CREATING THE VICTORIAN MAN An Analysis of the New Masculine Ideals in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

Abstract

During the long eighteenth century there was an ongoing shift in masculine ideals which ultimately created the stereotypical Victorian man. This essay will examine Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility to find out if this shift is visible in her writing. To determine if this is the case I will do a character and plot analysis focusing on the three male characters most central to the novel, Colonel Brandon, Edward, and Willoughby. The analysis of these three characters will be done in relation to the changes in masculinity that are most relevant to Austen’s writing. Specifically, they have to do with masculinity asserting itself in opposition to femininity and effeminacy in different ways. I have limited my analysis to the creation of an English national masculinity connected to manly restraint, and the increasing gap between masculinity and femininity. This essay will show that the two heroes Brandon and Edward correspond to the Victorian ideals and that the villain Willoughby does not, which ultimately shows that Austen supported the new masculine ideals.