June 9th, 1893
K. Shaw
Chicago, Illinois
The Infanta was indeed in Old Vienna tonight, seated with another woman, who I believe was the Marquesa de Arco Hermosa, her lady-in-waiting. They both looked tired. The princess herself was much smaller than I expected--a tiny, slender woman. She was smoking a thin cigarette and staring out at the Ferris wheel. It is an impressive sight during the day, but even more awe-inspiring when the three thousand bulbs on the frame come to life, spinning a lazy arc of light against the evening sky.
Eulalia's tiara and flowing gowns have been traded in, at some point during the evening, for a gray traveling dress. I recognized her at once because I've studied the various photographs of her, but if others in the cafe suspected they were in the presence of royalty, they didn't let on. A few people, both men and women, shook their heads in disapproval of the cigarette between her fingers, which could get the average woman arrested in many towns during the late 1890s, but no one seemed to connect the grand princess of Spain they'd been reading about in the papers with the small young woman looking out at the scenic view.
I took a seat in one of the folding chairs in the square at Der Graben, the area of Old Vienna that is a recreation of a famous street in Austria, and waited for the right moment to approach her table. After five minutes or so, the other woman, Marqesa de Arco, the lady-in-waiting that Eulalia mentioned in her letters and memoirs, got up and left the table.
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| A View of the Ferris Wheel from Der Graben in Old Vienna |
My polite request having failed, it was now time to see if I could successfully play the "help a sister out" card that has worked for me on a few other occasions. "Please reconsider, your Highness. I need this to show my boss that I can do more than just cover garden shows and society weddings." Her face was beginning to soften a bit, so I kept going. "I know you've refused to speak with the male reporters, and this would be such a coup. Maybe they'd start to treat me more like an equal."
She looks at me for a moment, her head cocked to one side, and then nods at the empty chair. Judging from her expression, she's doing this against her better judgment.
"Thank you so much. Is your friend coming back? I can pull up another chair--"
"She's off looking for the gentlemen in our party so that we can return to the hotel. I know where Antonio is--he likes to watch the dancers. But it may still take her awhile to find him."
I sank down into the chair and said, "I'll make it as quick as possible. It should only take a few minutes of your time."
"Very well. Would you care to join me in a smoke?" Her voice was soft, with just a touch of an accent.
I'm not a fan of cigarettes, but I sensed that she was testing me, so I agreed. She pulled an elaborate cigarette case out of her pocket--gold and silver, with jade teardrop shapes on each corner and small turquoise flowers between. I took a cigarette, along with a match, which I struck against the edge of the table. When I glanced up, Eulalia was leaning forward, a new cigarette in her mouth, waiting for me to light it.
I managed to get both of them lit before the match burned out and pulled in a careful draw from my cigarette. Eulalia watched my face with a hint of amusement, probably suspecting that I'd start coughing. I avoided it, but it was close call.
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| 1893 World's Fair Commemerative Cigarette Case |
She flipped the cigarette case closed and held it over the table for my inspection. "It's pretty, is it not? But something is puzzling to me. Maybe as an American, you can explain it. I purchased this case here at the Exposition. It is clearly designed for a woman. Yet everytime I decide to smoke in this country, I am judged harshly. No one will say anything to me directly of course--one of the privileges of being a royal visitor is that they expect a few eccentricities--but I am confused about a nation that would create such a case and then pass laws that would deny woman the right to use it."
I smiled at her and shrugged. "Women are definitely held to a different standard. Is it the same when you're in Spain?"
Eulalia rolled her eyes. "Yes, and most especially when I'm at court, where my every move is watched. That is why I avoid it, when possible. Although the current regent seems to rank smoking rather far down the list of my trangressions, perhaps because I'm less likely to say something shocking if my mouth is otherwise occupied."
"So, they prefer you to keep quiet and submissive? Your mother was once the queen, your sister-in-law is now regent. It seems odd that a country that allows women to hold such authority would expect you not to have opinions."
A sly smile spread across her face. "It is not that they expect me to have no opinions, but rather that they do not care for the specific opinions I hold. And I think my marriage to Antonio was intended in part to tame me, so they're naturally disappointed that the scheme didn't work."
"What are these scandalous opinions?" I asked.
Her eyes grew guarded. "I can't answer that. Do you have children, Miss..."
"Shaw. But you can call me Katherine. And no, I don't."
"Children are a great joy, but as Francis Bacon once noted, they provide hostages to fortune. I have two young sons and must, therefore, at least make a show of following the royal dictates until my childrens' futures are settled."
"I understand," I said. "But what if I agreed not to print that part? I'm curious about this on a personal level, since you are one of the few feminists I have had the pleasure to interview."
Her face lit up at the mention of feminism, which answered one of my research questions. In 1912, after her children are grown, Eulalia will write a book called The Thread of Life, with a chapter entitled "The War upon Feminism," but the seeds of her ideas on women's rights seem to have been planted earlier.
She leaned forward, conspiratorial. "I'll agree, as long a I have your word that it goes no
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| Eulalia and Antonio |
I nodded and she continued in a lower voice. "The matter of divorce is one thing I would dearly love to see changed. Antonio and I are ill-matched and would happily be rid of each other. He is a..." She paused for a moment, looking for the right word. "A dullard. A dullard who tends toward every known vice. We live apart now. I've spent more time with the man in the past month than in the three previous years and we're no closer to being good companions than we were before the children arrived. Antonio can, of course, cavort openly with other women--it's viewed as entirely acceptable for a man. As a woman, however, I have no such freedom."
She paused to take a puff and then blew out a long stream of smoke. "True equality of education for women, political equality for women--I've learned to keep my opinions on those issues largely to myself, for the time being. And then there is the most dangerous idea of all, equalizing the social classes and ensuring full education for everyone. A shift in the relations between the worker and upper class is coming, whether those of us with privilege want it or not."
"Do you think that shift is only likely in Spain?" I asked.
"Dios mío! I would hope not. Even here in this city that prides itself on democratic views, you have royalty who claim special privilege and offer little in return."
I smiled and tap the ash off my cigarette, then take another cautious draw. "Is that a reference to Mrs. Palmer? I understand she's used to getting her way."
"That is clearly true," says Eulalia, "but so am I. If I attended every function they had on their agenda, I would never have had any time to enjoy the Exposition. The best time I've had so far was the day we toured with your Mayor Harrison. He is a very charming and witty man, and unlike Mrs. Palmer and the rest of her society, the Mayor let me see the Fair in my own way. He looked so uncomfortable at the Palmers' party tonight--someone put the poor man in a silk top-hat, and he seems so much more at ease in his normal attire. I hope he escaped early as well."
Eulalia's "off-the-record" remarks having answered most of my research questions, I moved on to a few innocuous questions about her time in Chicago--which exhibit she enjoyed most, whether she'd seen Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show just outside the fairgrounds, and if she'd had the chance to ride the Ferris wheel. She had just finished telling me about her ride on the wheel and in the tethered balloon when the Marquesa approached and tapped the princess on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper something in her ear.
The Infanta sighed and gave me a pained smile. "She has located our gentlemen, exactly where I said they would be--watching Little Egypt over on Cairo Street. So I must take my leave." She took several deep puffs from the cigarette and then snuffed it out in the plate. "Go write your story and enjoy your freedom, Katherine."
Learn more about the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the Infanta Eulalia:
- Wilson, Robert. "The Infanta at the Fair." The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Autumn 1966.
- Edwardian Promendade. Fascinating Women: Infanta Eulalia of Spain.
- Eulalia, Infanta of Spain. The Thread of Life. 1911.
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