What If Hamilton Isn’t About Alexander?

Hamilton is honestly one of the best musicals. It’s new and the story is heart rendering. But whose story are we talking about? Is it the ten-dollar founding father without a father or someone else entirely? If you notice carefully, the play covers the story of not one Hamilton, but three Hamiltons to be exact. Throughout the course of the play, they all suffer from trials and tribulations. However, in the end, only one of the three Hamiltons survives. Tragic, isn’t it? If we were analysing this, it’s pretty obvious whose story this would be right? That’s my theory- maybe Hamilton wasn’t the story of just Hamilton, it was Eliza’s story too.

We were introduced to Eliza pretty early on- the very exposition itself features her and Schuyler sisters in all their glory. Her story goes through as many turns and twists as Hamilton’s does. She’s woven in and out of the plot even at moments which seemed rather unnecessary. The burn was Eliza’s song. That solo burned a way through our hearts and left an everlasting mark. This mark seared with pain as Eliza’s narrative continued to get murkier and murkier.

First, it was the betrayal, then it was the death of her son and Eliza survived it all. She recovered from one death only to face another which forced her to put herself back in the narrative and do what she never even aimed to do. That’s Eliza’s story and even the original book showcases Eliza in a new light together. She’s more than just a cookie-cutter lady, she’s vengeful after the death of her husband so much so that she’s ready to let the man who killed Hamilton stand at the door of the house Hamilton built for aeons.

Yet she stays honest with her roots and does what she has to do. Hamilton isn’t just a story about some inspiring figure, but about an equally lachrymose female figure who is the inspiration for the modern girl too. Eliza’s as much of a Hamilton as Alexander is.