![]() We know that because Hamilton refers to her miniature portrait of Peggy when he writes and begs the younger Schuyler sister’s help in courting Eliza. Painting of Alexander Hamilton by Charles Willson Peale.Įliza was an accomplished artist in other mediums as well. Picture frame embroidered by Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. Fellow aide-de-camp, Tench Tilghman-who seemed a bit smitten himself with the middle sister of the “dark-eyed, amiable” Schuyler trio-aptly dubbed Eliza “the little saint of the Revolution.” The frame for Alexander’s portrait she embroidered as her wedding present is a lovely symbol of what Eliza saw as her life’s work. Eliza does live another 50 years, raises their remaining seven children alone and in poverty (one debilitated with crushing depression), builds an orphanage, raises money for the Washington Monument, and keeps Hamilton’s Revolutionary legacy alive. That fact makes even more extraordinary Eliza’s surviving with such dignity and strength her son’s death and then Hamilton’s public infidelity, reputation-suicide, and fatal duel. The comma-play, for instance, that Miranda presents in “Take a Break,” (which he has jokingly called “comma sexting”) was actually an implied endearment penned by Angelica, known admiringly by her contemporaries as “the thief of hearts.”įamily letters that do survive reveal the younger Eliza could be prone to bouts of anxiety. (His are quite candid! So much so his children felt the need to edit them for posterity’s eyes.)Īngelica’s letters, on the other hand, went toe-to-toe with Hamilton’s in philosophy and clever flirtatiousness. (Read them here.) In his love letters, Hamilton often chided Eliza for not writing him more frequently and more candidly. Hamilton’s missives are exquisite – lyrical, laced with classical references, angsty idealism, braggadocio, and an endearing vulnerability. Perhaps the real-life Eliza worried her letters couldn’t match his eloquence. Interestingly, in gathering his correspondence, Eliza saved Angelica’s letters to Alexander, but not her own – a lack Miranda represents in her heart-wrenching reaction to the Maria Reynolds affair, the tour de force “Burn.” Without her devotion to organizing his papers, Hamilton could easily have been relegated to the trash-heap of political scandal or tangential founding fathers – (we don’t discuss many of them enough, including the Schuyler Sisters’ father, Philip). ![]() “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” For Hamilton, it is unquestionably Eliza, and with poetic justice, Miranda ends his musical with Eliza center-stage. Miranda’s dedication to accurately dramatizing history shows best in his portrait of Alexander’s loving wife. How much of what Miranda presents about the sisters is true? Let’s start with what is: Eliza. ![]() Of course, art interprets a life story for its humanist statements. With a kind of defiant delight, fans quote Miranda’s wonderfully proto-feminist lyrics: “I want a revelation,” and “include women in the sequel.” Teens strike the sassy peace-sign/snap pose of the trio’s reprisal: “Work!” With this as their pop culture vernacular, Miranda may well be responsible for a whole generation of young women now determined to “be part of the (national) narrative.” Shoba Narayan, Ta’Rea Campbell, and Nyla Sostre in the second National Tour of Hamilton. The sisterhood has captivated women across America. One of the myriad things Lin-Manuel Miranda does so beautifully in Hamilton: An American Musical is his portrayal of the profound symbiosis among the Schuyler Sisters: Angelica, Eliza, AND Peggy. ![]()
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