Helena Modjeska started with little, dreamed big and
ultimately flourished on stage at a time when women simply weren't supposed to
be so admirable, glamorous, accomplished and daring.
The 19th-Century Polish stage actress rose from hardscrabble
beginnings to overcome gender and ethnic bias and hit it big first in Europe
and later in the United States. She was so popular in America, in fact, that to
this day, you can buy candies bearing her name.
Modjeska's life is the subject of a new book by Beth
Holmgren, chair of Duke's Slavic and Eurasian Studies department. It is called:
"Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America."
Here, Holmgren discusses Modjeska's life and travels:
Generally speaking, why should people care about Helena Modjeska? Why is her story compelling?
I found Modjeska's story compelling because she overcame incredible odds as an immigrant. I grew up in Chicago, which had the largest Polish population of any city in the world during Modjeska's day. The great numbers of Poles who immigrated to the United States towards the end of the 19th century were primarily peasants and artisans, lower class people. Established American society viewed the Poles as little more than cheap labor. When Modjeska arrived in America in the late 1870s, she succeeded in establishing herself as an upper-class European "artiste" who then became an American star.
What were her struggles?
Modjeska had to surmount many barriers. She was born illegitimate. It isn't clear who her father was. There's some debate that she might have been fathered by a prince, because Modjeska's beautiful mother lived near the prince's in-town residence. Modjeska's family, which had been middle-class, fell on hard times when she was child. By the time Modjeska was 10 years old, a great fire burned down the family properties, including their home. She grew up in a large, complicated family and had to serve as her mother's right hand from an early age.
Modjeska desperately wanted to be respectable, to emulate the aristocratic ladies who reigned over society in her hometown of Cracow. And here she was, this bastard from an impoverished family. She longed to go into the theater, which was also a compromising position for a woman. An actress was a public woman, tantamount to a prostitute, someone who bared herself on stage, someone who kissed strange men on stage. Yet Modjeska perceived a theatrical career as a noble vocation and wanted to follow her stage-struck older half-brothers onto the stage.
Is there a role for which she is most well-known?
She's known best for playing "Rosalind" in As You Like It. She was a celebrated Camille in the famous melodrama by Alexandre Dumas, fils. Modjeska was also acclaimed as Viola in "Twelfth Night" and Lady Macbeth.
She traveled extensively in the United States with her theater company, and her legacy can be found all across small-town America. Talk about that.
You can find it everywhere. Different clubs, organizations, and theaters bear her name. In California a mountaintop, canyon, waterfall, and other natural landmarks are named after her. Her former home in Orange County is a national heritage site. Modjeska became a brand-name for clothing, china, and glassware. And her name is associated with theaters across the United States. In some places she's even said to haunt the place.
While I was researching the book, my family went down to Wilmington one weekend and I wanted to see Thalian Hall. When I went into the lobby, there was Modjeska, her photo hanging on the wall. She was one of the vaunted stars who had played there. And there was a noted civil rights activist named Mary Modjeska Monteith Simkin. She was born in South Carolina in 1899. Her parents were very ambitious for their children and named their first-born 'Modjeska' because they had admired the actress's great performances onstage.
Isn't there a Modjeska Theater in Augusta, Ga.?
Yes, Modjeska played there. Modjeska enjoyed performing in the South because her audiences, both black and white, were so responsive. She loathed slavery. But the impoverished southern landowners she met also reminded her of Polish aristocrats who had been defeated and impoverished by the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian forces who occupied her country. Modjeska was especially drawn to New Orleans. She loved its Catholicism and was fascinated by its exotic atmosphere. In general, Modjeska enjoyed great social success wherever she performed. She was one of the few stage stars who was also accepted by local pillars of society.
And isn't it true you can still buy candy bearing her name?
It's made by several confectioners in Kentucky. Bauer's Candy features a story about how Kentucky Modjeskas were created on its website. They're excruciatingly sweet caramel-covered marshmallow candies. Cracker Barrel stores sell Modjeskas, as do some Williams Sonoma stores.