File:Sarah Bernhardt at the time of her debut in "Les Femmes Savantes".jpg

Identifier: memoriesofmylife00bern (find matches)
Title: Memories of my life : being my personal, professional, and social recollections as woman and artist
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : D. Appleton
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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beautiful. She holdsherself well, and her enunciation is perfectly clear. This isall that can be said for her at present. The man is an idiot, said my mother, drawing me to her. You were charming. She then prepared a little cup of coffee for me, and madeit with cream. I was happy, but not completely so. Whenmy godfather arrived in the afternoon, he exclaimed: Good heavens! my poor child, what thin arms you have! As a matter of fact, people had laughed, and I had heardthem, when, stretching out my arms, I had said the famoiLslines in which Favart had made her famous ** effect that wasnow a tradition. I certainly had made no effect. unlessthe smiles caused by my long, thin arms can be reckoned such. My second appearance was in Valerie, when I did have someslight success. My third appearance at the Comedie resulted in the follow-ing effusion from the pen of the same Sarcey: LOpi)iio7i Natioywle, September 12th ... The same even-ing Les Femmes Savantes was given. This was Mile. Bern- 104
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SARAH BERNHARDT AT THE TIME OF HER DEBUT INLES FEMMES SAVANTES. I MAKE MY DEBUT AND EXIT hardts third appearance, and she took the role of Henriette.She was just as pretty and insignificant in this as in that ofJimie (he had made a mistake, as it was Iphigenie I had played)and of Valerie, both of which roles had been intrusted to herpreviously. This performance was a very poor affair, and givesrise to reflections by no means gay. That Mile. Bernhardtshould be insignificant does not so much matter. She is adebutante, and among the number presented to us it is onlynatural that some should be failures. The pitiful part is,though, that the comedians playing with her were not muchbetter than she was, and they are Societaires of the TheatreFrancais. All that they had more than their young comradewas a greater familiarity with the boards. They are just asMile. Bernhardt may be in twenty years time, if she staysat the Comedie Frangaise. I did not stay there, though; for one of those nothings

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