the subconscious mind among the American public. Freud's theories began to appear in numerous popular literary magazines, becoming a frequent topic of conversation in social gatherings. His candid discussions about sexuality and deviance both fascinated and shocked American society, eventually leading to a shift in how people viewed those deemed insane or psychologically impaired.
Literary Style
Dual Characters
Overtones marks the first recorded instance of a playwright employing two actresses to represent a single character. By dividing each character into two distinct roles, Gerstenberg enables the audience to access the character's inner thoughts and desires without pausing the play's progression. Before this, playwrights would use an aside or a soliloquy to convey a character's personal reflections to the audience. An aside involves a character speaking directly to the audience while other characters remain unaware. A soliloquy is when a character, alone on stage, verbalizes their thoughts. These techniques typically interrupt the flow of the play. Gerstenberg’s dual-character approach allows the audience to experience both the "external" and "internal" aspects of the characters simultaneously, enabling continuous action and introducing visible internal conflicts.
Symbolism
Throughout Overtones , Gerstenberg employs various forms of symbolism. She uses both visual elements and...
(This entire section contains 449 words.)
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dialogue to express symbolic ideas. Hetty and Maggie wear darker shades of their respective counterpart's clothing colors, symbolizing their connection to their primal selves and hinting at the deeper emotions they possess. The costume styles also carry symbolic weight. In her stage directions, Gerstenberg notes that the cultured characters' dresses are made of chiffon, suggesting the "potential for primitive and cultured selves to unite into one woman." The play's title also serves as a symbol. An overtone is defined as an underlying or implicit meaning. Gerstenberg elucidates this symbolism for the audience when Harriet tells Hetty, "I am your subtle overtone."
Shadowing
Overtones employs the visual technique of shadowing to help the audience understand the connection between each character's separate parts. Each primitive self stands behind her cultured counterpart, mimicking her gestures. The primitive self also moves across the stage in tandem with her counterpart. This shadowing effect, with the primitive self always positioned behind and sometimes looming over the cultured character, creates a visual representation of the duality within Margaret and Harriet, highlighting the threat posed by Maggie and Hetty.
Unity of Time and Place
The unity of time and place in theater refers to a play that unfolds in a single location and in real-time. This means there are no shifts to different settings or time skips where the story resumes later. The play Overtones exemplifies this concept, as it is set in one room, allowing the audience to witness the entire interaction between Harriet and Margaret continuously. Such plays were favored by small, emerging theaters due to their small casts, single set, and cost-effectiveness in production. Gerstenberg frequently wrote with these considerations in mind. As Stuart J. Hecht mentions in the Journal of Popular Culture, "Gerstenberg intended such performances as inexpensive productions which could help raise money to begin or sustain a local little theatre."
Compare and Contrast
1910s: The Victor Talking Machine Company introduces the first phonograph. By 1919, Americans invest more in phonographs and records than in most other forms of home entertainment.
Today: Phonograph records are no longer produced. Compact discs have taken their place, and many people own a CD player.
1910s: A new car costs on average $600, with a Model T priced at $360. Most Americans do not own a car.
Today: Nearly everyone owns at least one vehicle. The cost of a basic new car generally starts at over $10,000.
1910s: On August 5, 1914, Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, becomes the first intersection in the U.S. to have an electric traffic light installed.
Today: Traffic lights are present in every major American city. The red, yellow, and green lights are universally understood as signals for stop, caution, and go.
1910s: Electric clocks make their debut, but most people still rely on windup clocks to tell time.
Today: Digital clocks and wristwatches are the most common means of telling time. Clocks on computers and handheld devices can be set with precise accuracy.
1910s: The divorce rate is one per thousand. Most couples remain married despite any difficulties they face.
Today: One in two marriages ends in divorce. The stigma surrounding divorced women has greatly diminished.
1910s: In the United States, the life expectancy for men is 48.4 years, while for women it is 51.8 years.
Today: The life expectancy for men in the U.S. is 74.2 years, and for women, it is 79.9 years. Although improved healthcare and medicine have increased overall life expectancy, the gap between genders has narrowed due to women's participation in the workforce and the common stresses of modern life.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Freud, Sigmund, The Ego and the Id, translated by Joan Riviere and edited by James Strachey, W. W. Norton & Co., 1960, pp. 11–21.
Hecht, Stuart J., "The Plays of Alice Gerstenberg: Cultural Hegemony in the American Little Theatre," in Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 26, No. 1, Summer 1992, pp. 1–16.
Maddock, Mary, "Alice Gerstenberg’s Overtones: The Demon in the Doll," in Modern Drama, Vol. 37, No. 3, Fall 1994, pp. 474–84.
Matherne, Beverly M., "Alice Gerstenberg," in American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present, edited by Lina Mainiero, Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1981, pp. 118–20.
Newlin, Keith, "Introduction," in American Plays of the New Woman, edited by Keith Newlin, Ivan R. Dee Publishers, 2000, pp. 1–29.
Sievers, W. David, "First Freudian Plays," in Freud on Broadway: A History of Psychoanalysis and the American Drama, Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1970, pp. 46–61.
Further Reading
Appignanesi, Richard, and Oscar Zarate, Freud for Beginners, Pantheon, 1990. This book offers an engaging and easy-to-understand overview of Freud's life and theories, illustrated in a cartoon format, covering his writings and key concepts.
Chinoy, Helen Krich, and Linda Walsh Jenkins, eds., Women in American Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, 1987. This collection provides a comprehensive look at the history of women's theatre in the United States, featuring discussions on many lesser-known individuals and groups, along with a detailed bibliography.
Diner, Steven J., A Very Different Age: Americans of the Progressive Era, Hill & Wang, 1998. This book delivers an in-depth social history of the period from 1900 to 1920, known as the "progressive era" in the U.S., examining how technological advances in the early 20th century reshaped American life.
Kramer, Dale, Chicago Renaissance, Appleton-Century, 1966. Kramer explores the literary movement in Chicago from 1900 to 1930, with a thorough examination of the theatrical community during that era.