“Chugging” from the apron: Victorian liberalism, ethical economies and neo-liberal entrepreneurialism in Boucicault’s The poor of New York /The streets of London

Millette, Holly-Gale (2012) “Chugging” from the apron: Victorian liberalism, ethical economies and neo-liberal entrepreneurialism in Boucicault’s The poor of New York /The streets of London. Muck and Brass: Money and Finance in Victorian Britain: British Association of Victorian Studies Colloqium, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 10 Nov 2012. (Submitted)

Abstract

LUCY: (To the public). It is true! Have the sufferings we depicted in this mimic scene touched your hearts, and caused a tear of sympathy to fill your eyes? If so, extend to us your hands – no, not to us – but when you leave this place, as you return to your homes, should you see some poor creatures by the wayside, extend your hands to them and the blessings that will follow you on your way will be the most grateful tribute you can pay to the POOR OF _____.

These closing lines of Boucicault’s The Poor of New York – adapted for the London stage as The Streets of London – show the playwright’s attempt at altruistic uplift and its value transmission both abroad and then at home. Boucicault himself admitted that he wanted to excite the mind of his spectators with “a sympathy for fellow creatures suffering their fate” but as this paper discusses, this was not his sole reason for charitably ‘mugging’ his audience – a practice that, in modern parlance, has acquired the epithet “chugging”. This tactic represented the circulation of a different kind of currency: one in which his desire to be taken seriously, and the desire for his work to be seen as more highbrow; more educative, sat side by side with his talent and ability to turn on a dime in order to make one.

This paper examines Boucicault’s ethical consideration of the economy as in the above and the hidden economy of his own entrepreneurialism. It approaches Boucicault’s play as a critique on Victorian financial and commercial practices in the City and as a performance of the social impacts of Victorian Liberalism and economics on class.

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Contributors

Author: Holly-Gale Millette

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