In
“Ulysses” by Tennyson we examine two different male roles through the father
and the son. The father's role is an adventurer, explorer and fighter. This is
a common role for Victorian men because they were charged with the
responsibility to explore colonies and claim land for the glory of the empire.
The father craves "to sail beyond the sunset, and the baths/ of all the
western starts, until [he] die[s]" (Tennyson 60-61). Socially this is an
accepted male duty and role. This role is contrasted with the role of the son.
The son's role in "Ulysses" is to stay at home and rule the land.
There is a lot of tension about the son's duty because it could be interpreted
as a feminine role. The son must "through soft degrees/ subdue [the
people] to the useful and the good" (Tennyson 37-38). Men are
traditionally supposed to be hard, not fulfilling the "offices of
tenderness" (Tennyson 41). It is also a very domestic and feminine role to
stay at home and take care of things while the father, or man, goes off to
gather glory and riches. However, socially ruling is an acceptable role for a
man. Queen Victoria claimed that in order to be a good women--to be
"feminine and amiable and domestic"--women were "not fitted to
reign" (Victorian Era LII). Therefore, she let her husband, Albert, rule
the country for the short time he was alive. She was very submissive to his
will and opinion and more took upon herself the domestic mother role (Victorian
Era LII). Therefore, this tension built in "Ulysses" starts to expand
our view of the male roles that are socially acceptable.
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