The remains of the Victorian gentleman in James, Conrad, and Wharton (Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Edith Wharton, Ford Madox Ford, Edgar Rice Burroughs)

The “gentleman” is a dominant figure in Anglo-American fiction from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century, but during that time the trope undergoes a steady diminution of socially viable power. This dissertation contributes to the scholarship on changing social roles for men by tracing the gendered construction of gentlemanliness as a meaningful source of male identity formation, while also tracing the gradual erosion of the gentleman's social power. Gentlemanliness as a performance required an ascetic regulation of male energy as well as the role's theatrical elements; but the conflicting needs for internal self-discipline, restraint, and performance left many men feeling trapped or paralyzed.; Chapter One examines the dynamic social factors that influenced the changes in late Victorian definitions of manhood, including democratization of the category of gentleman, the function of the Women's movement, and the gradual demise of imperialism. It also examines the impact of the relatively new sciences of psychology and anthropology, and notes the late Victorian anxiety caused by the implications of Darwinism. The chapter also identifies the distinction between “manly” and “masculine,” exploring the evolution of the term “masculinity,” which had precise connotations for late Victorians. The chapter also examines the confusion caused by scholars who read our contemporary definitions of “masculinity” backwards onto Victorian constructions of manhood in ways the Victorians would not have understood.; Chapter Two examines multiple works by Henry James, including The Bostonians, The Ambassadors, and “The Beast in the Jungle.” It focuses on the ascetic regulation of male behavior and the performative demands placed on the gentleman. Chapter Three looks at works by Joseph Conrad, exploring these same demands as they manifest themselves against the backdrop of imperialism in Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, and Victory. Chapter Four explores the trope of the gentleman in works by Edith Wharton, examining the impact of changing roles for women, including access to divorce, on male behavior and performance. Chapter Five discusses Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier, and Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan of the Apes as examples of how the novels function as end-stage examples of the demise of the gentleman.