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There were only a
few female predecessors to Elizabeth
Inchbald in her career as a playwright, Aphra Behn and Susanna
Centlivre. Inchbald was successful,
producing 21 plays
between 1785 and 1811, 11 of which were original compositions.
The
rest were adaptations of French dramatists
and 2 from the German dramatist Kotzebue. Her dramatic work did not
take a very high
rank, but the characters were fairly well drawn and contained witty
dialogue. She was known for being one of
the first to portray “life as it is lived” in the theatrical
world.
Although she was encouraged to, Inchbald did
not use her work as political propaganda, but rather focused on a
modern social
thesis. Using drama to support social
campaigns was a new concept and reviewers were highly critical.
Inchbald was also known for adding a
“personal touch” to her work; it helped reflect how “life is
lived.”
A common theme was the references to poverty. They reflected her
fear of poverty that
stemmed from her moderately poor upbringing.
She is noted to have formed a love for money, lived a modest
life, been
very business oriented and saved for her future security and to support
her
family. This attitude is echoed in her
plays and novels. (Jenkins, A)
Elizabeth Inchbald also became the first prominent British woman critic. Her critiques stood out because they often reflected the opinions of the audience. She had two successful published critiques, British Theatre and Collection of Farces, although she never prided herself in them because she found the work tedious. She published her first novel A Simple Story in 1791, and it was an instant success. Her second novel Nature and Art, 1796, was not as well received. After having a prosperous career, she began to invest her time and energy into her religion; she felt she had neglected her faith. She resided at the Kensington House, a Roman Catholic chapel, for the last two years of her life. There she made the decision to burn the manuscripts of her memoirs on the advice of her priest and other literary figures. Elizabeth Inchbald died on 1 August, 1821. She was well respected by the intellectual community, including Maria Edgeworth, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Thomas Holcraft and William Godwin. Elizabeth Inchbald obtained many achievements in the theatrical world and overcame her early struggles to become one of England’s intellectuals. (Jenkins, A) |