Victorian Men

I realized I have discussed some of the gender issues for Victorian women in The Moonstone, but there are also issues for the men.

The two young cousins Franklin Blake and Godfrey Ablewhite are typical of upper middle class men. Franklin we are told has spent through the money he inherited from his mother and has debts but he also has expectations from his father. He has been educated abroad because of his father's eccentricity but it is also clear that his education is the more bohemian of the two cosuins. He describes living with an artist in Italy and learning the decorative painting and creating the medium for paint while being there. His opinions at dinner are also more Bohemian. Even his facial hair would be considered Bohemian. (I have to admit that when I came to watch rehearsal and the actor playing Franklin Blake had a beard I was delighted both because it is how he is described in the novel and it is so appropriate to the character.) Even the cigars that Franklin smokes are considered gentlemanly while the clay pipe smoked by Betteredge would denote a servant.

In fact, Collins and a friend grew beards in advance of a trip to the continent because they thought they it would help them blend in. Blake's study of art is not unlike a trip Collins took to the continent with his painter father and the rest of the family when he was a teenager.

His cousin Godfrey is in similar but a slightly less advantageous situation. His father is more self-made and runs the bank in Frizinghall. He speaks of affording his "little lodging" and "two coats a year." He is a Barrister and active in religious and social organizations his ladies groups. In early drafts it is clear that Collins considered making Ablewhite a clergyman perhaps involved in reformatories like the one to which Rosanna Spearman was sent. Some critics believe Dickens may have asked him to "defrock" the clergyman before the story went to print.

Blake and Ablewhite present two competing ideas of masculinity in the era and yet both are still could be somewhat standard Victorian men.

Marriage for both men had certain challenges. The Victorian upper classes had certain expectations about the standard of living necessary to support a wife. Both are eligible bachelors but if Blake were disinherited his situation would become more problematic. Ablewhite would need to marry a woman of sufficient income to aid his own

contributions.

Another model of the Victorian male is the traveler and adventurer Mr. Murthwaite. Valued for his cache as a guest with exotic stories at social gatherings Murthwaite is valued both for his adventures and by his desirablity as a guest. The most celebrated Victorian traveler was Sir Richard Burton (pictured at left) although Collins never met him. He did know Sir Austin "Layard if Ninevah" and asked his friend John Wyllie, who had recently from India for details.

The other male characters are professionals. Mr Bruff who is the family solicitor, Mr. Candy the family Doctor who would have been respected men and intimates of the family.

These shifting categories become less clear when we get to Sergeant Cuff (also discussed in another post) who would have risen to prominence likely out of the working classes. His presence in the home would denote a scandal so in spite of his successes he would not have been a welcome guest.

Mr. Ezra Jennings has a similar lot. He should be a respectable member of the professional classes but the rumors that have plagued him and his appearance with the implications of gypsy blood and foreignness have made him a questionable figure.

Mr. Septimus Luker is a money lender. (His name puns on lucre from the Latin word for money but generally with connotations of money that has been ill gained.) Luker, who like all money lenders, makes his money by lending money to those in dire situations with a pledge of a valuable that he may get to keep if they can not repay the amount with a high rate of interest in a set period of time. He would certainly not have been admitted into polite society but would have been made use of both by fences and thieves and the upper classes who may have wanted a discrete way to acquire funds.

Sets and Settings

Since I have a snow day it seemed fair to catch up on a post I have been intending to write for a while.

Last week I got to see the actors on the skeletal structure of the set. It is always exciting to see a play move from the rehearsal room to the performance space even if all the magical technical elements are not complete. I am always impressed with the way Lifeline's small theater is transformed, and in this case how vast the space feels and how well it holds the many actors.

In spite of weather difficulties the show is currently "in tech" which means all the technical elements are being added and there are some impressive things that will be going into this production but I don't want to give any spoilers.

Instead, I thought it might be worth talking about the locations in

The Moonstone.

Apart from the history of the stone in India and the Siege of Serringpatam, which was discussed in another post, the story starts in Yorkshire in the north of England which is known for its moors (pictured above).

There is not a "shivering sand" or quicksand in Yorkshire but Collins had taken up sailing and purchased books on geography and navigation. There is a "shivering sand" on a Thames estuary north of Herne Bay (I don't know if the

Herne there connects with the naming of Herncastle or if some critics have suggested that is tied to the mythological figure of Herne the Hunter, who haunts the Windsor woods, or if in fact all three are connected or not related at all.)

There is a sandsend near Whitby (pictured at the top) which may suggested as the general vicinity of Frizinghall. Collins had also paid a visit to Richard Monckton Milnes at his home Fryston Hall (pictured at right) which is in Yorkshire so this may have also been a source of inspiration for the location.

Whatever its source Yorkshire has an isolated, haunted atmosphere that Collins uses effectively in the opening part of The Moonstone.

Similarly London is used to great effect in the later half of the novel. The bustling crowds and mix of a variety of classes and peoples in the streets of London provides the perfect cover for passing stolen goods from person to person.