Se organizó esta exhibición de Frozen Charlotte por Emily Yahn (Brockport ’23) como parte de una pasantía de la primavera de 2023 con el Dr. Smith.
Las muñecas Penny o “Frozen Charlotte”
Pequeñas muñecas cerámicas, conocidas como muñecas Penny, fueron popular en el medio al fin del siglo xix. Conocidos más tarde como muñecas “Frozen Charlotte”, estos juguetes fueron comunes debido a su precio asequible. Las muñecas oscilaron entre una y cuatro pulgadas y algunas veces tuvieron maquillaje pintado. En 2022 el equipo de Frost Town Archaeology encontró una “Frozen Charlotte” en el sitio Hall, que nos da un vistazo raro a la infancia en Frost Town.
El nombre ‘Frozen Charlotte’ origina de una balada popular llamada “Fair Charlotte” de aproximadamente 1835. Según dicen, una mujer joven llamada Charlotte fue a un viaje de carruaje durante el invierno y murió de hipotermia porque rechazó a cubrir su hermoso vestido con ropa del invierno pesado. Este cuento de la muerte de una mujer joven debido a la hipotermia se hizo asociado con estas muñecas más tarde debido a su apariencia de porcelana pálida y la rigidez congelada.
¡Escuche abajo tres versiones de “Fair Charlotte” del medio del siglo xx!
“Young Charlotte” por Mrs. Peel, Jamestown, AR 1962 (Wolf Collection)
“Fair Charlotte” por Ward Ford, California, 1938 (Library of Congress)
“Young Charlotte” por Almeda Riddle, 1962 (Wolf Collection)
No existe un texto original de “Fair Charlotte” porque fue una balada popular que circuló por la gente cantando de memoria. El texto tradicional de la balada es reproducida aquí, aunque existen muchas versiones:
Fair Charlotte lived on a mountain side,
In a wild and lonely spot,
No dwelling was for three miles round,
Except her father’s cot.
On many a cold and wintry night,
Young swains were gathered there,
For her father kept a social board,
And she was very fair.
Her father loved to see her dress
Fine as a city belle, —
She was the only child he had,
And he loved his daughter well,
On New Year’s eve, when sun was set,
She gazed with a wistful eye,
Out of the frosty window forth,
To see the sleighs go by.
She restless was, and longing looked,
Till a well known voice she heard,
Came dashing up to her father’s door,
Young Charley’s sleigh appeared.
Her mother said, — “My daughter dear,
This blanket round you fold,
For ‘t is an awful night without,
And you’ll be very cold.”
“Oh nay, oh nay,” young Charlotte cried,
And she laughed like a Gypsy queen,
“To ride in blanket muffled up,
I never will be seen.”
“My woolen cloak is quite enough,
You know it is lined throughout,
Besides I have my silken shawl,
To tie my neck about.”
Her gloves and bonnet being on,
She jumped into the sleigh,
And off they went, down the mountain side,
And over the hills away.
With muffled faces, silently,
Five long, cold miles were passed,
When Charles, in few and broken words,
The silence broke at last.
“Oh! Such a night I never saw,
My lines I scarce can hold,” —
Fair Charlotte said, in a feeble voice,
“I am exceeding cold.”
He cracked his whip and they onward sped,
Much faster than before,
Until five other dreary miles,
In silence they passed o’er.
“How fast,” says Charles, “the frozen ice
Is gathering on my brow,”
Said Charlotte, in a weaker voice,
“I’m growing warmer now.”
Thus on they went through the frosty air,
And in the cold starlight,
Until the village and bright ball-room,
They did appear in sight.
Charles drove to the door, and jumping out,
He held his hand to her, —
“Why sit you there like a monument,
That has no power to stir?”
He asked her once, he asked her twice,
She answered never a word:
He asked her for her hand again,
But still she never stirred.
He took her hand into his own,
Oh God! It was cold as stone!
He tore the mantle from her brow,
On her face the cold stars shone.
Then quickly to the lighted hall,
Her lifeless form he bore,
Fair Charlotte was a frozen corpse,
And her lips spake never more.
He threw himself down by her side,
And the bitter tears did flow,
And he said, “My own, my youthful bride,
I never more shall know!”
He twined his arms around her neck,
He kissed her marble brow,
And his thoughts went back to where she said,
“I am growing warmer now.”
He bore her body to the sleigh,
And with it he drove home:
And when he reached her father’s door,
Oh! How her parents mourned!
They mourned the loss of a daughter dear,
And Charles mourned o’er her doom,
Until at last his heart did break,
And they both lie in one tomb.
Las muñecas y accesorios asequibles
Arqueológicamente, se encuentran las piezas de muñecas Penny en todo la región, atestiguando su popularidad y su accesibilidad. Las muñecas a menudo llegaron desnudo, que motivó a las niñas jóvenes a coser ropa y hacer otros accesorios que reafirmarán los papeles de género en el América del siglo xix.
La siguiente sección: El abandono de Frost Town
