Suffering Silences, Woeful Afflictions: Physical Disablility, Melodrama, and the American Charity Movement

Moeschen examines the cultural work of a specific type of popular 19th-century theater in relation to an increasingly visible community of the deaf/dumb and blind. She notes that deaf/dumb and blind characters provided a source of spectacular "thrill" for theater audiences during the first three decades as "affliction melodramas" circulated on American stages. She touches upon various melodramatic scenarios, popular productions, and the American charity movement spurred by the portrayals.