Primarily regarded as a tragedienne, Cornell was admired for her refined, romantic presence. One reviewer observed, "Hers is not a robust romanticism, however. It tends toward dark but delicate tints, and the emotion she conveys most aptly is that of an aspiring girlishness which has always been subject to theatrical influences of a special sort." Her appearances in comedy were infrequent, and praised more widely for their warmth than their wit. When she played in "The Constant Wife", critic Brooks Atkinson concluded that she had changed a "hard and metallic" comedy into a romantic drama.