works of Robin Gilmour, Francis Lieber, and Richard Cory on the position of ‘gentleman.

works of Robin Gilmour, Francis Lieber, and Richard Cory on the position of ‘gentleman.

The concept of the gentleman is ambiguous. What does it mean to be a gentleman? The idea of the ‘gentleman’ played an essential role within various books and websites, taking into consideration the true definition of the term ‘gentleman.’ The central focus of this assignment is to elaborate on the works of Robin Gilmour, Francis Lieber, and Richard Cory on the position of ‘gentleman.’

The meaning of gentleman played a vital role in Victorian literature, within a more significant part since this imagined notion is closely linked to class within a society. There are many explanations as to why the gentleman had a particular position within the community. The one crucial reason relies upon a comprehension of the gentleman’s privileged roots. Robin Gilmour claims in his book ‘The Idea of the Gentleman in the Victorian Novel (1981)’ that the gentleman’s origin lies deep in the birth qualification and the feudal society (Gilmour 4). If birth identifies whether one is a gentleman or not, then people can make a conclusion that the title gentleman is inherited. Nonetheless, birth alone is not enough to prove that someone is a gentleman or not. The gentleman is a difficult title to show within a society since the concept depends neither on social class nor rank. Instead, it stands for a particular type of moral excellence that involves integrity, decency, and consideration; in an ideal situation, these attributes would get united with effortless and politesse urbanity. As such, the ‘gentleman’ falls in between these two divisions decided on birth and character; here, it is not necessary that somebody has to be of aristocratic descent. As Gilmour states: “All aristocrats are gentleman, but not all gentlemen are aristocrats” (Gilmour 6). From the book, the Victorians themselves had difficulties with the question of what actually defines a gentleman. The reason for this was because the notion of ‘gentleman’ changed continually, and the influence of breeding and heredity were perplexing during the era of the Victorian.

In the book ‘The Character of the Gentleman,’ Francis Lieber claims that the gentleman character results in social claims equality, and supersedes, office, rank, or title. It creates a republic of intercourse, as people speak of the republic of letters. Again, according to Richard Cory, a modern gentleman has to be elusive in nature. Richard Cory tells the story of a rich man who often walked the streets of the poverty-stricken town. The residents of this town all envied the seeming glory of Richard Cory, ‘whenever Richard Cory went downtown, we people on the pavement looked at him.’ The narrator presents Richard Cory as a person of a known entity. Richard Cory is often seen, admired, and heard by the community. The community, therefore, portrays Richard as a man who seems to have acquired it all; good looks, money, gentility, and friendship to others. According to these people, Richard Corry is a gentleman, ‘He was a gentleman from sole to crown.’ Others meanwhile have to work hard and give up luxuries to make ends meet; therefore, the perfect seeming life of Cory appears to be directly opposite to the other characters’ tussles. Although, no one fully understood Cory’s psychology or humanity all aspired to live the kind of life that he led. However, despite all of Cory’s achievements, the narrator describes that Cory committed suicide in the final moments of the poem. Seemingly, some unknown other factors or forces prove more potent than all the components of Cory’s life that ought to have made him contented. From this excerpt, it is possible to say that a gentleman is someone whom others look up to because of the kind of good life one leads. Conversely, it is essential to note that no matter how wealthy the person seems, individuals cannot be easily understood by just considering the appearance alone. Therefore, a gentleman should look beyond appearance and be able to deal rightly with inner humanity.

Again, a ‘gentleman’ can also refer to one who never inflicts pain. This approach of meaning implies that a ‘gentleman’ is mainly occupied in merely eliminating the challenges which hinder the unembarrassed and free actions of those about him. As a result, a ‘gentleman’ concurs with their actions instead of taking the initiative himself. The benefits of a ‘gentleman’ may get considered as parallel to ‘comforts’ or ‘conveniences’ in an arrangement of a personal nature.

From the writings, ‘gentleman’ has two meanings from the modern and traditional aspects. A contemporary explanation of the meaning of gentleman is well behaved and polite. The traditional sense of the term ‘gentleman’ is well-born. A person had a specific class of belonging to be considered a gentleman. For example, wealthy people belonged to the upper social class and rank, which could also be hereditary.