New men? : Exploring constructions of masculinity in late nineteenth-century new women novels

136 Pages·2002·5.7 MB·English

by  Tilley, Barbara

NEWMEN?:EXPLORINGCONSTRUCTIONSOFMASCULINITY
INLATENINETEENTH-CENTURYNEWWOMANNOVELS
By
BARBARATILLEY
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
2002
Copyright2002
by
BarbaraTilley
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IextendawarmandexhuberantthankyoutoElizabethLanglandfor
offeringherconstantsupportandwordsofwisdomasIstruggledthroughthe
longandsometimesincrediblyfrustratingprocessofwritingthisdissertation. I
thankPamelaGilbertforherguidancewhenIthoughtthatIcouldnotwrite
anotherword. Agratefulthankyougoestomymother,SusanSolomon,for
shelteringmewhileIwroteandresearchedthisproject. 1wishtothankRita
Manarinoforheremotionalsupportwhentimesweretoughandformakingthe
seriousresearchandwritingofthisdissertationpossiblewiththegiftofmy
laptopcomputer. Finallyaspecialthankyougoestomydear,belovedfriend
MargaretMcPeake,whohasbeenmakingmelaughforalmosttenyears.
m
TABLEOFCONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
iii
ABSTRACT v
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION:THE"NEWWOMAN"ANDTHE"NEWMAN 1
1 IMAGESOFMASCULINITYINOLIVESCHREINER'STHESTORYOFAN
AFRICANFARMANDMONACAIRO'STHEWINGOFAZRAEL 12
TheStoryofanAfricanFarm(1883) 13
TheWingofAzrael(1889) 25
2 "NEWMANHOOD":THELOVERINGEORGEGISSING'STHEODD
WOMENANDEMMAFRANCESBROOKE'SASUPERFLUOUS
WOMAN
36
TheOddWomen(1893) 40
ASuperfluousWoman(1894) 49
3 'ANYTHINGBUTAMONSTER':NEWMENANDMARRIAGEINSARAH
GRAND'STHEHEAVENLYTWINSANDTHOMASHARDY'SJUDETHE
OBSCURE 64
TheHeavenlyTwins(1893) 69
JudetheObscure(1895) 74
4 MASCULINITYANDMEDICINEINSARAHGRAND'STHEHEAVENLY
TWINSANDEMMAFRANCESBROOKE'SASUPERFLUOUS
WOMAN
89
TAhSeuHpeerafvleunoluysTWwoinmsan(18(9138)94) 19033
EPILOGUE:MOVINGTOWARDSANEW"NEWMAN" 121
BIBLIOGRAPHY
125
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 129
iv
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
NEWMEN?:EXPLORINGCONSTRUCTIONSOFMASCULINITYINLATE
NINETEENTFI-CENTURYNEWWOMANNOVELS
By
BarbaraTilley
December2002
Chair; ElizabethLangland
Cochair: PamelaGilbert
MajorDepartment: EngUsh
Thisdissertationfocusesonspecificrepresentationsofmasculinityina
sub-genre,theNewWomannovel,thatexpUcitlyquestionsgenderstereotypes,
roles,pohticalandculturalmovements,andchoicesthatwomenand,ultimately,
menweremakingintheirhvesinlatenineteenth-centuryEngland. Iexamine
themasculinefiguresofthelover,thehusband,andthedoctor,the"NewMen"
whochallengeandre-negotiateprescribedgenderrolesastheyaredefinedin
Victoriancultureandsociety. Theseparticularfiguresaremenwhoare
intimatelyinvolvedwithwomen'sbodies,desires,andtheirsexuality. Inorder
toanchorthisstudyhistorically,thisdissertationexaminescontemporary
narrativesandarticlesfromthelatenineteenth-centurywhichexplorepertinent
subjectsdealingspecificallywithmenandtheiropinionsaboutmarriage,
bachelordom,womensrightsandtheNewWoman. Thisstudyarguesforand
revealsaneedtospecificallyexaminetheheterosexualmale,amasculinefigure
whoisoftenoverlookedbycontemporarycriticsasanunimportantand
superfluouspartofthepatriarchalculture.
V
INTRODUCTION:
THE"NEWWOMAN"ANDTHE"NEWMAN"
TtphrheoedNwueocrweltMdhaeisnngeurwpowowinontgmhaeolnsdc,iettnceha.eny,saany;dbwuiltl,ifbirticnagn
ReynellUpham
TheCanadianMagazine,1894
Thisdissertationconcernstheimagesandconstructionsofmasculinityina
selectgroupofNewWomannovelsofthe1880sand1890sofVictorianEngland.
Althoughthefocusofthisstudyisonmen,Ibeginthisintroductionwithabrief
lookatthehistoryanddefinitionsoftheNewWomanandthenovelwhich
becamethevehicleforsomuchdebateinthelasttwentyyearsofthenineteenth
century. Asaconcept,theNewWomanrepresentedacertainkindofwoman
whoembracedadesiretobeeducated,topursueemployment,toexplore
artisticandsexualfreedoms,andtochoosewhethertomarryortohave
children. Becausethenatureofthesedesiresrequiredameasureofeconomic
freedom,theNewWomantendedtobemiddle-andupper-class. In'The
ChristeningoftheNewWoman:May1894"EUenJordanpointsoutthat"itwas
Ouidawhoselectedoutthephrase"theNewWoman"andsupphedtheall-
importantcapitalletters"(20). RespondingtoSarahGrand'sarticle'TheNew
AspectsoftheWomanQuestion"inwhichGrandfocusesonthe"Bawling
Brotherhood"anddefinesmenaseitherthosewhoareattractedtothe"cow-
kindofwoman"orthosewhoare"influenced"bythe"scumofoursex,"Ouida
declaredthat"theNewWomanisabove[man]"(quotedinJordan20).
TheimageoftheNewWomaninfictionandthosewomeninreallifewho
wereconsideredNewWomenbecauseoftheirinterestinpursuingwomen's
1
2
rightsandfreedomsinsideandoutsideofthehomebecamesynonymouswith
politicalandsocialrebeUion. AfterOuidaidentifiedtheconceptofaNewWoman,
severalcontroversieseruptedconcerningtheimportofthisnewimageof
womanhood. Moreover,nowtherewasanimagetoequatewiththecauseofthe
suffragemovementandanythinghavingtodowiththealreadyburgeoning
"WomanQuestion." Thecontroversysurroundingthe"NewWoman"wasthe
causeofmuchpohticalstrifeamongwomenwhodeclaredthemselvestobeeither
femimstsoranti-femimsts. Menalsodeclaredthemselvestobeeithervehement
supportersoradamantlyagainsttheNewWoman. Toundercutthestrengthofthis
newimageofwomanhood,parodieswerewrittenthatmadeherintoagrotesque
figure,awomanwithgrossphysicalfeaturesandlustfuldesires,orattheotherend
ofthespectrumshewascharacterizedasovertlymasculineanddrawnasan"old
maid"pasthersexualprime.
Whatevercontroversythis"NewWoman"mayhavecausedsheneededa
"NewMan"ahgnedtoher,fordespiteherlackofsexuahtyorherovertsexuahty
shestiUremainedrestrictedbypatriarchaldefinitionsoffemininity;shemustbe
pairedwithaman,whoiseithertobeherloverorherhusband. OnNovember24,
1894,sixmonthsafterthe"NewWoman"wasnamedbyOuida,theconceptsofthe
NewMan"andthe"NewWoman"wereintroducedtogetherforthefirsttime.
ThephraseinPunchreadsimply'TheNewMan.-Woman"(249). Althoughthe
NewManwasnotdirectlyassociatedwiththeNewWomanuntilthismoment,his
statuslikethatoftheNewWomanwas beingdebatedinmoresubtleformsinthe
pagesofthepopularpressbeforethispairing. Narrativesandevenillustrationsof
the"NewMan"appearedinvariousformsregularlythroughout1894insuch
publicationsasPunch,TheSpeaker,andHarpersNewMonthlyMagazine.'' Moreover,
thename NewMan"wasnotjustusedinpopularparodies,butwasincorporated
mtomanyarticlesconcerningmenandconstructionsofmasculinityweUintothe
ABalladeoRfotnhei^NPce"e®w*o^Mf**at^hnenhaNoreroaadtrivFeubstyucaronen)cU"enr(rn1ei8g9ne4gn),ethraeant"deN'MeTawhleeMCa"on(m1"p8l9a4ar)ie,n""tTToHHfEEaNNMEoEdWWeMMmAALNoN"ve(r"A
3
twentiethcenturyinsuchpubhcationsasTheCanadianMagazine,TheChurch
QuarterlyRemew,theWestministerReview,andTheEnglishReview.^
TheNewManofthepopularpresswaspurposely createdtoparodythe
figureoftheNewWoman. TheprominentcharacteristicsoftheNewMan
presentedintheparodiesofthe1890sshowhimasmiddle-toupper-class,
economicallystable,andintellectuallycurious. Althoughhemayappeartobemore
thanshghtlyeffeminateincharacter,heisdecidedlyheterosexualandisalways
portrayedaseitheraloverorahusbandtotheNew Woman. Inaddition,theNew
ManinthepopularpressissometimesdefinedbyhisinabUitytocontrolhis
emotions,hisflamboyantandexcessiveuseoflanguage,andhisphysicallyweak
body. Inparticularnarratives,thisNewManattemptstouselanguageasadefining
masculinetrait,yettheNewWomandefineshimalmostsolelybythehealthy
purityofhisbody.Theimagesinthepopularpressthatcapturethistension
betweentheNewManandtheNewWomanemphasizethesubmissiveand,
therefore,fernininepositionofthemaninrelationtothepowerfulandcontrolling
positionoftheNewWoman.
Althoughthename"NewWoman"novelimphedthattheprimaryfocusof
thesenovels'narrativescenteredonwomen,theywereactuallyconcernedwith
bothmenandwomen,attimesfocusingmoreonmalecharactersthanfemale
characters. Authoredbybothmenandwomen,theNewWomannovelintroduced
andexploredradicalideasaboutmen'sandwomen'ssexuality,theirbodies,their
ideasaboutmarriageandeducation,andtheirrelationshipstoandwitheachother.
Infact,apreoccupationwiththefigureoftheheterosexualman,hismascuUnity,his
body,hismoralandsocialbehavior,andhisrelationshipswithwomenwas
'Other,moreserioustitlesincludean1884textbyAndrewJukes,"TheNewManandtheEternal
Life:NotesonthereiteratedAmensoftheSonofGod,"anarticlebyEmmaChurchmanHewitt
1cMa8al9nl7,ed'D"TeThdiehceNa'teeNwde,MwwaWinto.hm"oauTnth'peeirtnmeHirsemsri"oRNnee,lawttoiMotanhnet"oNetwhawes'WuNosemewdaMnian"tno'(1t"8h9e(41)e8,a9r7al)ny,dtRweEelylnnitesilPelatUhxpschoenanmtOu'brseyr"bhToyhlsetuzNcehePsw
sMaaatunautdnNhd"OoyerlwbmsdyoMaSJsdta.ueOSndtlm.iieLvtlseooi"teSwedcroSihatrstrruckearuicewsnh,iseeaitrynnh.igdnathfhi'eenrNarleeelswlysaWaatyiopom"onasWehnomi"pmw.bareinIttntwae1enn9ed1in8nLta1ihbn9oo2Psr4eu"newn(cht1hi9o1ta1ls)ett,diuti"ldneTyawhtpehhpieNecaechlrwaseshdsWeicocsasmelaelasendndt"htteNohonetsehweeedMwNhefeoonrw
4
nowheremoreapparentduringthe1880sand1890sthanintheNewWoman
novels.
LiketheparodiesoftheNewWoman,thoseparodiesthatfocusedonan
imageofheterosexualmasculinitycalledthe"NewMan"simplifiedareadingof
manhoodbyapplyingstereotypeddefinitionsofmasculinitytomen. Writers
parodyingthesetwofigurescapitalizedontheimageoftheNewWomanas
masculineandmannishtomaketheNewManappearphysicallyeffeminateand
emotionallyweak. TheeffeminateNewMan,portrayedinthepopularpress,rehed
heavilyonanimageofmanhoodthatfocusedonthebodyanditsphysical
inferiorityinrelationtotheNewWoman'softenimposingmasculinizedpresence.
Moreover,theNewMantypicallyexertedverylittlephysicalenergyandwasoften
showncryingandlamentingoverhisrelationshipwiththeNewWoman.
Consequently,whenpairedtogetherasloversoraswifeandhusband,theNew
WomanandtheNewManappearasidioticandclownish.
InthesesameparodiesconcerningtherelationshipbetweentheNewMan
andtheNewWoman,theNewWomanisconsideredtobewithoutsexualdesire
andexhibitsstereotypicallymasculinecharacteristicsandbehavior,suchassmoking,
drinking,goingtotheclub,andparticipatinginpoliticaldiscussions. Likethe
masculineNewWoman,thefeminineNewMansuggestsaterribleandeven
ominousthreattomalesexuality. TheNewWomanissaidtobemasculineand,
therefore,sexuallyuninterestedinmen,whiletheNewManiseffeminateand
ambiguouslyassociatedwithothermen. However,because"effeminate"isaterm
thathadalessdirectconnectiontoconnotationsofhomosexualityinthenineteenth
centurythanitdoestoday,theconstructionoftheseNewManimagesinthe
popularpressrehedondescriptionsofaman'sbehaviorwithwomentostigmatize
amanandmakehimappearinferiortohisNewWomanloverorwife.
ThefigureoftheNewWoman,likethatoftheNewManparodiedinthe
popularpress,representedonlyonewaytounderstandwomanhoodand,
consequently,manhood,attheendofthecentury. Theimageofmanhood
5
representedbytheNewManinthepopularpresshasnolikenessintheNew
Womannovelsofthe1880sand1890s. Althoughliketheparodies,theNew
Womannovelsembraceaheterosexualdynamicinrelationshipsbetweenmenand
women,thesenovelsfocusonanewkindofrelationshipbetweenamananda
woman,onethatemphasizestheemotional,physicalandsexualfreedomsofeach
individual.Unlikewritersinthepopularpress.NewWomanauthorssuchas
GeorgeGissing,SarahGrand,ThomasHardy,MonaCaird,andOhveSchreiner
portrayedtherelationshipsbetweentheNewWomanandamaleloverorhusband
inmuchmorecomplexandsophisticatednarratives. Unliketheparodies,which
definedmasculimtyinstereotypicalterms,theNewWomannovelssuggestthat
therearemanywaysofdefiningandconstructingmenandtheirmasculinity.
Issuesandquestionsconcerningaman'ssexuality,sexualbehavior,and
moralintegrityarediscussedfrequentlyintheNewWomannovels. The
controversialsubjectsofmaledegeneracy,eugenics,andhereditarydiseasesare
emphasizedinmanyofthenovels.^ Insteadofawoman'ssexuaUty,sexualpast
andbehaviorbeingdisputed,men'ssexuality,andsexualpastsarequestionedand
exposedasproblematicandsuspect. Men'shvesareputunderthemicroscope,and
menareexaminedtodeterminewhethertheyaresuitablemarriagepartnersor
evenappropriatelovers.
Myinterestinpursuingalengthystudyofparticularmasculinefiguresand
constructionsofmasculinityintheNewWomannovelsofthe1880sand1890s
originatesinreadingthecriticalmaterialavailableabouttheNewWomaninboth
fictionandnon-fiction. DespitetherichanalysisconcerningthewomenintheNew
Womannovels,Ibegantonoticethathttleattentionwaspaideithertothemenand
thedefinitionsandconstructionsofmasculinity,ortothecomplexrelationshipsthat
existbetweenmenandwomen. WritingabouttheNewWomannovels,critics
havetraditionallyfocusedontheproductionandhteral"newness"ofanimageof
womanwhichchallengedtheconceptsofmarriageandmotherhood. Insomeof
L,allia (1895),andEmmaBrooke'sG"rTahnde'Ssup"eTrhfeluHoeuasvWenolmyaTnw"in(1s8"94()1.893),MenieMurielDowie's