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Men of Blood: Violence, Manliness, and Criminal Justice in Victorian England
This book examines the treatment of violence by men against women in nineteenth-century England. Criminal law came to punish violence more systematically and severely during Victoria's reign because it was promoting a new, more pacific ideal of manliness. Yet, this apparently progressive legal development triggered strong resistance, not only from violent men but others who engaged in arguments about democracy, humanitarianism and patriarchy to establish sympathy with "men of blood."
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First published January 12, 2004
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About the author
Martin J. Wiener
6 books2 followersMartin Joel Weiner is Mary Gibbs Jones Professor and Research Professor at Rice University.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 28, 2022
Over the course of the 19th century, the concept of masculinity in England underwent a significant evolution. Faced with the transformation of society by the forces of population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and economic mobility, concepts of personal self-discipline and orderliness came to be prized by the public. This new notion of masculinity was reflected in a growing intolerance in both the law and the criminal justice system for interpersonal violence, particularly violence towards women. As a result, men increasingly faced punishment for violent crimes that had been treated much more leniently just a few decades before.
How these developments unfolded in the English legal system over the course of the 19th century is the focus of Martin Wiener’s book. Drawing upon court records, contemporary accounts, and the considerable body of secondary literature on English social, legal, and cultural history, he shows how the ideal of the “man of honor” came to be superseded by the “man of dignity.” Key to this, as Wiener explains, was a growing concern for the safety of women. This reflected the new constructions of “womanliness” and “manliness,” as women were viewed by Victorian society as morally and spiritually superior to men. This placed upon the “stronger sex” the duty to shield women from the corrupting worlds of business and politics and protect them from the violent aggressiveness of men.
To that end, the legal system was employed to compel more disciplined behavior from men. This compulsion took many forms, and was not limited to relations between men and women. “Consensual” violence between men now also faced growing prohibition, which was reflected in prosecutions for dueling, brawls, and fistfights. While the defendants often received lenient punishments even in cases of manslaughter, this was because judges and other officials often felt that the convictions usually provided enough of an example for men to rein in their violent tendencies. The declining homicide rate contributed to the sense that such efforts were working.
Among the most interesting aspects of Wiener’s book is his description of the extent of these changes in the law. Rape, for example, became progressively a matter for the courts; though long regarded as the most heinous of crimes, the very severity of punishment – with conviction carrying a mandatory death penalty – historically mitigated against prosecutions. As sentences were moderated convictions went up, though the trials often favored the accused even when they admitted their guilt. Mitigating circumstances also factored into cases involving the murder of wives, though now violence towards “bad” wives faced growing restrictions as well. Courts no longer found exceptions to personal responsibility based on circumstances (such as adultery or alcoholism) sufficient justification for masculine violence. While the only exceptions granted increasingly were for diagnoses of insanity and related conditions of delirium tremens or epilepsy, Wiener argues that the growing number of insanity determinations helped to confirm the more severe verdicts rendered on men who committed violence while remaining in possession of their faculties.
Wiener notes that by the end of the Victorian era, the new model of the pacific “respectable” Englishman was well established, and would largely endure until the dramatic shifts in personal behavior in the 1960s. It’s a conclusion that demonstrates both the long-term legacy of the changes he describes and the modesty of his approach to his subject. While he does a good job in his book of showing how the court proceedings, judicial rulings, and jury verdicts he describes reflected and amplified the new expectations for men in their society, he does not venture as far as he might have to detail how these drove broader changes outside the courtroom. As it stands, though, Wiener’s book provides a compelling examination of the ways in which new standards of behavior were established for men, ones which shaped concepts of masculinity in the English-speaking world for generations to come.
How these developments unfolded in the English legal system over the course of the 19th century is the focus of Martin Wiener’s book. Drawing upon court records, contemporary accounts, and the considerable body of secondary literature on English social, legal, and cultural history, he shows how the ideal of the “man of honor” came to be superseded by the “man of dignity.” Key to this, as Wiener explains, was a growing concern for the safety of women. This reflected the new constructions of “womanliness” and “manliness,” as women were viewed by Victorian society as morally and spiritually superior to men. This placed upon the “stronger sex” the duty to shield women from the corrupting worlds of business and politics and protect them from the violent aggressiveness of men.
To that end, the legal system was employed to compel more disciplined behavior from men. This compulsion took many forms, and was not limited to relations between men and women. “Consensual” violence between men now also faced growing prohibition, which was reflected in prosecutions for dueling, brawls, and fistfights. While the defendants often received lenient punishments even in cases of manslaughter, this was because judges and other officials often felt that the convictions usually provided enough of an example for men to rein in their violent tendencies. The declining homicide rate contributed to the sense that such efforts were working.
Among the most interesting aspects of Wiener’s book is his description of the extent of these changes in the law. Rape, for example, became progressively a matter for the courts; though long regarded as the most heinous of crimes, the very severity of punishment – with conviction carrying a mandatory death penalty – historically mitigated against prosecutions. As sentences were moderated convictions went up, though the trials often favored the accused even when they admitted their guilt. Mitigating circumstances also factored into cases involving the murder of wives, though now violence towards “bad” wives faced growing restrictions as well. Courts no longer found exceptions to personal responsibility based on circumstances (such as adultery or alcoholism) sufficient justification for masculine violence. While the only exceptions granted increasingly were for diagnoses of insanity and related conditions of delirium tremens or epilepsy, Wiener argues that the growing number of insanity determinations helped to confirm the more severe verdicts rendered on men who committed violence while remaining in possession of their faculties.
Wiener notes that by the end of the Victorian era, the new model of the pacific “respectable” Englishman was well established, and would largely endure until the dramatic shifts in personal behavior in the 1960s. It’s a conclusion that demonstrates both the long-term legacy of the changes he describes and the modesty of his approach to his subject. While he does a good job in his book of showing how the court proceedings, judicial rulings, and jury verdicts he describes reflected and amplified the new expectations for men in their society, he does not venture as far as he might have to detail how these drove broader changes outside the courtroom. As it stands, though, Wiener’s book provides a compelling examination of the ways in which new standards of behavior were established for men, ones which shaped concepts of masculinity in the English-speaking world for generations to come.
October 29, 2024
An engaging exploration of masculine violence in the nineteenth century, written by an American academic whose style is livelier than many of his rivals. This one explores various sub-topics including the demise of duelling and prizefighting, crimes resulting from adultery, sexual violence, and wife murder. The text is concise and well explained and backed up with statistics, while the illlustrations from the era, such as from the Illustrated Police News, add to the impact. Inevitably this does start to feel repetitive after a while, but there's no real way the author could avoid that given the scope of the book.
August 17, 2019
Brilliant discussion of "the civilizing process" in the 19th century, showing the increasing intolerance for violence, particularly male violence.
November 14, 2010
Excellent book. A little bit dry by turns, but fascinating the whole way through.
couldn-t-finish
June 4, 2011Had to return. Seemed interesting, though.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews