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Mid-nineteenth-century England saw great social transformation in the face of industrialisation, changing working and living conditions, and voting reforms, and with these changes came new conceptions of masculinity and what it meant to be a man and a gentleman. Though much critical attention has been given to Elizabeth Gaskell's representation of women—not surprisingly, given titles such as Wives and Daughters, Mary Barton, Cousin Phillis, and Ruth—her works span class, region, time, and genre to grapple with ideas of masculinity. This thesis aims to explore her understanding of masculine identity as a social construct, to examine the representation of manliness in her novels, and to consider how her writing engages with Victorian ideologies of masculinity. The introduction provides context on Gaskell's background and Unitarian faith, discourses of sympathy, Victorian manliness, and masculinity studies. The thesis is presented in three sections, each comprising two chapters. The first examines working-class masculinity and the gentleman in her industrial fiction; the second explores intertextuality, examining the ways in which she borrows and transforms notions of masculinity from contemporaries' works; and the third examines her representation of previous models of manhood in her historical fiction. Together, these sections reveal that Gaskell views masculinity not as monolithic but rather as relational and shaped by many contexts, from regional identity and historic change to intertextuality and sympathy, which echo throughout her entire oeuvre; in examining her longer fiction in juxtaposition, this thesis makes it clear that just as Gaskell views masculinity as a category that cannot be neatly contained, she systematically excludes male characters from her resolutions, struggling to contain her models of masculinity within the form of the novel. The appendix, based on archival research, presents a list of the books that Elizabeth and/or William Gaskell borrowed between 1850 and 1865 from Manchester's Portico Library.

My dissertation examines the representations of materialism -- a philosophy stereotypically associated with a reductive, anti-theological and mechanistic world-picture -- in the published prose and (typically) unpublished poetry of several figures central to scientific discourse in the latter half of the nineteenth century, most notably W. K. Clifford, a mathematician, and John Tyndall, a physicist and media-savvy ‘champion of science’. These engagements, and representations, were not merely on the level of ‘direct’ argumentation, however. A self-consciously allusive, even polyphonous tone was far from uncommon in the many literatures arising from mid-Victorian scientific encounter, and this openness of form permitted both popularisers and critics of materialism to choose the vocabularies in which to relate their observations –- the texts with which they would engage –- towards specific ends. As I argue, such was a task they performed with great care and an often astonishing felicity: an essay on cosmology, after all, acquires quite a different colouration when interleaved with the cadences of Milton, another again if illustrated with quotations from Whitman or an epigram from ‘Tintern Abbey’. My 1st chapter provides a broader context for those that follow, analysing both changing nineteenth-century ideas of materialism and also a range of potential reactions to -– and inter alia a variety of the contrasting vernaculars used in illustration of –- contemporary metaphysical or ‘methodological’ materialism. My 2nd chapter offers a reading of Tyndall’s August 1874 Belfast Address, the locus classicus for practically all later elaborations of materialistic belief. My 3rd chapter contrasts the theologically orthodox position of James Clerk Maxwell (buttressed by allusions to the theologically doctrinaire George Herbert) with the radically atheistic and materialistic philosophy of Clifford (underpinned by the similarly atheistic Algernon Charles Swinburne). My 4th and 5th chapters are paired studies in the ‘private’ nuances of Tyndall’s ideology, elaborating on my 2nd chapter’s scrutiny of its more public attributes. The former discusses his notions of cosmic connectedness, ironically derived from the non-materialistic works of Carlyle. The latter examines both the exultancy and the despair explicit in Tyndall’s poetry and implicit in his prose. As I note in conclusion, such contrary emotions, phrased with striking clarity in Tyndall, are common in mid-Victorian writings concerning materialism, directly or indirectly. They are rooted in the hopes afforded by materialism’s explanatory prowess, on the one hand, and the ‘atrophy of spirit’ born of its austere, even dehumanising, epistemology, on the other; that is to say, in a salutary awareness of both power and pitfalls.

This dissertation tracks the automaton’s appearance in Victorian literature from 1840 to 1900. It shows how authors across genre, form, and time conceptualized and responded to the Machine Age, using the automaton as a symbol of humanity’s changing relationship to machine technologies. Chapters 1 and 5 trace how Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) and E.E. Kellett’s “The New Frankenstein” (1900) similarly address concerns about gender equality in Victorian Britain, challenging the assumption that women could themselves be classified, and controlled, as talking/reproducing automata. Chapter 2 argues that Dickens’s conceptualization of the human machine in Our Mutual Friend (1865) allows his working-class characters a degree of class mobility outside of bourgeois object-oriented ontologies. The automaton informs Dickens’s commentary on Victorian class. Chapter 3 reads The Coming Race (1871) as a reactionary response to what Bulwer-Lytton perceived as the machine’s potential to liberate women from the domestic sphere. In this dystopic vision, women would necessarily come to control all aspects of society when freed of housework by the machine. Chapter 4 looks at Scots working-class poet Alexander Anderson’s 1878 collection Songs of the Rail. Anderson lauds the train engine as savoir and prophet of a coming technological age. I argue that he creates a literary aesthetics for that age by anthropomorphizing the steam engine, extending to it his own poetic voice.

The thesis begins with an analysis of the Victorian Era architectural style through the single-family residence and translates certain design elements into a contemporary architectural climate. It is my personal view that modern residential architecture does not have the same level of visual intrigue as the homes from the Modernist movement from the 1900s, particularly in light of Postmodern architecture from the 1970s to now. I set out with the intention of creating a spatially and formally interesting residential home design which strikes a balance between the pre-modern period of dense ornamentation and more modern minimalist approaches to design. Modern architecture, which began as early as the 1900s and gained major traction in the 1940s and 50s following the end of World War II, focuses on the massing, rather than the detail, of a building. In Modernist homes, the interior experience and exterior experience are not congruent. While this creates a clean and uncluttered atmosphere, both inside and out, the end product may become sterilized to the point that it looks as though it is not meant for the intended inhabitants. As a continuation of this modern approach, contemporary architecture may focus aesthetic ideals on the exterior of the building, but the implied complexity of the design and intended experience of a space within is not carried throughout the building and into the interior spaces. Victorian design ideals, on the other hand, attempt to evoke personified elements, which appeal to the viewer and are much more tailored to the human scale and experience. Victorian design is highly detail-oriented and routinely references the human scale. Attention to decoration is put into fine detail, often with natural or anthropomorphic qualities. Victorian architecture is colorful and purposeful, with outside facades pulling together context clues and informing the viewer of interior spaces. It uses color palettes that might be seen as unorthodox by other designers. However, these houses employed color to bring out detail and design in the facade, becoming enhanced by the color variety and their effective application. They are full of character and interest, inside and out. These buildings also use elaborate woodwork designs to add unique visual flair. This added uniqueness makes these homes more personable, reflecting personal tastes and expression. While the façade and each room can be entirely unique with its purpose and experience, there is an underlying design vocabulary that acts as a foundation for each space and ensures cohesion with the interior and exterior. As residential home design has evolved from American Colonial, to Neoclassical, to Victorian, to Craftsman, the Modernist Movement marked the separation point in architecture design in the 1930s and 40s. This movement, led by Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, were the spark that changed architecture for all types of construction.[1] This style also would have a profound effect on residential design, and it was not until the 1930s when the modern age of home design manifested. Since the era of Gropius and the Bauhaus movement, home design has become stagnant in some areas. Designers have adhered to 1920s Modernist philosophy for so long, it feels as if it has plateaued. It is my perspective that contemporary residential designs now have a cookie cutter quality. There is little differentiation between individual expression of modern home design. In addition, there are certain visual aspects of modern design that imply a complex interior that are not carried through to the interior. Similar to the false fronts of the 1860s, contrasting material choices, greater accentuation and detail were selectively used in the front of the building but are missing on the other sides of the exterior. This can be related to the false front buildings. These false fronts first appeared in 1849 following the California Gold Rush. They were used by merchants to make their shops and buildings look larger and more important as opposed to their simple shed and gable roof buildings.[2] This concept of putting more effort into the experience of the front of a building continues to be used today. Designers put this effort into the front façade because it is the first thing people will see when experiencing a house or building and here it is possible to make a good first impression. This also results in the other sides of a home receiving less attention and feeling less important than the front. In modern home design the detail might still be emphasized on the front but is much more subdued as without overt ornamentation the distinction between each side and whether or not it is the “front” can be difficult to tell. In the modern era of home design, the open floor plan reigns supreme. Materials and mechanical systems have advanced focusing on energy retention and economically efficient properties. However, one major area where home design has fallen stagnant has to do with individual room identity. While the open floor plan can be pleasant and convenient, it inevitably results in rooms that are connected but have less inherent identity. In Victorian homes, rooms are separated from one another, and each of these spaces has distinction and purpose. After completing this research on the relative differences between Victorian, Modernist, and contemporary residential approaches, I applied these findings to a design project. The goal of this exercise was to design a contemporary single-family home that incorporates the Victorian aesthetic, with a blend of modern and Victorian characteristics throughout. I incorporated energy efficient and environmentally friendly materials, to bring the image and ideals of Victorian Era design into the present environmental moment. In keeping with the needs and desires of families in the US residential market, this design offers a refreshing refinery of Victorian style fit for modern day living. Upon finishing the research and design phases, I developed a set of findings intended to assist other designers with the application of Victorian design principles to contemporary use. These recommendations might be applied to a dwelling or a room, or any design project in which the balance of contemporary needs, and design aesthetics, are in play. [1] Walker, Lester. American Shelter. Overlook Press, 1981. [2] Walker, Lester. American Shelter. Overlook Press, 1981.

<p> This thesis attempts to relate the kind of female figures in Dickens's works with the images of womanhood current in Victorian Society and Art.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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This dissertation is a study of supernatural doubles in Victorian literature. It argues that these doubles expand our understanding of gender variance in the Victorian period. The texts in this dissertation privilege gender non-binarism through their depictions of materiality, gender embodiment, and temporality.

This dissertation joins a vibrant conversation in the social sciences about the challenging nature of care labor as well as feminist discussions about the role of the daughter in Victorian culture. It explores the literary presence of the middle class managing daughter in the Victorian home. Collectively, the novels in this study articulate social anxieties about the unclear and unstable role of daughters in the family, the physically and emotionally challenging work they, and all women, do, and the struggle for daughters to find a place in a family hierarchy, which is often structured not by effort or affection, but by proscribed traditional roles, which do not easily adapt to managing daughters, even if they are the ones holding the family together. The managing daughter is a problem not accounted for in any conventional domestic structure or ideology so there is no role, no clear set of responsibilities and no boundaries that could, and arguably should, define her obligations, offer her opportunities for empowerment, or set necessary limits on the broad cultural mandate she has to comfort and care others. The extremes she is often pushed to reveals the stresses and hidden conflicts for authority and autonomy inherent in domestic labor without the iconic angel in the house rhetoric that so often masks the difficulties of domestic life for women. She gains no authority or stability no matter how loving or even how necessary she is to a family because there simply is no position in the parental family structure for her. The managing daughter thus reveals a deep crack in the structure of the traditional Victorian family by showing that it often cannot accommodate, protect, or validate a loving non-traditional family member because it values traditional hierarchies over emotion or effort. Yet, in doing so, it also suggests that if it is position not passion that matters, then as long as a woman assumes the right position in the family then deep emotional connections to others are not necessary for her to care competently for others.

One hundred and seventy-eight pieces of Victorian furniture in six Texas historic house museums have been photographed and researched in order to fulfill the three-part problem. (1) to research and write descriptive essays of the four major Victorian substyles--Victorian Empire, Rococo Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Eastlake; (2) to identify and choose six Texas historic houses which are open to the public and which display these Victorian substyles in period room settings; and (3) to identify, photograph, measure, and catalogue each piece of authentic Victorian furniture, and to compile a research guide which includes each of these six houses and their Victorian furnishings. This six-part guide includes brief histories of each house and a catalogue of authentic pieces which represent the major substyles of Victorian furniture. To give the study a broad base, and to make it useful for all students, teachers, and professional interior designers in Texas, two houses which represented the best collections of furniture from each geographic location were chosen. These included: (1 ) from North Texas, the George House and Millermore, both in Dallas; (2) in Central Texas, East Terrace and Fort House, located in Waco; and (3) in South Texas, Fulton Mansion in Fulton Beach, and McNamara House in Victoria. All four of the most popular substyles are represented in the six houses.