by Peter Rader
“Now that the public is willing to accept me”: Gold and Fizdale, The Divine Sarah, 326.
“I lost a leg, and you”: Sheehy, Eleonora Duse, 306.
“Eleonora Duse is more of an actress than an artist”: Bernhardt, My Double Life.
“I recognized the luminous hair”: Colette, quoted in William Weaver, Duse, 302.
“The fever in my heart, ever since Griffith’s offer”: Sheehy, Eleonora Duse, 275.
“keep me in the shadows”: Ibid., 278.
“Now the work is yours”: Margherita Heyer-Caput, Grazia Deledda’s Dance of Modernity (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008), 96.
“Those hands were such loving, beating wings”: Colette, Earthly Paradise (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1966), 289.
“Women came into the dark room and voilà”: Weaver, Duse, 312.
“I prefer to tell you this myself”: Ibid., 313.
“From act to act, we saw her rising to greater heights”: Le Gallienne, The Mystic in the Theatre, 61.
“I’m trying to forget myself”: Ibid, 166–67.
“what the old actors called ‘guts’ ”: Sheehy, Eleonora Duse, 298.
“I was drunk, as usual”: John Barrymore, transcript of an unpublished interview, courtesy of Barrymore biographer Michael A. Morrison, author of John Barrymore, Shakespearian Actor.
“I should like to raise myself through my work”: Le Gallienne, The Mystic in the Theatre, 183–84.
“She swayed, as if she were about to faint”: Lillian Gish, with Ann Pichot, The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969), 257.
“A hush crept over the house”: Sheehy, Eleonora Duse, 317.
“Eleonora Duse is the greatest artiste I have ever seen”: Charles Spencer Chaplin, “Duse Seen as Soul Art,” Los Angeles Daily News, February 20, 1924.
“seemed to take my sorrow to her breast”: Isadora Duncan, My Life (London: Victor Gollancz, 1928), 310.
“The last to linger of the great histrionic group”: New York Times, April 22, 1923.
“The actor vanishes without a trace”: Wendy Smith, “The Mother of Modern Theater,” Los Angeles Times, August 24, 2003.
“transformed, with her magic touch, the theatre”: Berton, Sarah Bernhardt as I Knew Her, 242.
“Bernhardt lied herself into being”: Stuart Jeffries, “Desperately Seeking Sarah,” The Guardian, October 24, 2000.
EPILOGUE
“You act with your soul”: Stella Adler, “Awake and Dream!,” American Masters, July 17, 1989, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/stella-adler-about-stella-adler/526/.
“One morning she said, ‘You are all chickens’ ”: Pope Brock, “Stella Adler,” http://people.com/archive/stella-adler-vol-32-no-3/.
“She taught me everything”: Marlon Brando, quoted in James Grissom, “Brando on Stella Adler: Believing in Majesty,” http://jamesgrissom.blogspot.com/2012/08/brando-on-stella-adler-believing-in.html.
“Brando’s performances revolutionized American acting”: James Franco, “Why Actors Act Out,” New York Times, February 19, 2014.
“Create your own method”: Konstantin Stanislavski, quoted in Elizabeth Hess, Acting and Being: Explorations in Embodied Performance (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), 5.
INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Abbéma, Louise, 96–97, 186, 214, 225
Adams, Maude, 190–91
Adler, Jacob, 245
Adler, Stella, 245–48
Affective Memory, 246–47
Agate, James, 214
Agate, May, 214–15
Alexander II, tsar of Russia, 89
Alexandra, queen of England, 223
American Spectator, The, 222
Amicis, Edmondo de, 194
Amphytrion (Molière), 119
Andò, Flavio, 65, 67, 81
Annunzio, Gabriele d’, see d’Annunzio, Gabriele
Antongini, Tom, 168
Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare), Boito’s adaptation of, 82–85, 90–91, 95, 142
Arcais, Francesco D’, 63–64, 66–67
Archer, William, 10, 83–84, 115, 118, 246
arte drammatica, L’, 53
Art Nouveau, 5, 99–100, 197
Ashes (Cenere) (Deledda), 231–34
Askowith, Bathsheba, 237
Asolo, 227, 235, 240, 242
As You Like It (Shakespeare), 142
Athalie (Racine), 32
Atheneum, 65–66
Augier, Émile, 51
Baring, Maurice, 187
Barnum, P. T., 213
Baron, Michel, 10
Barrymore, John, 235–36, 238
Beerbohm, Max, 124, 187
Berenson, Bernard, 163, 172
Berlin, 27, 216
Duse’s trips to and performances in, 119, 142, 169
Bernard, Jeanne, 59, 70
Bernard, Maurice, 25
Bernard, Régine, 40, 44
Bernard, Rosine, 25–26, 30–31, 33–34, 44
Bernard, Youle, 41–42, 44, 63, 223
and daughter’s childhood and adolescence, 26–27, 29–34, 36–39, 41
daughter’s education and, 31–34, 36
daughter’s injuries and, 28
daughter’s stage fright and, 33, 36
prostitution of, 25–27, 31–33, 36–37
Bernhardt, Maurice, 44, 48, 113, 185, 217, 225
birth of, 41
engagement and marriage of, 41, 93, 117
gambling of, 72
mother’s marriage and, 71
Bernhardt, Sarah:
acting skills and style of, 2–6, 10–11, 29, 32–33, 35–43, 45–48, 60–62, 73–77, 82, 91, 93–95, 98, 100–102, 112, 114, 118–19, 121–22, 124–27, 130, 139, 141, 147–48, 154–55, 159, 168, 182, 187–89, 191, 194–95, 201, 203, 211–12, 215, 219–22, 227, 245–46, 248
ambitions of, 32, 36–37, 39–40, 113, 131, 186
animals as passion of, 1, 5–6, 35, 96, 125
awards and honors of, 43, 117, 131–32, 182–83, 193, 214, 223, 225, 243
baptism of, 36
birth of, 25
in Camille, 2, 60–62, 65, 72, 74, 84, 89, 110, 114, 116, 118–19, 126, 128–30, 146, 148, 153, 158, 192–94, 205, 217, 220, 222
childhood and adolescence of, 26–41, 126, 131
circus tent performances of, 192–93
as Cleopatra, 84, 95
clothing and costumes of, 31, 61–62, 72, 100–101, 130, 147–49, 183, 188–89, 206, 214, 219, 221
comparisons between Duse and, 2, 5–7, 9, 29, 31, 39, 47, 62–65, 74, 81–82, 84–86, 90–91, 93–94, 98, 102, 107–17, 119, 121–27, 130–31, 141, 148, 152, 186–87, 190–91, 193–95, 200–201, 203, 205–6, 212, 215, 223, 227–28, 235, 238–39, 242–43
convent school enrollment of, 34–36, 215
criticisms of, 73–74, 77, 88–89, 91, 95, 98, 101, 113, 115, 122–24, 155, 158, 184–88, 190, 194, 217, 222–23, 239
in The Dead City, 156–59, 164, 166, 177
death of, 225–27, 237, 243
as Duse’s idol, 2, 62, 85, 154, 227
Duse’s meetings with, 145–47, 155
Duse’s rivalry with, 2, 6, 9–10, 66, 88, 90, 94, 98, 103, 117–24, 126, 128–29, 131, 133–34, 140–41, 143–44, 146–53, 155–59, 174, 192, 194, 201, 207, 211, 215, 227–28, 243, 246
in The Eaglet, 187, 189–91, 217
education of, 31–38, 215
in film, 73, 188, 214, 226, 229, 231
finances of, 34, 48, 60, 69, 71–72, 95, 114, 143, 149, 151, 155, 186, 192, 205, 214
as grandmother, 93, 122, 191, 201
in Hamlet, 42, 132, 187–89, 191, 220, 222–23
herita
ge of, 25, 33, 36, 47, 88, 95–96, 101, 108, 140, 184–86, 190, 211
as icon, 190, 242, 245
illegitimacy of, 25, 36–37, 41, 113, 117, 223
illnesses and injuries of, 27–28, 30, 93–94, 213, 216–17, 225–26
in Izeyl, 126–28
jewelry of, 2, 69, 72, 100, 147
as Joan of Arc, 73, 93–95, 201, 213
lawsuits of, 69
legacy of, 242–43
leg amputation of, 213, 217–22, 227–28
loneliness and isolation of, 28, 31
in Magda, 119–23
marriage of, 70–72
memoir of, 27–28, 30–32, 35, 38, 40, 44, 228, 242
motto of, 39, 41
nickname of, 27
in Le Passant, 42–43, 46, 71, 76, 187
in Phèdre, 46–47, 101–2, 132
physical appearance of, 4, 29, 31, 33, 35, 38–39, 61–62, 76, 95,100–101, 121–25, 131, 140–41, 146–47, 149, 153, 200, 203, 212, 218–21, 226
politics of, 43, 45, 113, 184–86
popularity and fame of, 3–6, 9, 37, 41–46, 48, 59–62, 69–70, 74, 76–77, 88, 90, 93–96, 107–8, 110, 114, 117, 119, 123, 131, 147, 154, 184, 187, 189–90, 192–95, 203, 206, 212–14, 217–18, 221–22, 227–28, 242–43
posing of, 39, 46, 95, 101, 139, 147, 149, 212
posters of, 5, 99–100
pregnancy of, 41
press relations of, 70, 93, 108–10, 113–14, 117, 125–26, 140, 242
reading of, 32
romances and sexuality of, 41, 43–45, 59–60, 69–70, 96–97, 133, 138–41, 146, 151, 155–58, 174, 181–84, 216
sculpting of, 71–72, 97, 145
sense of entitlement of, 112–13
in La Signora di Challant, 95, 103
son of, 41, 44, 48, 71–72, 93, 113, 117, 185, 217, 225
in The Sorceress, 195, 198, 203
speeches of, 221
spirituality of, 198
stage fright of, 33, 36, 39, 47, 101, 153–54
stamina of, 5, 223
tantrums of, 31, 34–35, 113
in Thédora, 76–77
touring of, 4–5, 46–48, 58–61, 69–71, 73, 85–86, 88–89, 93–97, 107–14, 120–29, 154, 181–84, 187–88, 190–94, 199, 211–13, 220–22, 238
trouser roles of, 42–43, 46, 71, 76, 96, 132, 182, 187–91, 227
tutoring of, 214–15
in La Vierge d’Avila, 211–12
vocal talent of, 43, 73, 185, 226
wartime activities of, 44–45, 185, 215–16, 218–22
Berton, Madame Pierre, 28–29, 44–46, 59, 140–41, 206, 213, 243
Birth of a Nation, The, 229, 239
Blavatsky, Helena, 81
Bogar, Thomas, 129
Boito, Arrigo, 79–86, 143
Antony and Cleopatra adapted by, 82–85, 90–91, 95, 142
Duse’s death and, 242
and Duse’s marriage to Checchi, 104
Duse’s relationship with, 80–86, 88, 90, 118–19, 136, 142, 152, 230, 242
and Duse’s relationship with d’Annunzio, 134–35, 142
Boston, Mass., 108, 163
Duse’s trips to and performances in, 175–77
Boston Herald, 177
Brando, Marlon, 248
Brisson, Adolphe, 101–2
Buguet, Louise, 35
Cabiria, 231
Caetani, Prince Gelasio, 239–40
Cafiero, Martino, 54–58, 65, 67–68, 80
Camille (Dumas), 71–72
Bernhardt in, 2, 60–62, 65, 72, 74, 84, 89, 110, 114, 116, 118–19, 126, 128–30, 146, 148, 153, 158, 192–94, 205, 217, 220, 222
Duse in, 2, 7–8, 11, 68, 74, 80, 84, 89–90, 94, 107, 110–14, 116–19, 128–30, 146, 148–51, 155–56, 169, 193, 205–6
Camp, Maxine Du, 26
Canto novo (d’Annunzio), 134
Cappelletto, Signor, 17
Cather, Willa, 124
Catholicism, Catholic Church, 26, 36, 71, 79, 108, 111
Chaplin, Charlie, 214, 239
Checchi, Tebaldo, 6–9
Duse’s marriage to, 7, 57–58, 63, 65, 67, 79, 104
and Duse’s performance in Camille, 7–8
Chekhov, Anton, 73, 88–91, 103
Chicago Tribune, 112–13
Child of Pleasure, The (Il Piacere) (d’Annunzio), 136
Christian IX, king of Denmark, 210
Ciotti-Belli-Blanes Company, 51, 53
Claude’s Wife (La Femme de Claude) (Dumas), 153, 156
Cleveland, Frances, 128–29
Cleveland, Grover, 128–29
Closed Door, The (La Porta Chiusa) (Praga), 240
Clotilde, 33
Cocteau, Jean, 4, 211–12
Coignt, Mademoiselle, 217
Colas, Stella, 32–33
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 189
Colette, 220, 226, 228–29, 233
Colombier, Marie, 37, 192
Comédie–Française, 9, 32–33, 46–48, 69, 76, 86, 153
Bernhardt’s performances with, 47–48, 101
Bernhardt’s position at, 39–40
Bernhardt’s reinstatement in, 46
Bernhardt terminated by, 40, 42
Conservatoire de Paris, 37–38, 215
Coppée, François, 42–43, 46, 71, 76, 187
Coquelin, Benoît-Constant, 118–19, 153
Corriere del mattino, 54–55, 57
Corriere di Roma, Il, 159
Count of Monte Cristo, The (Dumas), 38
Couvent de Grand-Champs, 34–36, 215
Crucible, The (Miller), 198
Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand), 82, 131, 181, 183, 189
Daly’s Theater, 121
Damala, Aristides “Jacques”:
acting career of, 60–61
Bernhardt’s marriage to, 70–72
Bernhardt’s relationship with, 59–60, 69–70
death of, 71–72
Dame aux camélias, La (Dumas), see Camille
Dame aux camélias, La (film), 231
Daniel (Verneuil), 227
d’Annunzio, Gabriele, 21–23, 151–52, 154–59, 161–78, 186, 189, 197–205, 207, 230
awards and honors of, 241–42
Bernhardt’s relationship with, 133, 138–41, 146, 151, 155–58, 174
Duse’s death and, 241
Duse’s final break with, 204–5
Duse’s relationship with, 21–22, 80, 133–44, 146, 151, 156–59, 161–65, 170–78, 181, 197–200, 202–5, 209, 235–36
in film, 231
The Flame of, 22–23, 169–74, 176, 209
politics of, 146, 166, 169, 198, 237
soldiering of, 236–37
A Spring Morning’s Dream of, 144, 146, 152, 154–56, 162–63
Tuscan villa of, 161–63, 172, 177, 197, 204
Dante Alighieri, 162, 167
Davis, Bette, 248
Dead City, The (d’Annunzio), 138–39, 141–44, 156–59, 163–66, 175, 177, 203, 236
Death in Venice (film), 235
Death in Venice (Mann), 173
Deledda, Grazia, 231–34
DeMille, Cecil B., 230–31
Denise (Dumas), 64–66, 68, 82, 86, 152
Denucé, Dr., 216–17
Desprès, Suzanne, 208–11, 226–27
Diderot, Denis, 9–11, 118, 246
Doll’s House, A (Ibsen), 103–7, 110, 208, 211
Dom Pedro II, emperor of Brazil, 68
Dreyfus, Alfred, 184–86, 190
Drury Lane Theatre, 2, 6, 121
Dumas, Alexandre, fils, 11, 64–66, 82, 86–87, 139, 144, 190
Camille of, 2, 7–8, 60–62, 65, 68, 71–72, 74, 80, 84, 89–90, 94, 107, 110–14, 116–19, 126, 128–30, 146, 148–51, 153, 155–56, 158, 169, 192–94, 205–6, 217, 220, 222
tribute to, 151–54
Dumas, Alexandre, père, 27, 38
Duncan, Isadora, 240–41
Duquesnel, Félix, 76
Duse, Alessandro, 16–18, 54–55, 68
, 245
daughter’s marriage and, 57–58
daughter’s pregnancy and, 55–56
daughter’s relationship with, 50–52, 54
death of, 105–6, 197, 202
wife’s death and, 50
Duse, Angelica Cappelletto, 17–23
and daughter’s acting skills and style, 23
and daughter’s childhood and adolescence, 19–22
illness and death of, 49–50, 106, 116, 240
Duse, Eleonora:
acting skills and style of, 2, 4, 6–9, 11, 19, 22–23, 29, 39, 47, 49–53, 62–68, 80–81, 83–84, 86, 88, 90–92, 94, 102, 104, 106–8, 111–12, 114–19, 122–23, 125, 128–30, 138–41, 144, 148, 151, 153–54, 156, 159, 165–66, 168–69, 176–77, 179, 187, 195, 197, 199, 201–2, 206, 209, 211, 215, 227, 230–31, 233, 235–36, 238–39, 245–48
ambitions of, 135, 137, 197–98
on Art, 24, 63, 65–67, 79, 81, 158, 161–62, 170, 173–74, 197–99, 209–10, 230, 237
in auto accident, 234
awards and honors of, 117, 128–29, 176, 186, 237, 241–42
Bernhardt idolized by, 2, 62, 85, 154, 227
Bernhardt’s death and, 226–27, 237
Bernhardt’s meetings with, 145–47, 155
Bernhardt’s rivalry with, 2, 6, 9–10, 66, 88, 90, 94, 98, 103, 117–24, 126, 128–29, 131, 133–34, 140–41, 143–44, 146–53, 155–59, 174, 192, 194, 201, 207, 211, 215, 227–28, 243, 246
birth of, 240
in Camille, 2, 7–8, 11, 68, 74, 80, 84, 89–90, 94, 107, 110–14, 116–19, 128–30, 146, 148–51, 155–56, 169, 193, 205–6
childhood and adolescence of, 9, 13, 18–24, 29, 31, 49–50, 54, 112, 133, 154, 170, 175, 233, 245
as Cleopatra, 83–85, 90–91
clothing and costumes of, 21, 50, 57, 148–49, 157, 206, 236, 240
comparisons between Bernhardt and, 2, 5–7, 9, 29, 31, 39, 47, 62–65, 74, 81–82, 84–86, 90–91, 93–94, 98, 102, 107–17, 119, 121–27, 130–31, 141, 148, 152, 186–87, 190–91, 193–95, 200–201, 203, 205–6, 212, 215, 223, 227–28, 235, 238–39, 242–43
criticisms of, 6, 11, 51, 62, 83–84, 109–11, 114, 124, 150–51, 153, 155, 179, 206, 223, 228, 242
daughter of, 58, 63, 79, 83, 163–64, 229–30, 232–34
in The Dead City, 163–66, 175, 236
death of, 240–42
in Denise, 65–66, 68, 82, 86, 152
in A Doll’s House, 104–7
father’s death and, 105–6, 197, 202
film studies and work of, 229–35
finances of, 18–19, 50, 54–55, 57, 61, 81, 112, 135–36, 138, 142–43, 161–62, 177, 205, 208, 229, 234, 236
