Deprecated: Optional parameter $exhibit declared before required parameter $text is implicitly treated as a required parameter in /home/beloitd1/public_html/cms/plugins/Neatline/helpers/Views.php on line 115 No Boys Allowed! · I Need Space: Women's Extracurriculars at Beloit 1895-1920 · Digital Archives Class ExhibitsSkip to main content
Meeting in Emerson Hall’s guest room in June 1899, Beloit women had a plan. They would study Shakespeare. No men allowed!
The Round Table's description of the brand new Shakespeare Society, written in 1899.
Early Meetings
At first, the 25 members only discussed Shakespeare’s plays. Scholarship determined membership. Meeting where they could, in Emerson Hall Gym or members' homes, the women scrutinized Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, and other Shakespearean plays.
This Round Table announcement from December 1899, details some of the women’s activities. Note the women’s pride in their success -- “The Shakespeare Society is one of the youngest, but most successful literary societies of the college.”
Look at the upcoming discussions and papers, what do these say about the college environment?
This 1909 Round Table article describes the history of the Shakespeare Society.
Male Visitors?
Who could come to the Shakespeare Society remained under serious debate in its early days. In this Round Table article, Shakespeare Society member -- Ada Goldsmith -- describes who was allowed to attend the society’s yearly, "special meeting."
Ada recounts how the society slowly allowed mothers, other women at Beloit, fathers, and then male faculty, to attend to the "end of year meeting." Finally, “a very rash step was taken; all discretion was cast aside; a certain few college men were invited.”
Ada’s frustration at the idea of men participating in the meeting, underlines the tension between the men and women’s literary societies. And while the Shakespeare Society let men come to meetings, they could not become members.
Supporters and Expectations
Support for the Shakespeare Society came from all Beloit women. Past members remained in touch with the society, and the Dean of Women was one of the founders. Click to enlarge the members page of the 1906-1907 program--who, besides students, was involved in the Shakespeare Society?
The society had strict expectations for members. Members were fined 25 cents for each missed meeting. Half the membership fee!
This 3 by 4 inch program describes the inner workings of the society from its members and the evening’s program to the by-laws and calendar.
