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Masquerades

Page history last edited by Sophie Halford 9 years ago

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Written and researched by Sophie Halford 

 

'Among the many exotic diversions that have been transplanted into this country, there is no one more cultivated, or which seems to have taken deeper root among us, than that modest and rational entertainment, the Masquerade.' 

 - The Connoisseur, May 1755. 

 

Etymology:  < Middle French, French mascarade masked entertainment (1554; also in forms masquarade (1564), masquerade (c1590)) and its etymon Italian mascherata (attested from 1544, although compare earlier post-classical Latin masquarata (1289 in a document from Toulouse), and Portuguesemascarada (13th cent.), apparently both loans < Italian) < maschera mask n.3 + -ata -ade suffix. Compare Spanish mascarada (1817).

 

A masquerade is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as:

 

'A ball at which the guests wear masks and other disguises, often of an elaborate or fantastic kind; a masked ball.'

 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the 16th century the word for this event was more commonly 'masque', but by the 17th and 18th centuries this had been replaced by use of the word 'masquerade'.

The word masquerade also has a verb form which means:

 

'To go about in disguise, as at a masquerade; to pass oneself off under a false character or as someone else; (gen.) to have or assume the appearance of something else.'

 

Therefore, the term masquerade alludes to the social event of a masked ball and also to the act of pretending, or masquerading, as someone other than yourself. While this page will focus on the masquerade as a form of social event in the eighteenth century, the definition of what it means to masquerade is useful in our understanding of the controversy masquerade balls caused during the period. Due to the deceit of wearing a costume and mask and therefore masquerading as someone else, a person could relinquish their own character and expected behaviours in favour of whatever costume they had deigned to wear for the evening, and thus following this was often licentious and frivolous behaviour. Masked balls date back to much earlier than the eighteenth century, yet in this century in England the masquerade as an event flourished. 

 

In the introduction to Masquerade and Civilisation: The Carnivalesque in Eighteenth-Century English Culture and Fiction, Terry Castle states‘to its contemporaries the masquerade represented diverse things: the decay of civilisation, frivolity and freedom, sexual and moral chaos, a liberating escape from decorum’ (Preface, viii). Masquerades were events at which a person could act in a social manner unacceptable at any other time of day, 'an intoxicating reversal of ordinary sexual, social, and metaphysical hierarchies' (Castle, 6).  Due to masquerades being seen by authorities as raucous places of unacceptable revelry, the masquerade divided opinion, often slandered in public but thriving commercially nonetheless. Opposition to the masquerade is abundant in the literature of the era, some of which shall be examined further on.

 


 

Contents:

 

  •  The Origins of the Masquerade ball, and its place in Eighteenth-Century Britain
  •  Masquerade Costumes and Masks  
  •  Opposition to the Masquerade 
  •  Masquerades and the Eighteenth-Century Novel
  •  Relevant Links 
  •  Annotated Bibliography

 


 

The Origins of the Masquerade ball, and its place in Eighteenth-Century Britain

 

 To examine the significance of the masquerade in the eighteenth century, we must first briefly examine its origins, for the eighteenth-century English masquerade was, according to Castle, a 'peculiar mixture of Continental and English elements' (12). The masquerade as we now know it - a masked social event of revelry - found its origins in the Italian Carnival but formed as an event on its own in the English eighteenth century. By returning to word definitions it is easy to immediately make comparisons between the original Carnival and eighteenth-century masquerades. The word 'carnival' is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: 

 

'Any season or course of feasting, riotous revelry, or indulgence'

 

and therefore we can see both Carnival and masquerades as events that created environments specifically for social enjoyment, be it dancing, drinking or eating. Similarly, both events allowed attendees to don costumes and masks, amplifying the illusion and excitement of the events by adding a layer of mystery. 

 

In Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe, Peter Burke suggests Carnival was 'a privileged time when what oft was thought could for once be expressed with relative impunity' (182). This idea of an event where freedom is exercised in comparison to the restrictions of everyday life can be seen to be an accurate description of the eighteenth-century masquerade, an event at which, as this page will explore through an examination of the costumes and literature of the period, a sense of freedom accompanied the revel-seekers, as they dispelled their everyday roles in favour of an evening of exciting revelry. 

 

Masked events are known to have been around in Italy as early as the thirteenth century, with the first Carnival of Venice recorded in 1268, an event featuring elaborate costumes and masks. 

 

The masquerade form was brought to England from Italy in the early eighteenth century, and it soon began to flourish as a form of social engagement. Count John James Heidegger, who had come to England as a Swiss negotiator in 1708, later began to promote masquerade balls at the Haymarket Theatre in London, where they quickly became a huge commercial success. This success was partly due to there already being private court masques and masked entertainments in private houses, and therefore Heidegger was one of the key figures who created the masquerade as an event in the public sphere (Ribeiro, "The Exotic Diversion" 3). In William Hogarth's engraving The Masquerade Ticket are a pair of 'lecherometors' 'shewing ye company's inclinations as they approach 'em. Invented for the use of ladys and gentlemen by ye ingenious Mr. H--r ' - providing not only a satire and critique on the licentious behaviour abundant at masquerades but also making direct reference to Heidegger himself, presenting him as an enforcer of licentiousness. It is clear to see that Heidegger and his masquerades provoked mixed feelings.

 

Admission to masquerades was by ticket, and these were sold at the venue and also in the various coffee-houses populating London's streets (Castle, 10). The masquerade became, as Castle states, 'part of the new capitalist world of public entertainment that was coming into being', a part of the operas and shows that were already popular at the time (11). 

 


 

Masquerade Costumes and Masks

 

Masquerade costumes were of the utmost importance for those attending balls in the eighteenth-century for they concealed the identity of the ball-goer, creating an atmosphere of excitement and mystery. 

 

The eighteenth-century mask-wearing aspect of masquerades finds its origins in Italian Carnival as described above. According to Burke, during Carnival, 'people wore masks, some long noses, or entire fancy-dress. Men dressed as women, women as men; other popular costumes were those of clerics, devils, fools, wild men and wild animals.' (183). This concept was transposed into the eighteenth-century creation of the masquerade, with ball-goers wearing full costumes with masks, most often completely concealing their true identities. In a masquerade, due to this wearing of a costume and a mask, a ball-goer was able to transcend the boundaries of class and gender, creating an environment of freedom in sharp contrast to the rigidity of everyday roles. Due to this, one can see the significance of the masquerade and its requirement of costume in the eighteenth century, for it was a place in which a person could no longer be restricted by their gender or class. The already established relationship between masks and the theatre was now re-styled so that the performers wearing the mask and being seen by everyone were the public themselves, and therefore the entire public now had a chance at being masked, and at being part of a 'performance' (Heyl, 129). Significantly, women were often seen as more alluring during to their wearing of a mask, and a fetishism surrounding the female mask soon came into bloom (Castle, 39). Prostitutes often made use of the mask's alluring power, and were able to gain good custom at masquerades. The mask itself, particularly a white mask, became symbolic of sexuality during the eighteenth century, and this idea is seen in such works as William Hogarth's A Harlot's Progress (there is a white mask on the table in Plate 2) (Castle, 39). For more information on prostitutes, please see the page Streetwalking.  

 

Due to the ever-increasing consumerism of eighteenth-century society, as previously discussed, masquerades and therefore their costumes, became a part of the capitalist world of eighteenth-century Britain - an event where a lot of money could be made through the sale of tickets, costumes and masks. We can see the sheer popularity of costumes and masks as a form of commerce by examining the many number of adverts for masquerade costumes (or 'habits') and masks that can be found in eighteenth-century newspaper archives. Below I have selected one from the Daily Courant: 

 

 

Advertisement from The Daily Courant (London, England), Tuesday, December 1, 1724; Issue 7216.

 

As the above advert states, masquerade costumes and masks could be specially made, bought, or let for the occasion, much like costumes can be bought and rented today. Through costumes that completely disguised the wearer, a new identity could be created, and so in this sense it can be read that the purchasing of a new identity for an evening was a popular form of consumerism. In a capitalist age of luxury where the rich could seemingly buy everything, it is no wonder that for the masquerade, one could purchase a whole other self to become.

 

The second advert highlighted above states 'any Gentleman may buy a Dress for less than Half what he can make one' which can be interpreted in two ways: firstly, that money in eighteenth-century society always belonged to the males in the family, be it husbands, fathers or brothers, and therefore if female family members wanted to attend masquerades then their costumes would probably have to come out of their male relative's pockets. Secondly however, due to cross-dressing being a common and popular part of a masquerade, the dresses this person has to sell could indeed be intended for the male masquerade-goer who wants to dress as a woman. The masquerade, as evidenced here, was often an environment where a multitude of taboos could be explored without consequence, such as public cross-dressing. 

 

 

Examples of masquerade costumes: 

 

                                                                                                  

 

The above images show eighteenth-century drawings of masquerade costumes, one male and one female. The first image, drawn by King George IV, depicts a design for a masquerade costume intended for his twenty-first birthday. The inscription reads:

 

"Given to me August 1783. by J. Newnham. A drawing made by the Prince of Wales as a pattern for a masquerade dress in which he intended to have appeared on his Birthday."

 

This image informs us that members of the royal family also attended and even hosted masquerade balls, and in this case it is suggested George IV threw one for his birthday. Although joining in with the elaborate costume, it is interesting to note here however, that the costume does not have a mask, only a large hat, and therefore George IV would still be recognisable, and his identity known to all ball-goers. 

 

The second drawing shows the well-known Duchess of Kingston Elizabeth Chudleigh (who was notorious for her licentious behaviour) dressed as Iphigenia (the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology) for the Venetian Ambassador's Masquerade in 1749. The costume she is wearing is incredibly revealing, showing clearly through a translucent piece of material her breasts and the majority of her body, with only her modesty covered by a garland that resembles leaves. Many drawings of this famous occurrence were made at the time, and each depicts her costume differently, however it is known that she was in a severe state of undress. The story of Elizabeth's Iphigenia costume and the drawings that present ideas of what she wore display how a person (and significantly in this case, a woman) could seemingly break away from eighteenth-century conformity through their choice of costume, pushing sexual boundaries and wearing outfits unacceptable at any other time (although Elizabeth Chudleigh's costume was outrageous even for a masquerade!). Elizabeth's outfit inspired an untitled article in the May 1755 edition of The Connoisseur, by Mr Town, Critic and Censor-General, (known to be George Coleman) which appears to be satirising her nakedness by making a suggestion for a 'naked masquerade' where the ridiculous costumes of the present, such as the 'dogs, monkeys, ostriches and all kinds of monsters' 'frequently to be met with at the masquerade' should be replaced with everyone's naked form (393). The costume became infamous in eighteenth-century society, only working to further scandalise an already slandered character, and presenting the masquerade further as an event of debauchery and licentiousness. According to Castle, 'masks and disguises protected the reputations of middle-and-upper-class women and hence... removed social restraints - including sexual ones' and Chudleigh's infamous costume is a good example of how women were able to reject the restrictions they conformed to during the day (33). For more information on the art of female dressing and undressing in the eighteenth century, please see the page Toilette

 

Both of the drawings above depict the wearer with no mask, and this could perhaps be due to the famous nature of both subjects. 

 

 

Advertisement for a 'Grand Masquerade' from the Theatre Royal, Margate, 1800

 

It is interesting to note that the above advertisement for a 'Grand Masquerade' at the Theatre Royal, Margate, in 1800 declares that ball-goers will be accepted to the masquerade 'with or without masks', 'at the desire of several ladies or gentleman' suggesting that many of the masquerade goers had asked for permission to wear no mask at all. This advert therefore suggests that by the end of the eighteenth-century, the central aspect of the masquerade, that is, the mask-wearing and therefore identity-concealing aspect of the ball, was no longer as popular. 

 

Miss Milner's Costume in Elizabeth Inchbald's A Simple Story:

 

As previously discussed, the costume worn to masquerades was often a tool to push boundaries implemented by class and gender. In the literature of the eighteenth century we can also see examples of this. In Elizabeth Inchbald's 1791 novel A Simple Story we see the headstrong and proto-feminist character of Miss Milner use a masquerade ball and her chosen costume as a way of testing how far she can push her fiancé Dorriforth. Although her behaviour may appear childish, Miss Milner appears to be attempting to exert control over her own life as a woman, and her behaviour and choice of costume in the masquerade section of the novel can be read to be her pushing sexual boundaries. 

 

From A Simple Story by Elizabeth Inchbald (1791):

 

Her next care was, that her dress should exactly fit, and display her fine person to the best advantage---it did so. ---Miss Woodley entered as it was trying on, and was struck with astonishment at the elegance of the habit, and the beautiful effect it had upon her graceful person; but most of all, she was astonished at her venturing on such a character---for although it was there presentative of the goddess of Chastity, yet from the buskins, and the petticoat made to festoon far above the ankle, it had, on the first glance, the appearance of a a female much less virtuous.---Miss Woodley admired the dress, yet objected to it; but as she admired first, her objections after had no weight. (

 

In this extract we see Miss Milner defiantly getting dressed for a ball that Dorriforth has forbade her from attending. Her costume is quite promiscuous due to the exposure of her ankle, a style frowned upon in the eighteenth century when ankles were supposed to be kept hidden. Most importantly however, is that the costume itself is in the character of Diana, goddess of Chastity, a figure that in the eighteenth century 'was often seen as a profoundly disturbing embodiment of female power' and a symbol of 'autonomous female sexuality' (Castle, 312). Although this act of defiance temporarily ends badly for Miss Milner - Dorriforth calling off  their engagement because of it - the significance of Miss Milner attempting to exercise some authority as a woman in the eighteenth century is incredibly important and progressive, and the fact she uses a masquerade costume and the idea of the masquerade itself to do so signifies the importance of these social events for allowing women to experiment with their own sense of autonomy.  

 


 

Opposition to the Masquerade

 

Despite their popularity, masquerades garnered a lot of negative attention, as can be seen abundantly in essays, articles and literature of the time. Seen as frivolous and licentious occasions, masquerades were often deemed unsuitable in particular for women, due to their corruptive and sexual nature. As previously discussed, masquerades were environments where a woman could behave more freely due to the fact her real identity was kept concealed until she herself wanted to share it. 

 

Although the masquerade can be argued to be a place for female liberation (due to it providing an opportunity to act beyond the boundaries enforced by society), it is apparent that not all women themselves were fans of the event. 

 

The Female Spectator, written by Eliza Haywood, was the first periodical intended solely for women and written by a woman herself, in response to the popular periodical The Spectator. In Volume 1 of The Female Spectator, Haywood writes an article that presents the masquerade as an event entirely unsuitable for young women, causing them a variety of problems. Haywood suggests that masquerades 'invert the order of nature' and although 'agreeable as they seem to the present senses' create 'bitter agonies in the reflecting mind' (31). The article criticises the masquerades for beginning 'when recreations ought to cease', that is, in the evening, when the body should 'be preparing for that repose the mind and body stand in need of' (31). Masquerades were events that began in the evening and often went on until the early hours of the morning, and therefore occurred when the body would usually be sleeping, seemingly not only corrupting the mind of the ball-goer but indeed their sleeping pattern as well.       

                                                                                      

Haywood then progresses to suggest that attending a masquerade is even bad for a woman's physical health. The article states: 'those who escape the best, are sure to lose one day from life after every masquerade; but others, more delicate in their constitutions, contract colds, and various disorders, which hang upon them a long while, and sometimes never get rid of' (31). 

 

Interestingly, Haywood then goes on to say that masquerades hosted by families in their own homes to which the neighbours are invited are acceptable, and 'nothing can be more agreeable than those kinds of entertainments' due to the fact they have a 'select company' and there is a custom that everyone takes off their masks at the end and nothing 'indecent' or 'improper' will have happened (31-32). 

It is clear therefore, that the public masquerades, the ones introduced by Count Heidegger as previously explored, are what appear to cause Haywood concern, particularly in relation to the health of the young women who attend them. Her concern here seems primarily to be a class one. Haywood states that the 'most abandoned rake, or low-bred fellow' has the ability to buy a ticket (for indeed anyone was allowed to buy a ticket provided they had the money) and therefore they would acquire the opportunity to utter 'the grossest things in the chastest ear' (32). 

 

Although Haywood's article originally appears to be condemning the masquerade as a danger to a woman's health due to the time of day it took place and providing an environment for contracting illness, it becomes apparent that Haywood is actually concerned with the intermingling of classes that could and would occur at public masquerades, seeming to suggest that this posed the real danger to women. 

 


 

Masquerades and the Eighteenth-Century Novel 

 

Masquerade scenes are abundant in the eighteenth-century novel, as Castle suggests, 'it was fitting that one form of entertainment should be absorbed into another - that the masquerade should find a place within the new genre of eighteenth-century realistic fiction' (114). Masquerades provided environments of mystery and therefore were often useful for plot development, but were also used as environments for characters to behave in a manner different to their everyday selves.

 

John Cleland's infamous novel Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1748) presents the masquerade as the environment even the most disdained social taboos and vices (such as homosexuality and sodomy) could be explored. For a novel that is sexually pornographic throughout, it is interesting that one of the scenes that would have invariably shocked the novel's eighteenth-century readership the most (a scene of a homosexual nature, a theme later revisited in the book outside of the masquerade environment) finds its setting at a masquerade.

 

From Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland (1748):

 

Louisa and she went one night to a ball, the first in the habit of a shepherdess, Emily in that of a shepherd: I saw them in their dresses before they went, and nothing in nature could represent a prettier boy than this last did, being so extremely fair and well limbed. They had kept together for some time, when Louisa, meeting with an old acquaintance of hers, very cordially gives her companion the drop, and leaves her under the protection of her boy's habit, which was not much, and of her discretion, which was, it seems, yet less. Emily, finding herself deserted, sauntered thoughtlesly about a while, and as much for coolness and air, as anything else, pulled off her mask at length and went to the side-board, where, eyed and marked out by a gentleman in a very handsome domino, she was accosted by and fell into chat with him. The domino, after a little discourse, in which Emily doubtless distinguished her good nature and easiness more than her wit, began to make violent love to her, and drawing her insensibly to some benches at the lower end of the masquerade-room, got her to sit by him, where he squeezed her hands, pinched her cheeks, praised and played with her fair hair, admired her complexion, and all in a style of courtship dashed with a certain oddity that, not comprehending the mystery of, poor Emily attributed to his falling in with the humour of her disguise, and being naturally not the cruellest of her profession, began to incline to a parley on essentials; but here was the stress of the joke: he took her really for what she appeared to be, a smock-faced boy, and she, forgetting her dress, and of course ranging quite wide of his ideas, took all those addresses to be paid to herself as a woman, which she precisely owed to his not thinking her one. However, this double error was pushed to such a height on both sides that Emily, who saw nothing in him but a gentleman of distinction by those points of dress to which his disguise did not extend, warmed too by the wine he had plied her with, and the caresses he had lavished upon her, suffered herself to be persuaded to go to a bagnio with him; and thus losing sight of Mrs Cole's cautions, with a blind confidence, put herself into his hands, to be carried wherever he pleased. (170-171)

 

In this extract the masquerade is shown to be an environment that allows behaviour not common or encouraged in the normal day. Emily is presented in this scene as cross-dressing as a male shepherd, and Fanny comments that 'nothing in nature could represent a prettier boy in nature', suggesting not only Emily's attractiveness in this disguise but also the believability of it (170). This costume is so convincing that even after Emily has 'pulled off her mask' the man she is speaking to still believes she is a young man, not a woman (170). Here Cleland uses the masquerade to present yet another taboo subject in eighteenth-century society: homosexuality. The man, believing Emily to be a boy and seemingly feeling able to exhibit himself freely in the masquerade environment, begins 'to make violent love to her', openly displaying himself in this moment as a homosexual man (170). From this extract we can view the masquerade as a place where societal customs and norms are left at the door. It seems that at masquerades, perhaps due to the sense of bravado provided by a costume and mask, or perhaps even from the alcohol that flowed freely at such events in an atmosphere of excitement and licentiousness, members of society were able to show more of their true selves than they could during their everyday lives. 

 

This passage also highlights the potential dangers of being at a masquerade - Emily is a young woman who is left on her own due to Louisa meeting with an old acquaintance. She is described as only having her male costume as protection 'which was not much' and we are then shown that even dressed as a boy Emily is still accosted sexually (170). The masquerade is here presented as a world even wilder than the pornographic and adventurous world Fanny and the girls have already inhabited. 

 

 

 

Overall, it is clear to see the significance of the masquerade in eighteenth-century Britain, for once it became a form of public event it was an environment that allowed the public to reject the restrictions of their classes and genders, creating a unique world where boundaries appeared to be left at the door. 

 


Relevant Links

 

For more information on the works of William Hogarth: 

http://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/the-works-of-william-hogarth-169448.kjsp

 

For more information on Count Heidegger (impresario of the English Masquerade):

http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12866

 

For more information on the life of Duchess Elizabeth Chudleigh and her infamous masquerade costume:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3596278/Countess-Duchess-bigamist.html

 

For more information on Eliza Haywood (writer of The Female Spectator):

http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12798

 

Henry Fielding's The Masquerade, A Poem which satirises and condemns the event:

http://0-literature.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/searchFulltext.do?id=Z200632198&childSectionId=Z200632198&divLevel=2&queryId=2852191223682&trailId=14B6F6D4E47&area=poetry&forward=textsFT&queryType=findWork

 

The article from The Connoisseur that mocks the costumes at masquerades and uses Elizabeth Chudleigh's Iphigenia costume as inspiration for 'naked masquerades':

http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/retrieve.doscale=0.33&sort=&endX=287&docLevel=FASCIMILE&prodId=ECCO&tabID=T001&endY=51&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&retrieveFormat=MULTIPAGE_DOCUMENT&startX=1438&startY=714&inPS=true&userGroupName=warwick&docId=CW3317196476&currentPosition=&workId=1252700301&relevancePageBatch=CW117196444&contentSet=ECCOArticles&callistoContentSet=ECCOArticles&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&reformatPage=N&retrieveFormat=MULTIPAGE_DOCUMENT&scale=0.33&pageIndex=398&pageNumber=&quickSearchTerm=masquerade&stwFuzzy=&orientation=&forRelevantNavigation=true&now=1426187004169

 

 


Annotated Bibliography

 

Primary Sources:

 

"Advertisement." The Daily Courant. 7216 (December 1724) ProQuest. 12 Mar. 2015 

 

- I use this advertisement as an example of how costumes and masks were used as part of the growing capitalism of eighteenth-century England, as it shows advertisements for the rental and buying of masquerade habits. 

 

 

Cleland, John. Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 2000. Print.

 

- John Cleland's novel from 1748 is one of the most banned books in history due to its pornographic nature. I use the text to examine how masquerades were presented in literature as an environment where behaviour deemed socially unacceptable (such as homosexual behaviour) occurred at masquerade due to the element of disguise given by wearing a costume. I also use it as an example of people cross-dressing at eighteenth-century masquerades.

 

 

Coleman, George. "Untitled Item." The Connoisseur 66 (May 1755): 391-6. Web. ECCO. 3 Mar. 2015.

 

- This article satirises the costumes worn by people at masquerades and uses Elizabeth Chudleigh's famously bare costume as inspiration for 'naked masquerades'. The article appears to mock the vanity of eighteenth-century masquerades. 

 

 

Haywood, Eliza and others. The Female Spectator. Volume 1. 5th Edition.  London : printed for A. Millar, W. Law, & R. Cater, 1775: 30-32.  Web. Defining Gender, 1450-1910. 10 Feb 2015. 

 

- I use this article as an example of some of the literature that arose in periodicals in the eighteenth-century that were in opposition to the masquerade. Haywood's is particularlly interesting in regards to gender as the article was intended for a female readership. Haywood condemns the public masquerade, creating it as a dangerous place for young women, however, she suggests that masquerades held by families in private are fine, indicating it is the classes mingling at masquerades that concerns her most.

 

 

Hogarth, William. The Masquerade Ticket. 1727.  La Clé des langues (Clifford Armion, dir.) and ENS Média (Vincent Brault, photo). Web. 24 Feb 2015.

 

- The image depicts various states of debauchery at a masquerade. The references engraved under the original detail the various levels of inappropriate behaviour found at a masquerade, acting as a satire on these public events. There is also reference to Count Heidegger, as the driving force behind the masquerades. I use this as an example of how well-known Heidegger was as the first proprietor of the English eighteenth-century masquerade, but also to show that public opinion of him and the event itself was often not complimentary. 

 

 

Inchbald, Elizabeth. A Simple Story. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. 

 

- Elizabeth Inchbald's 1791 novel A Simple Story presents a headstrong female character. I explore how the masquerade is used in the novel as a point of contention between Miss Milner and Dorriforth, and how she uses her masquerade costume to explore sexual boundaries and female autonomy. 

 

 

"The proprietors gratefully sensible of the support received and general satisfaction expressed at the late masquerades, respectfully acquaint the public that the third is fixed for this evening. Theatre-Royal, Margate. On Wednesday, the 17th of September, 1800, will be a grand masquerade". Advertisement for the Theatre Royal. Printed by Warren, Margate, 1800. ECCO. Web. 10 March 2015. 

 

- This advertisement for a masquerade to be held at the Theatre Royal in Margate London is significant because of its emphasis on the choice of wearing a mask or not. It states that ball-goers will be admitted whether they wear a mask or not, suggesting not only that masks were mandatory at prior events but also that the popularity being masked and having one's identity hidden was decreasing.

 

 

Secondary Sources: 

 

Burke, Peter. Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe. London: Temple Smith, 1978. Print. 

 

- This study presents the various forms of popular culture across pre-industrial Europe. I use it to provide information on the forms of carnivals in eighteenth-century England. 

 

 

Castle, Terry. Masquerade and Civilization: the Carnivalesque in Eighteenth-Century English Culture and Fiction. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1986. Print.

 

- This book provides a complete background to the masquerade in eighteenth-century England. I use it a point of reference for the history of the masquerade, some aspects of costume, and the significance of the masquerade in eighteenth-century literary works.

 

 

Heyl, Christoph. "The Metamorphosis of the Mask in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth- Century London". Masquerade and Identities: Essays on Gender, Sexuality and Marginality. ed. Efrat Tseelon. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.

 

- This book addresses literal and metaphorical masks in regards to identity. I reference Heyl's article that specifically concerns the seventeenth- and eighteenth- centuries.  I reference this in relation to the performative nature of the masquerade. 

 

 

Ribeiro, Aileen. "The exotic diversion: the dress worn at masquerades in eighteenth-century London", The Connoisseur 197 (January 1978) 3-13. Print. 

 

- This article gives a good background to the masquerade before proceeding to discuss the various types of dress worn. I use it as a reference point on Count Heidegger.

 

 

Ribeiro, Aileen. Dress & Morality.  London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1986Print.

 

- This book charts the history of dress and its relationship to society's sense of 'morality'. Pages 104-105 discuss masquerade costumes and attacks on their indecency in eighteenth-century England.

 

 

Images:

 

Hogarth, William. The Masquerade Ticket. 1727.  La Clé des langues (Clifford Armion, dir.) and ENS Média (Vincent Brault, photo). Web. 24 Feb 2015.

http://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/william-hogarth-large-masquerade-ticket-176972.kjsp?RH=CDL_ANG110201

 

- This engraving comes from the 1822 Nichols edition which was printed from the original plates restored by James Heath.  The image depicts various states of debauchery at a masquerade, acting as a satire on the people who go there, and critiquing Count Heidegger. The image as shown in this page and a transcript of the original engravings beneath it detailing the scene can be found here:

 

 

"Advertisement." The Daily Courant. 7216 (December 1724) ProQuest. 12 Mar. 2015 

 

- This image displays some of the advertisements for masquerade 'habits'. I use it as an example of the commercial side of the masquerade. 

 

 

King George IV, Sketch for a costume, whole-length figure in a yellow Hussar uniform. Drawing. 1783. London, British Museum. Web. 10 March 2015.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=747573&partId=1&people=86877&peoA=86877-2-9&page=1

 

- This drawing, by King George IV, depicts the costume he intended to wear for the masquerade ball being thrown for his twenty-first birthday. I use it to present a visual of the types of costume a male might wear to an eighteenth-century masquerade, and also as evidence that the masquerade was also enjoyed by members of the Royal family.  

 

 

Elizabeth Chudleigh as Iphigenia at the Venetian Ambassador's Masquerade. Drawing1749. University of Illinois Theatrical Print Collection. Web. 10 March 2015.

http://imagesearch.library.illinois.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/actors&CISOPTR=666&CISOBOX=1&REC=1

 

- This image shows a drawing of the infamous Elizabeth Chudleigh in her Iphigenia costume. I use it as an example of how females were able to push sexual boundaries through their choice of masquerade costume. 

 

 

 

"The proprietors gratefully sensible of the support received and general satisfaction expressed at the late masquerades, respectfully acquaint the public that the third is fixed for this evening. Theatre-Royal, Margate. On Wednesday, the 17th of September, 1800, will be a grand masquerade"Advertisement for the Theatre Royal. Printed by Warren, Margate,1800. ECCO. Web. 10 March 2015. 

 

- This image is an advertisement for a Grand Masquerade at the Theatre Royal in Margate. I use it as an example of how the use of masks became less popular as the century progressed.

 

 

Haywood, Eliza and others. The Female Spectator. Volume 1. 5th Edition.London : printed for A. Millar, W. Law, & R. Cater, 1775: 30-32. Web. Defining Gender, 1450-1910. 10 Feb 2015. 

http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/contents/document-detail.aspx?sectionid=2&type=search

 

 

- This image shows the front cover of the fifth edition of the periodical The Female Spectator, a magazine written by a woman for women. 

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