"The
Lady of Shalott" by Tennyson shows us an ideal woman trying to break away
from conventions. The Lady of Shalott stays inside the house and is very
innocent and delicate. In a painting rendition by John Waterhouse, she is with
her knitting work in front of her while looking through the mirror, a very
domestic activity. So she fits this ideal domestic and feminine role. However,
she decides that she is "half sick of shadows" and breaks away from
the confinement of the house and feminine role (Tennyson 71). In consequence of
breaking away from this tradition a curse comes upon her and she dies before
she ever gets to Camelot. Through "The Lady of Shalott" we see the
tension of the limiting feminine ideal in society and women trying to break
away from that ideal.
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.
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?
