Victorian Masculinities and Manhood:Tennyson’s Masculine Models in Idylls of the King

• Main Authors: Tai-Chun Ho, 何泰鈞
• Other Authors: Chia-Yen Ku
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/50541283643028890056

碩士 === 臺灣大學 === 外國語文學研究所 === 96 === Abstract This thesis is a study of Victorian masculinities in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. The purpose of this thesis is to argue against the traditional interpretation that Tennyson’s Arthurian poem is a didactic work that upholds the status quo of Victorian patriarchal society. While some compelling studies dealing with the issue of masculinities have appeared, they have been limited to the discussion of Tennyson’s King Arthur. This thesis examines competing masculinities among Arthur and his knights. It argues that Tennyson constructs a Victorian hegemonic model of masculinity for his Victorian readers through his reconfiguration of Arthur by which the dominant ideology Arthur enacts as the ideals of the brotherhood is called into question. In doing so, it adopts R.W. Connell’s theoretical framework “hegemonic model” to discuss masculinities, gender relations between men and women in Tennyson’s Arthurian world and the knights’ masculine narratives in specific historical and social contexts. It pays particular attention to how Tennyson deploys the Arthurian legend to construct a hegemonic model as well as underscores its internal problems and contradictions. Arthur’s ideals reflect the middle-class view that a man should control his maleness and idealize his female counterpart as a means to achieve manhood. While striving to live up to the Round Table oaths and affirm Arthur’s hegemonic model, the knights suffer crisis of masculinities respectively. Arthur’s kingdom falls not only because of Guinevere’s sin but more importantly because of the internal problems of Arthur’s hegemonic model such as the contradiction between domestic and heroic masculinities as well as Arthur’s idealization of women.