Role of Feminism in Development of the American Musical 'Hamilton'

Introduction

The use of theatre is to communicate important issues from either the past or current, in one way or another. This essay will examine the role of feminism in Hamilton, an American musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and how the link to feminism creates an interesting look at the female characters within the performance. Feminism has become more ingrained in theatre in the last century and the music can be seen to show parts of that, even with the circumstances of its setting, the 18th Century. “Miranda’s female characters seem to be expressing a strong desire to be heard, respected, and viewed as equals to and by their male counterparts.” (Žlof, 2017) However, the musical does fail the Bechdel Test. “The Bechdel test is a screening test used in storytelling art forms (movies, books, plays) to evaluate the level of realism in depictions of female characters” (Rallo, 2019). They later go on to say how the main female characters within Hamilton are seen to only discuss men. This contradicts the idea of feminism within the musical. Therefore, this essay will investigate what feminism is, the importance of Hamilton, and the different views as to how much the music fits into this category.

Cultural Theory

Feminism has a range of definitions, the Cambridge dictionary states that Feminism can be understood as “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way or the set of activities intended to achieve the state” (Cambridge Dictionary 2021, Feminism entry). This suggests that a feminist is someone who wants equal rights for all genders and believes that everyone is a human being, but is treated differently because of gender, regardless.

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It is widely known that there are three waves of feminism however that is not included before the late 19th century. Feminism could be rooted in ancient Greece or the medieval world where people would advocate for basic human rights and dignity (Rampton, 2015). However, the first official wave began in the late 19th century emerging out of liberal, socialist politics. The wave formally began in 1848 when “three hundred men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women” (Rampton, 2015). Between the 1960s and the 90s was where the second wave hit. “In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues” and focused on the passing of the equal rights amendment, regardless of sex. (Rampton, 2015). In the mid-’90s, the third wave was one of post-modern and post-colonial thinking. The construct was to destabilize “universal womanhood” and took on many areas of feminist theory. The fourth wave can be seen as “more than just reincarnations of their second-wave grandmothers” (Rampton, 2015) but bringing elements of third-wave feminism as well. Rampton (2015) suggests that there have always been many feminists in each movement with more than one ideology. Overall, the waves of feminism show the progression and developing issues, dating back to the 19th century, and how relevant they are to this day.

Context

Hamilton is an American musical created and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical tells the story of the forgotten Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, and his journey to power through and after the American war of Independence (Reporters, 2021). The cast is dominated by actors of color and looks upon societal issues such as racism and inequality by casting this way and by what they say within the musical (Monteiro et al., 2016). Hamilton has been incredibly popular since its Broadway debut in 2015, being nominated for many awards such as the Tony’s, Grammy’s, and more. “It had become a cultural, political, and historical phenomenon” (Romano and Potter, 2018). Reviewers suggest that Hamilton has sparked a cultural conversation and may be considered a turning point for theatre. The musical is mostly historically accurate but smaller inaccuracies do well to serve the narrative and tackle past and current issues (Monteiro et al., 2016). The use of Hip-Hop and Rap with an 18th-century set captivated audiences and was a whole new way to learn about America’s History, it became “an unprecedented pop culture sensation” (Arivett 2020). The musical stemmed from Alexander Hamilton’s Autobiography which portrayed Elizabeth Schuyler and how she was “driven by a desire to honor her late husband, to tell his story” (Long, 2016). Because of the real Elizabeth Schuyler, later Schuyler Hamilton, her husband’s legacy was able to live on, in turn, creating this musical.

The Cultural Theory in the development of the Context

As previously discussed, a feminist is someone who believes in equality for all genders, and the waves of feminism date back to the time Hamilton is set. Within the musical characters, including the main female ones, talk about positive change for society through the music and the creators are seen to include a lot of important themes for the world then and the world now. Žlof (2017) discusses “the exclusion of women from the political and social sphere in the time around the American revolution” examining how in the musical the women are practically overlooked by the men in their lives, even when they are strong, opinionated, and connected. The writer goes on to say how the musical is praised for its equality of race in casting as well as the issues brought up like gender equality within Hamilton. The link between the musical and feminism is a well-talked-about subject because of the time it is set and the showing of a “vague outlook of how 18th-century women have acted and behaved, in a time of revolution” (Rallo, 2019). One must “study through the lens” of 18th - Century Colonial America (Žlof, 2017). The musical was set in the 18th century before the first official wave of feminism, because of this the women on stage would have portrayed the standards and restrictions women faced at that time.

The stereotypes of women are shown throughout the musical with Elizabeth Schuyler being introduced as a woman searching for a man eventually devoting herself to being a loving wife and mother. Angelica Schuyler can be seen to do the same even after her punchy feminist introduction with her rapping wanting to “include women in the sequel”. The musical is seen to portray other stereotypical women roles such as the seductress, Maria Reynolds, who has an affair with Hamilton ruining his marriage and tarnishing his name temporarily (Žlof, 2017). By having the blueprint of 18th-century women, the musical was able to empower them, some more than others, in different ways.

Hamilton could be seen to show empowerment through the character Elizabeth Schuyler. As previously stated, the musical is about Alexander Hamilton and his climb through American independence, however, some would say that there is a deeper story hidden within this musical. The final scene shows Elizabeth Schuyler, Hamilton’s wife, rewriting herself back into the story after his death and even has the final word. (Rallo, 2019) An empowered and punchy woman filled with strength and intellect, they go on to say how the story of Hamilton is framed around Eliza because she doesn’t allow her husbands “misdemeanors and misogyny to go unnoticed” (Rallo, 2019). The role of Eliza is critical to the plot of the musical, according to Chernow (2004) the musical emphasized the use of individualism, typically applied to men at the time, meaning that a husband and wife make a whole and that whole is the husband (Chernow, 2004). The character Eliza can be seen to become an individual when she “removes herself from the narrative”, thus taking back control of her life and can be seen as a feminist act for the time.

As suggested before Even though both Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler get married and become wives, within the song “Schuyler Sisters” we see an intellectual and charismatic woman who is excluded from the “social sphere” due to her gender (Žlof, 2017). Angelica claims that men find her “intense or insane” because she reads books from such as Thomas Paine. Her political and historical views on the then America, are seen as intimidating. The character clearly portrays within this song how she wants women to be equal to men or at least have a seat at the table. “Angelica is a world-class intellect in a world that does not allow her to flex it” (Miranda and McCarter, 2016). Outside the wonder of the musical storyline, the use of female ensembles as soldiers, with the same choreography, makes another feminist comment (Rallo, 2019). That women can do everything that men do and shouldn’t be treated differently because of their gender.

Hamilton, as a musical, can be seen to have feminist qualities using the female characters with their development and strength. Lin-Manuel Miranda was able to convey many topics of importance and gender differences could be considered one. The expression of the female characters and how they want to be heard is powerful for the time it is set. And plays a part in what feminism stands for.

Conclusion:

1. What do we understand from my findings?
2. What is the right opinion to make?

From the findings, we can understand that there is not one complete answer to whether Hamilton, an American musical, is developing feminist views within the storyline.

Bibliography

1. Private, E. (2020) The Timeliness of Hamilton: An American Musical, pp.131-149. The Popular Culture Studies Journal Special Issue: Independent Scholar Showcase. 8 (2.5)
2. Chernow, Ron. 2004. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 134
3. Long, K. (2016). Why Elizabeth Hamilton Is Deserving of a Musical of Her Own. Smithsonian Magazine.
4. Miranda, Lin-Manuel, and Jeremy McCarter. 2016. Hamilton: The Revolution. London, UK: Little Brown. Pp. 83
5. Monteiro, L.D., Kail, T., Jacobs, S., Furman, J., Seller, J., Miranda, L.-M. and Chernow, R. (2016). Race-Conscious Casting and the Erasure of the Black Past in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. The Public Historian, 38(1), pp.89-98
6. Rallo, E. (2019). “Hamilton: An American (feminist) Musical.” The Michigan Daily.
7. Rampton, M. (2015). Four Waves of Feminism.
8. Reporters, T. (2021). What is Hamilton? A guide to the hit musical streaming on Disney+. The Telegraph.
9. Romano, R.C. and Potter, C.B. (2018). Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical Is Restaging America’s Past. Google Books. Rutgers University Press. pp. 1-5
10. Žlof, J. (2017) Chapter Six: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Musical Hamilton and Early Feminism: Rapping Gender Equality. Ethnic Cultural Identity in Music and Song Lyrics. pp. 95-105