My research paper is designed to clarify the aspects central to the issue of manhood negotiated in James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans (1826).
In the Victorian era, manhood had been positively attributed to the white race exclusively. In novels and illustrations, the ideal man fit the “Victorian ideals of manhood” (Rotundo 37-40) with fixed traits and attributes, such as courage, sexual self-restraint, a powerful will, and a strong character. As we will see, no male in the novel fits such a formula completely. I will then postulate what drives Cooper to bestow such an image on his male heroes.
The “Victorian ideals” did not apply to all male people. “Savage” men, as Uncas and his father in the novel, were not considered to possess the distinct traits attributed chiefly to non-savage men, i.e. the white-male. Manliness was clearly linked to white-male supremacy and civilization; a long-held belief in American culture for centuries. The encounter between the “uncivilized brutish” and the whites is a dominant theme in the novel. We will see that the combining issue of race, gender, culture and civilization is inextricable and fundamental for the study of the subject and therefore will be elaborated on in detail.
Many historians have falsely assumed that manhood has a strict, self-evident set of traits, unchanging over time. Other historians have emphasized the fact that the set of traits attributed to manhood varies from period to period, from class to class. This lead to a continual need for redefining male character traits at any historical moment, which often problematically presented itself in coexisting but contradictory views on manhood at a special period.
Cooper, of course, was deeply familiar with the period’s masculine ideal of manhood, and understood that Victorian readers expected to find these qualities of manliness assigned to his male characters. Indeed, these attributes are present in the white male figures in the novel, but more importantly, Cooper does not hesitate to display an image of white men that portrays male deficiency in various aspects and situations. In chapter III. and IV., this issue is discussed in detail.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. The Connotations of manhood, manliness and masculinity
II.1 Manhood and Manliness
II.2 Masculinity
III. Race, Gender and Civilization
III.1 Powerful Manhood and White Supremacy
III.2 Civilization in Terms of Gender Differences
III.3 Natty “Hawk-eye” Bumppo – a New Kind of Man in the Making
III.4 Heyward as the Anxious, “passive hero”
IV. Defining the American Frontier Hero
IV.1 Heteroglossia in The Last of the Mohicans
IV.2 The Love between Chingachgook and Hawkeye
IV.3 Civilization and the Birth of a New Man
V. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the negotiation of manhood in James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans, exploring how Victorian masculine ideals intersected with 19th-century constructions of race, civilization, and gender. The research analyzes how characters like Natty Bumppo and Duncan Heyward embody or fail to meet these ideals within the dangerous frontier environment.
- The Victorian construction of manhood and its exclusionary link to white supremacy.
- The complex interplay of race, gender, and the "civilizing" mission on the American frontier.
- The role of Natty Bumppo as a non-traditional, transitional frontier hero.
- The critique of European authority and "passive" heroism through the character of Duncan Heyward.
- The dialogic relationship between white and Indian cultures as a survival strategy.
Excerpt from the Book
Natty “Hawk-eye” Bumppo – A New Kind of Man in the Making
TLM shows a clear departure from the stereotypes so present in the literature of the time. We can see this in Natty Bumppo, the hero of the five volumes among the Leatherstocking Tales. Lasch, referring to Cooper, says that the author in his search for the ideal American man, “showed how the solitary hunter, unencumbered by social responsibilities, utterly self-sufficient, uncultivated but endowed with a spontaneous appreciation of natural beauty, could become the central figure in the great American romance of the West” (qtd. in Kimmel 67). Throughout the narrative, the men spend a lot of time in the wilderness, and the events are mainly centered on the escort and rescue missions of two ladies, Cora and her sister Alice. All the masculine characters are directly or indirectly involved in these arduous and dangerous missions facing many confrontations to rescue women who are but frail and helpless creatures whom they believe cannot survive without male protection. In their situation, the only concern is to bring the ladies home safely. In order to achieve their objective, they have to be killers to prevent the girls from being harmed.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter defines the central issue of manhood in the context of the Victorian era and establishes the paper's methodological approach using New Historicism and gender studies.
II. The Connotations of manhood, manliness and masculinity: It differentiates between these three terms, highlighting how their meanings shifted during the nineteenth century and how they were tied to power and status.
III. Race, Gender and Civilization: This section explores how manhood was linked to white supremacy and how civilization was defined through gendered roles and the perceived inferiority of "savage" races.
IV. Defining the American Frontier Hero: The chapter focuses on the characterization of Natty Bumppo and Duncan Heyward, analyzing how their actions reflect the changing American frontier.
V. Conclusion: The summary reflects on Cooper's portrayal of the frontier's fate and the eventual disappearance of the native culture as part of the broader process of American civilization.
Keywords
James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, manhood, manliness, masculinity, frontier hero, Victorian ideals, white supremacy, heteroglossia, civilization, gender studies, Natty Bumppo, New Historicism, American literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper explores how the concept of manhood is constructed and negotiated in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, specifically within the cultural constraints of the Victorian era.
What are the core thematic fields covered?
The main themes include gender roles, racial dynamics, the ideology of civilization, and the construction of the American frontier hero.
What is the central research question?
The work investigates what drives Cooper to assign specific masculine traits to his heroes and how these characters reflect or challenge 19th-century beliefs about race and male power.
Which academic methods are employed?
The author combines male gender studies with New Historicism to analyze the discourse of power, race, and the evolution of the "new man" in American literature.
What does the main body analyze?
The main body examines the definitions of manhood, the contrast between "civilized" and "savage" traits, the unique role of Natty Bumppo, and the critique of characters like Heyward who embody traditional, yet ineffective, notions of chivalry.
Which keywords best describe the research?
Key terms include Victorian manhood, American frontier, heteroglossia, gender, race, and literary heroism.
How does the author interpret Natty Bumppo?
Bumppo is interpreted as a "new kind of man" who is neither fully white nor fully Indian, embodying a transitional frontier identity that challenges the rigid Victorian prototype of the hero.
What does the paper argue about Duncan Heyward?
Heyward is presented as a "passive hero" whose reliance on traditional, upper-class European notions of chivalry makes him ineffective and ultimately unfit for the survival challenges of the American wilderness.
- Quote paper
- Kai Mühlenhoff (Author), 2003, The Ideology of Manhood in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/26198
