Florence Reed Florence Reed Florence Reed (January 10, 1883 – November 21, 1967) was an American stage and film actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including "The Shanghai Gesture", "The Lullaby", "The Yellow Ticket" and "The Wanderer". Her best remembered movie role was as Miss Havisham in the 1934 production of "Great Expectations". In this version, however, Miss Havisham was changed from a completely insane woman to an eccentric, who did not wear her wedding veil constantly, and who dies peacefully rather than as a result of suffering burns in a fire. In the 1950s Reed performed in several
Sondra Sherman begun to express a sense of human character and emotion. For example, the piece Miss Havisham uses Charles Dickens' archetypal character to explore the stereotype of the old maid and society's discomfort with nontraditional women. As Sherman describes, "Miss Havisham, a chagrined, wealthy old woman, was left standing at the alter. The interior of her magnificent house remains as it was decorated to celebrate her wedding day. An atmosphere of bitter disappointment prevails." Sherman has also worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,