ABSTRACT Mid-Victorian Masculinity and the Development of Thomas Hughes Muscular Christianity By Rafael Ramirez Despite the large

body of scholarly analysis of Victorian conceptions of masculinity in recent years, the political, social, and literary contributions of Thomas Carlyle, Charles Kingsley, and Thomas Hughes on this issue remain understudied. This thesis examines the dialectic between the physical and the spiritual natures of men as represented in Carlyles Past and Present, Kingsleys Westward Ho! and Hughes Tom Browns Schooldays. Ultimately, Hughes novel, while highly influenced by both Carlyle and Kingsley, would become a model of the muscular Christians masculinity which would be ardently embraced by the English of the Victorian period. I first examine Carlyles reconstruction of early Victorian masculinity based on medieval models of male leadership that emphasize mans spiritual nature. Next, in the Kingsley chapter, I examine how Kingsley builds upon Carlyles medieval concepts of manliness while adding a powerful affirmation to mans physical nature. Finally, I examine how the romanticized masculinity of Carlyles Abbot Samson and the mythical physicality of Kingsleys Amyas Leigh converge into Hughes exemplar of Victorian manliness, the character of Tom Brown.

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