KARL MARX

SELECT CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
208
she inherited in her nose and mouth the Jewish type from Marx himself,
while she possessed a physical energy and determination fully equal to
bis own, and an intelligence which never achieved the literary or political
success - for she was a keen politician as well as sociologist - of
which she was capable. Possibly, she felt herself somewhat overshadowed
by her father's genius, whose defects she was unable to see. 22
In the late 1870s Eleanor made an effort to build a career on the
Interest in drama that she had inherited from her parents. The Marx
l.miily had always been intensely interested in Shakespeare and became
In vent admirers of the new interpretation given to the tragedies by Henry
li ving: Jenny Marx, aided by Eleanor, had a series of articles published
in the Frankfurter Zeitung defending Irving and his 'peculiar, faithful and
original picture of Shakespeare'. 23 Eleanor was a keen member of Furnivall's
New Shakespeare Society and a friend of actors and actresses like
I' 1 nest Radford and Dolly Maitland. She was also a member of a Shakespeare
reading club which often met at the Marxes' house. One of its
members, Mrs Marian Comyn, gave the following description of Marx at
one of the meetings:
As an audience he was delightful, never criticising, always entering into
the spirit of any fun that was going on, laughing when anything struck
him as particularly comic, until the tears ran down his cheeks - the
oldest in years, but in spirit as young as any of us. And his friend,
1 he faithful Frederic Engels, was equally spontaneous. 24
Itiii however much he may have enjoyed the club meetings, Marx did not
favour acting as a career for his daughter and Eleanor did not perform
publicly until July 1881 (when she appeared in two one-act French plays).
I ngels was in the audience and reported to Marx: 'Tussy was very good
in 1 lie passionate scenes, though it was somewhat noticeable that she took
I lien lerry as a model, as Radford took Irving, but she will soon get out
11I that habit; if she wishes to have an effect on the public, she must
absolutely strike out a line of her own, and I'm sure she will.' 25 Although
line erupted by the illnesses and deaths of her parents, Eleanor persisted
m Iter ambition and eventually, together with her future husband Edward
AM ling, made a significant contribution to the theatre of the time.
II.
WORK
Dining the years of the International Marx had little time for pursuing
In . economic studies. At the end of November 1871 Meissner informed
I1I111 that the first edition of Capital was almost completely sold out and