Concepts of Manhood in Victorian Melodrama


Term Paper, 2006

23 Pages, Grade: 1,0


Excerpt


Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Melodrama
2.1 Historical and Societal Background
2.2 Melodrama’s Characteristics and Characters

3. Masculinity and the Concept of the Gentleman
3.1 The Hero and His Damsel in Distress
3.1.1 Summary and Conclusion
3.2 The Villain and His Minions
3.2.1 Summary and Conclusion
3.3 The Comic or Old Man

4. Analysis

5. Bibliography

Primary Literature

Secondary Literature

1. Introduction

In this paper, we will be concerned with concepts of manhood in Victorian melodrama, based on Black-Ey´d Susan by Douglas Jerrold (1829), Money by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1840), Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor (1852), The Ticket-of-Leave Man by Tom Taylor (1863), Lady Audley´s Secret by Colin Henry Hazlewood (1863), and Caste by Thomas William Robertson (1867). For a comprehensive analysis of the two main characters of every play, the hero and the villain (3.1 and 3.2), the general characteristics and attendant circumstances of Victorian melodrama will be delineated (2.1 and 2.2). In chapter (3), the characteristic traits of heroes and villains will be elaborated and we shall see in which respect they differ and which traits they possibly share. The last chapter will attempt a conclusive explanation as to their differences and the origins thereof. In order to illuminate the various facets of manhood and gentlemanliness, this paper will largely draw upon the ideas of John Ruskin[1] concerning the nature of man.

Some plays, however, do not have villains or heroes who strictly conform to stereotypes or clearly designate pure evil or pure goodness. Some villainous characters are not innately evil and can be brought back to the good side. Conversely, a hero is not necessarily an innately good character but can fall prey to temptations. The villainous and the virtuous do not onlydistinguish themselves from one another by their morals but also by varying degrees of manliness or gentlemanliness respectively. The question that shall concern us here is in which way do they differ concerning masculinity in general and in gentlemanliness in particular. Is it justified to view the hero as being manlier than the villain?

2. Melodrama

2.1 Historical and Societal Background

The 19th century was an age of scientific progress, growing urbanisation, and exploding cities. An increasing number of Victorians had become salaried employees, clerks, and merchants and thus formed a growing middle class. In the early 19th century, it is the middle class and increasingly the working class that demanded theatrical entertainment but the two legitimate theatres Covent Garden and Drury Lane could not satisfy this great demand. The Licensing Act (1737-1843) restricted the production of plays to these two patent theatres, which were meant as places for serious and cultured drama whereas illegitimate theatres evaded the restrictions and censorship of the Licensing Act by staging plays interspersed with music and dance: melodramas[2].

Before the repeal of the Licensing Act in 1843, London already counted more than 20 theatres. Between 1843 and the end of the century, however, the number of playhouses grew to 61, some of them offering more than 2000 seats (Erlebach, Reitz, Stein 346). In the wake of the industrial revolution, stage machinery became more sophisticated and powerful.

Electric bridges and hydraulic ramps made incredibly spectacular stage sets, such as earthquakes, sea battles, and other monumental scenes, possible. With the progressing industrialisation and urbanisation, the working class grew in size and importance. The theatres, being regular businesses, were dependent on paying customers. The playwrights, especially after the decline of the patronage system during the 18th and 19th centuries, were in turn dependent on the theatres to buy their plays. Therefore, plays were staged that mirrored the taste of the attending audience, which predominantly consisted of members of the middle class and the steadily growing working class.

“The attraction of melodrama is largely escapist; the audience is provided with a rich, full, and satisfying stage life sharply in contrast to their own. Yet, the paradox of melodrama is that this dream life is often presented – especially during the movement toward more and more realistic stage effects – as corresponding faithfully to the external details of real life” (Booth 187).

The taste of the average audience was not for artistically worthwhile pieces or for literary and sublime plays but for unpretentious and simple entertainment to make them forget their own troubles and a hard day’s work for a while.

2.2 Melodrama’s Characteristics and Characters

Melodrama can be considered as a rather conventionalised and conservative theatrical genre. It would hardly tackle controversial issues or raise uncomfortable questions. In general, the personnel of a melodramatic play consist mainly of stock characters and present the audience with sensational incidents and broad humour in lavishly constructed sets. The plot is mostly simple, with hardly any character development, and strongly reliant on fast-paced action. The villain poses a threat, the virtuous hero escapes the threat or rescues the equally virtuous heroine, and eventually there is a happy conclusion where vice is punished and virtue rewarded. Hence, contemporary melodrama has often been accused of shallowness, hasty construction, and little literary merit. Quite in contrast to the stage sets, the characters in melodrama are not as elaborate and colourful but they remain stereotypes (Erlebach, Reitz, Stein 355). What melodrama lacks in character development and psychological depth it makes up by exciting and spectacular action scenes such as snowstorms, horse races, or train wrecks.

Upon their first appearance on stage, the hero and the heroine can be instantly identified by their attire, good looks, demeanour, and way of speech. Generally, hero and heroine are innately good and virtuous, unwavering and steadfast in their goodness – even in times of peril and pursuit, distress and doubt. Ultimately, standing moral tests, withstanding temptations, and upholding virtue will procure the happy ending for the hero and the heroine.

Similarly easy to discern is the villain who is usually a dark-haired, sinister figure dressed in black and sporting black whiskers. Moreover, the villain is just as innately bad as the heroic couple is good, and in his wickedness, he is similarly unwavering and steadfast as hero and heroine are in their virtue. He is the driving force behind the action, his malevolent schemes, namely the lewd pursuit of the initially unprotected heroine or the greedy attempts at seizing her property or that of others, entail all ensuing action on the part of the hero.

Although the number of characters in melodrama is limited in order to keep the actions of the protagonist couple in focus, there are still some minor figures such as the comic man or woman and the old man or woman who support them and who provide for comic relief in times when the action becomes too gruesome and distressing. They share the heroes’ goodness but lack their efficacy and thus mostly serve to heighten pathetic effects. Moreover, the comic character, usually a member of the working class and thus closely identified with his audience, is a friend or servant of the hero or heroine and sometimes carries on the battle against villainy (though by comic means) in the absence or incapacity of his superiors (Booth 33).

As Booth states, “characters act according and corresponding to their outward appearance” (Booth 13). This allows only for little deviation from the rigid moral concept underlying Victorian melodrama. In this world of black and white, of pure good and pure evil, there is hardly any possibility of reform or redemption for the villain. Instead, he will meet his untimely demise by an act of divine justice mostly brought about by the hero appearing as a deus ex machina figure, the comic man, or fortunate coincidence. However, the dichotomous world of melodrama is not ideal but it can be mended by the extinction of evil, embodied by the villain, and by adherence to a mutually agreed set of values and virtues (Erlebach, Reitz, Stein 356).

3. Masculinity and the Concept of the Gentleman

Apart from merely biological preconditions, there are still some other prerequisites which need to be met before a male human will have attained real manliness – or rather will have reached the lofty heights of a gentlemanly existence. Once, having come of age or being born into a certain class, a certain responsibility, maturity, and conduct are expected. Various ways of becoming ‘a real man’ and earning the respect of others presented themselves to Victorian males and formed a catalogue of virtues, merits, and traits ultimately culminating in the concept of the gentleman. The gentleman could hence be envisioned as the ‘perfect’ man.

What then makes a man a real man? According to John Ruskin,

“man’s power is active, progressive, defensive. He is eminently the doer, the creator, the discoverer, the defender. His intellect is for speculation and invention; his energy for adventure, for war, and for conquest […]” (Ruskin 121f).

Ruskin’s notion of masculinity ties in nicely with ideas of chivalry, which evoke images of valiant knights, imperative kings, marvellous mansions, and castles. Being born noble goes a long way in Victorian Britain and is the source of considerable pride. In the hierarchical structures of society at the time, a noble name commanded respect and by implication, the person bearing the name came to be respected as well. It was a nobleman’s duty to take care of wards (children, servants, women, the lower classes) and in return, he could demand obedience (Nünning 19). Therefore, it would seem natural to assume that the hero is a member of the upper class or nobility. Then again, the esteem for the aristocracy was still wearing off ever since the second half of the 18th century; its lifestyle of luxury and leisure was eyed with suspicion and disapproval by the ‘middling’ classes, which were of the opinion that the nobility’s privileges were undeserved. The items on Ruskin’s list, however, only constitute a brief and incomplete outline of the male character in general and form but a small fraction of a long list of virtues, traits, and accomplishments. In order to give shape to the image of the perfect gentleman some more items need to be added to the list.

Members of the British aristocracy for instance were gentlemen by right of birth (although, paradoxically enough, birth alone could not make a man a gentleman). The OED defines a gentleman primarily as a “man of gentle birth, or having the same heraldic status as those of gentle birth; properly, one who is entitled to bear arms, though not ranking among the nobility, but also applied to a person of distinction without precise definition of rank”.

Furthermore, a gentleman is denoted as a “man of chivalrous instincts and fine feelings” and as a person “of superior position in society, or having the habits of life indicative of this; often, one whose means enable him to live in easy circumstances without engaging in trade, a man of money and leisure.” Accordingly, the new middle class traders and merchants, attempted to be recognised as gentlemen as a natural consequence of their growing wealth and influence. Other Victorians, like military officers or members of Parliament, were recognized as gentlemen simply by virtue of their occupations. But the concept of the gentleman was not merely a social or class designation. There was also a moral component closely attached to it, which found expression in the extensive catalogue of virtues, merits, and traits. Despite the large number of items – some even in contradiction to others – in the catalogue, the image of the gentleman was not unambiguously clear and therefore it developed into an unattainable ideal. Ultimately, “a man can be no more than a gentleman” (Robertson 350).

[...]


[1] John Ruskin (February 8, 1819 – January 20, 1900) was an eminent and influential critic and thinker of Victorian times. Out of his more than 250 works, Sesame and Lilies constitutes the source from which his thoughts on the male and female nature have been taken.

[2] The term ‘melodrama’, initially originating in France (mélodrame), is a compound of Greek melos (sound,

song) and French drame (drama, theatrical piece) and thus clearly designates its nature.

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Details

Title
Concepts of Manhood in Victorian Melodrama
College
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz  (Department of English and Linguistics)
Course
Seminar Victorian Melodrama
Grade
1,0
Author
Year
2006
Pages
23
Catalog Number
V130537
ISBN (eBook)
9783640392292
ISBN (Book)
9783640392315
File size
504 KB
Language
English
Keywords
Concepts, Manhood, Victorian, Melodrama
Quote paper
Patrick Ludwig (Author), 2006, Concepts of Manhood in Victorian Melodrama, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/130537

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