Thousands of Americans
who never heard her sing and never saw her in person revered her, making
her one of the biggest celebrities of her day. Like many celebrities, Lind
was popular not so much because of her talent but because of what she represented.
Lind became an icon of Christian femininity, while her name and image were
widely used to sell everything from gloves to furniture to whiskey.
I became interested in Lind
because of my previous work on public discussions about ideal womanhood
during that period and because of my interest in popular culture. I had
done other projects that looked at debates about gender, women’s involvement
in public life, and the strategies women used to “speak out” during a time
when they were not supposed to participate in public life.
I was interested in how Lind gained fame because of her voice, even though she didn't speak or sing her own words. She was one of the most well-known women of her day, suggesting that it was possible for women to gain a place in public life, but only within some tightly proscribed boundaries.