All men the same?

               So do all Victorian ‘men’ meet Kipling’s requirements? We examine soldiers in war, a traditional masculine role, in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Tennyson. The soldiers exemplify honor, duty, and a loyalty to their country and superiors as they ride into war. They are obedient and courageous, never doubting, even though they are “the six hundred” “charging an army” (Tennyson 26, 30). There is a sense of impending doom upon the soldiers as they ride “into the valley of death” (Tennyson, 16). The poem gives a sense of doubt as the poem moves onward. “Some one had blundered” sending them to war and “all the world wondered” (Tennyson 12, 31). This doubt backhandedly challenges the honor and praise given to the six hundred because it suggests that someone should have challenged this charge. This is regarded as one of Tennyson's "political poems" and represents his desire for change in the British system (Sypher 102). The poem suggests the need for change to minimize mistakes like the call that led the six hundred to their deaths. The praise and honor given to the soldiers combined with the sense that someone with a higher ranking had blundered suggests that the change needs to be with the higher authorities--someone needs to check their decisions. However, the one who made the call that lead the six hundred facing an army does not fit Kipling's requirements of a 'man'. The man behind that call trusted himself while "all the world wondered", when he should have made "allowance for their doubting" (Tennyson 31) (Kipling 4). Kipling's requirements for a Victorian man are ideal, but they are not realistic. So what are the common characteristics of a Victorian male?    

Masculinity

Society was based on a patriarchal system in the Victorian Era. Even though women were expected to be in the home and supervise all the servants the household authority "was a pyramidal structure with the father at the top (Tosh, "A Man's Place", 25). Female ideals were taken from the upper class, and masculine ideals were also reflected with that standard. Among the traditional masculine roles are: gentleman, prophet, priest, and soldier (Adams). But what is a gentleman? During this era, society allows men to qualify for the title 'gentleman' rather than just inheriting it from birth; however, because of this masculinity and gentility are expected to be the same thing—to be a proper man you should be a gentleman. John Tosh defines masculinity, or gentility, as both a psychic and social identity. Masculinity is a psychic identity because the “subjectivity of every male” as masculinity “takes shape in infancy and childhood” (Tosh, "Historians with Masculinity", 198). It is a social identity because masculinity is “inseparable from peer recognition” and also “depends on performance in the social sphere” (Tosh, "Historians with Masculinity", 198). This blurs the lines even more in defining a gentleman through proper masculinity. "If" by Rudyard Kipling defines characteristics of masculinity so that boys can grow up to be men. However, “If” sets up a characteristic and then limits that characteristic in a way that logically seems contradictory. For example, “trust yourself when all men doubt you, / But make allowance for their doubting too” (Kipling, 3-4). So when everyone doubts you, trust yourself and do not yield. But when everyone doubts you, listen to their opinion and yield. Easy enough, right? The characteristics are very ideal Christian values as they stride toward perfection. However, the poem ends with, then “…you’ll be a man, may son!” (Kipling 32). This almost leaves a sense of desperation because you cannot be a man until you master all of the characteristics in the poem. You are so glad that you have the key to becoming a man and then you realize that it is unattainable. Crushing limitations weigh down upon masculinity as society expects perfection from men.