Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Even though the study of masculinity as a distinct and historical category has only recently attracted major attention, the representation of men has been among the most controversial aspects of Restoration drama. Men in the comedies have shocked audiences and critics by their apparent callousness, their sexual voraciousness and their resistance to marriage. Villains in the tragedies share these faults in addition to their often-sadistic violence, while the heroes can appear merely bombastic. By contrast, others have admired the sexual energy, razor wit and brilliant machinations of men in the comedies, as well as the integrity and complexity of the men in the tragedies. Whether admired or despised, the distinctiveness of masculinity on the Restoration stage cannot be denied.While historians have long acknowledged the significant social changes during the period and the changes in constructions of the feminine, too often masculinity has been understood as something that transcends history. But while men have long enjoyed certain privileges over women of their own class, the terms of gender division and even the idea of gender itself have been anything but stable. Restoration drama documents a small revolution in what it meant to be a man in at least four major ways: first, males lost the assumption of absolute authority over women and children in their families as fathers; second, ... log in or subscribe to read full text