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The Hound of the Baskervilles essay 400 words
The history of the plot of the hound of the baskervilles
The history of the plot of the hound of the baskervilles
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The aim of this article is to explore the tensions of English masculine identity in The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle in which men often feel entrapped by emotional, social and psychological roles imposed upon them during times of economic depression, imperialism and foreign competition.
In nineteenth-century England, masculinity embraced a variety of components, including race, class, and gender. The concept of “manliness,” essential to the Victorians, underwent some changes: “To the early Victorian it represented a concern with a successful transition from Christian immaturity to maturity, demonstrated by earnestness, selflessness and integrity; to the late Victorian it stood for neo-Spartan virility as exemplified by stoicism,
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Fiction of this period addressed the paradigms of English masculinity and its modeling. The combination of virility, manliness and social respectability is explored throughout the works of many writers of the period. Men continue to find themselves trapped by the construct of a “gentleman”: a “strict doctrine of male virtue placed tremendous pressure on men, who represented in a sense the purveyors of patriarchal respectability,” as Annette Federico notes (56). Englishness as an identity is based upon the ideal of the gentleman and male characters of this period comply with this ideal. In the world of a rising middle class, imperial conquests, shifting gender roles and economic changes, it was getting harder for men to achieve the ideal of being gentlemen.
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Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-02) questions the codes of masculinity and English identity not only through the characters of Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. John Watson, but also through Sir Henry Baskerville, Jack Stapleton, Selden and other characters.
The Hound of the Baskervilles questions masculinity in a period “when the voice of the masculine ruling class was particularly dominant in the culture. . . . In the Edwardian period Englishness was closely associated with masculinity, and ‘manliness’
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The young Baronet is a thoroughly English man, a descendant “of that long line of high-blooded, fiery, and masterful men. There were pride, valor, and strength in his thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and his large hazel eyes. . . . [he] was at least a comrade for whom one might venture to take a risk with the certainty that he would bravely share it” (Doyle 55-56). Sir Henry possesses, not only physical self-reliance but also moral integrity, comradeship and bravery. Sir Henry indeed exemplifies the familiar concept of manliness, including discipline, duty to England and Empire, physical prowess and stamina, generosity of spirit and overall
1) Frith, Wendy, "Sex, smallpox and seraglios: a monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu," Femininity and Masculinity in the Eighteenth-Century Art and Culture ed. Gill Perry and Michael Rossington, (Manchester University Press, 1994), 99-122.
In order to discuss the decline in masculinity (or manhood) and moral values, synonym of religious values in both books, it becomes necessary to define what Late-Victorian society considered them to be. In Dracula, masculinity is defined almost exclusively by contrasting it with femininity. The men in the book are praised when they show the opposite qualities that women are described as possessing. While women are shown as obedient and complacent, men are stern and in command of themselves and situations. Men are expected to protect women while women expect and cherish the protection of men. While men are expected to face the unpleasant facts of life, the darkness and the evil, with integrity and courage, women are to be sheltered from danger to avoid the breakdown of their fragile characters. When the group headed by Van Helsing starts their mission of vanishing the Count and all the dangers he brings for England, the men unanimously decide to hide all the unpleasant facts f...
The rugged frontiersman, the wealthy self-made entrepreneur, the stoic lone wolf; these are classic archetypes, embodiments of an enduring mythos-- American Masculinity. The doctrine of ideal manliness and its many incarnations have occupied a central place in American literature since colonial times. These representations that still exists in countless cultural iterations. The literary periods studied in this course were witness to writers that continually constructed and deconstructed the myths of paternal heroism and ideal masculinity. From Romanticism to Modernism authors, like James’s Fennimore Cooper, and F. Scott Fitzgerald helped to create the lore of American Manhood by investigating cultural notions gender and self that were emblematic of their time.
In Gail Bederman’s Manliness and Civilization, she aims to describe the concepts of manliness and masculinity at the turn of the century. Bederman explains that the concept of what it means to be a man is ever changing as a result of the ideology of the time as well as the material actions of the men. During the Progressive Era, many forces were at work that put pressure on the supremacy of white, middle class men. Some of these forces included the growing move toward empowered women, the unionization of the working class, and the move from self-employment to big, corporate business. She delves into the way that both racism and sexism were used to build up the concept of masculinity and the turn of the century discourse on civilization.
In conclusion to this essay, having examined these 19th century gothic texts, it is fair to say that normative gender behaviour and sexuality pervades them. This element gives the reader a deep insight into the culture context of the time in which these stories are situated. It enables the reader to delve into the darker sides of humanity at that time, that they would not have been able to do otherwise.
Juniper Ellis’ “Gendering Melville” argues that not enough attention has been paid to masculinity in relation to other major features in nineteenth century America, including femininity, race, and class....
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre may be superficially read as simply a sweet romance in which Jane ends up with the man of her dreams after overcoming many obstacles and challenges. But doing so misses the much deeper—richer—messages of Bronte's lasting masterpiece. A more thoughtful reading reveals this novel, especially its heroine Jane, challenging centuries-old gender roles which assume male supremacy, characterizing men as the dominant, more privileged gender, while women are oppressed into inferior and submissive roles. Of course this Victorian novel portrays the expected gender roles of both men and women in 19th century England, but Jane rises out of the patriarchy challenging the social roles assigned her with a personality marked by sass and self-assurance . Ms. Bronte, through Jane, ultimately demonstrates that women can live their lives on equal terms with—or independent of—men.
In summation, Shakespeare defines and upholds traditional male gender stereotypes. Through the actions of Macbeth and his fellow characters, Shakespeare paints a clear picture on the canvas of verse of what a man should look and act like. From facial expressions views of death, a Shakespearean portrait of masculinity is a fully realized one. Although this work of literature is hundreds of years old, its assumptions about there being a universal idea of what it means to be a “man” are still relevant to today’s world. Everyday, men in the 21st century still live like Macbeth does, always striving to be a “true” man.
The European Renaissance forever changed the life of the contemporary individual. Explosive advancements in education, technology, and trade broadened geographic and mental horizons; however, in England these developments were paired with population crises of poverty and unemployment. In addition, the increased interaction with foreign cultures fomented by various commercial and diplomatic engagements gave rise to apprehension in English sensibility. Eventually, Christian England would attempt to reshape these ‘strangers’ in their image and modern racial tensions sprung forth. Recursion of the trope of race, under the guise of blackness, heathenry, or even femininity occurs extensively in literary tradition, and especially within Shakespeare’s oeuvre. “There exists in all literature an archetypal figure who escapes both poles of the classic definition – appearing sometimes as hero, sometimes as villain, sometimes as clown…[he] has been named variously the ‘shadow,’ the ‘other,’ the ‘alien,’ the ‘outsider,’ the ‘stranger.’” It is with this borderline figure, mired in ambiguity, that this investigation is concerned: primarily with the stranger as the Moor in Othello, the Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1, and the woman in both.
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and
“Even if the boy does live, he’ll be a cripple. Worse than a cripple. A grotesque. Give me a good clean death.” The “instead” that follows Jaime’s statement in the first book of the A Song of Ice and Fire series is silent, but strongly implied. His younger brother Tyrion, the dwarf, disagrees: “Speaking for the grotesques [...] I beg to differ. Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities.” Within these two lines, multiple issues arise, most importantly as far as this text is concerned, the links between the construction of masculine identity and the idea of bodily wholeness. From the very start of the series, Martin calls upon a fairly traditional binary of embodied masculine identities. On the one side, the strong and
This edition of the Chivalry is a result of a reissue of the original edition and is photographically reduced by one-fifth. Though not a fault of Keen’s literary style, this reduction does make reading text much more difficult to accomplish, no matter one’s age. This reduction also sometimes makes the many black and white illustrations, a helpful addition of Keen’s, blurred and reduces their effectiveness in aiding the reader. Overall, however, Chivalry excellently communicates Keen’s belief of the practical importance of chivalric ideals and institutions and results in an enduring work with the “last word” on chivalry.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Great Britain, Penguin Groups, 2004. New York, Berkley Publishing Group,1993.
22 of Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Rpt. in Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag.