Pauline Lord's "My Anna Christie" a Century Later.

Pauline Lord's article "My Anna Christie" (1922) was an important intervention in the discourse regarding Progressive Era brothel dramas. Describing how she researched and originated the title role in "Anna Christie," Lord's article was also one of the few pieces about the play written by a woman during this time period. When the piece appeared, contexts for understanding "Anna Christie" had shifted: whereas previous prostitute plays had been censored for obscenity, Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie" garnered the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. "My Anna Christie" followed in the wake of two pioneering actresses who portrayed courtesans or sex workers and wrote about it: Mrs. Leslie Carter and Mary Shaw. "My Anna Christie" examines sexual exploitation, abandonment, and double standards of sexuality, conjuring sympathy for Anna's character. More significantly, Lord interviewed prostitutes as part of her research. Rather than sensationalizing or denigrating sex workers as "The Social Evil," Lord sought to understand them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]