The Man (Stoker novel)

The Man is a romance novel by Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, written in 1905.^[1] It has also been published under the title The Gates of Life.

Historical context

The Man is a novel from the Victorian era of British history, culture and society. The Victorian Era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from her coronation on 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The Victorian era was a long period of peace, prosperity, and national pride for the British Empire.

Culturally, the Victorian era was a bold transition from the preceding Georgian era, a period largely defined by logic and rationalism, and a progression towards romanticism and mysticism in of religion, societal values, and the arts. In international relations, the era was widely regarded as a period of peace, and Britain involved themselves with very little external conflict. However, within the colonies, there was much unrest. In British domestic relations, the political agenda became increasingly liberal, marked by shifts in the direction of political reform, industrial, and social reform. Additionally, during the Victorian Era, Britain experienced an unprecedented economic and population growth.^[2]

The end of the Victorian period, during which The Man was written, coincided with the Belle Époque (meaning "Beautiful Era") era of continental Europe. Similar to the Victorian era in Britain, this time period was characterized by optimism, peace, advances in technology, as well as new scientific discoveries.^[3]

Literary background

In the Romantic period of literature, which immediately preceded the Victorian period, poetry was the most popular form of literature. However, throughout the Victorian period, the novel became the most important literary work. The author credited as the most important novelist of the Victorian era is Charles Dickens. Other notable authors include the Brontë sisters: Anne, Charlotte, and Emily, who published works under male pseudonyms, along with George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans). Other notable authors include Thomas Hardy, Lewis Carroll, George Gissing, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.^[4]

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the genre of Gothic fiction emerged, within the broader genre of fantastic fiction. These tales centered around the larger-than-life of the characters, and took place in Gothic place settings including castles, cemeteries and monasteries, usually within the setting of either rural England or elsewhere in Europe, or within large cities like London. The conventions of Gothic literature are a combination of both romance and horror, intended to entice and thrill readers.^[5]

Plot summary

The novel begins with a preface, where the two main characters Miss Stephen Norman and Harold An Wolf are sitting in the graveyard of their town's church, eavesdropping on the conversation of two girls below them, Marjorie and Susan. Marjorie declares, "I would rather be an angel than a God!" and explains that she would rather obey orders than give them. Susan disagrees, and says that she would rather be a God so that she could be at "the top of everything" and give orders to the angels. Upon listening to their conversation, Harold tells Stephen that he agrees with Marjorie's point of view, whereas Stephen takes Susan's side. Harold tells Stephen that a woman cannot be a God because she is not just enough, and the two have a slight argument about it, and the two part ways. This fore-glimpse assigns the trait of dominance to Stephen, and submission to Harold.

The story begins with Squire Stephen Norman, who was the Lord of the manor who presided over the feudal society of Norman stand. Squire Norman marries Margaret Rowly, the younger sister of his friend Squire Rowly, who was the squire of the neighboring town. Wanting to produce an heir to succeed him as the Squire of Norman stand, Norman and Margaret have a baby. While Margaret is expecting, Norman eagerly anticipates the birth of his son. However, the baby is a girl, and Margaret has complications during childbirth. Her doctor tells Norman that his wife is going to pass away at any moment. At Margaret's deathbed, Norman tells her that he will love his daughter as much as he would have loved a son. Margaret insists that they name their daughter Stephen after her father, as she will be their only child. Squire Norman raises his daughter Stephen to be somewhat androgynous. His late wife's aunt, a spinster named Miss Laetitia Rowly, moves in to help take care of Stephen. From an early age, Stephen becomes dominant, assertive, and free-thinking.

One day when Stephen is six, Norman's friend from his college days, Dr. Wolf, comes to visit. He tells Stephen about his son Harold, who was five years older than her. Stephen was impressed by Wolf's stories of athletic agility and heroism, and asks Wolf to bring him to visit sometime. Soon after, the two children become friends and spend a lot of time with one another.

Two years after Stephen and Harold first meet, Dr. Wolf dies of pneumonia. Before his death, Squire Norman promises that he will let Harold live with them, and that he will raise him as though he were his own son. Throughout their childhoods, Stephen and Harold frequently spend time in the graveyard of the Church of St. Stephen in Norman stand, where all of Stephen's ancestors are buried, along with her mother. During one excursion, they discover that the crypt is unlocked. Stephen begs Harold to go in and explore with her, but he refuses.

One day, while Harold is out of town tending to matters regarding his father's estate, Stephen convinces another young boy from Normanstand named Leonard Everard to explore the crypt with her, and he obliges. When Harold comes back to Normanstand, he has a feeling Stephen will be at the crypt and goes to find her. He goes into the church, and Leonard is running out of the crypt. Harold goes down into the crypt and finds Stephen unconscious on the floor in front of a coffin. He carries her back up into the church and wait for her to regain consciousness. Leonard falsely tells her that it was he who carried her up the stairs. In awe of Leonard's act of heroism, Stephen develops feelings of admiration for Leonard.

Harold moves to Cambridge to go to college, but he and Stephen still have a sibling-like bond whenever he comes back to visit. As Stephen grows older, Harold begins to fall in love with her. Meanwhile, Stephen admires Leonard, but he is selfish and uninterested in her. Stephen, having been raised mainly around men, begins to question the traditional conventions for women. She tells her aunt that she believes that a woman should be able to ask a man to marry her, because marriage is a union and the woman should be equal to her husband. Her aunt is appalled, and hopes that Stephen will not voice it to anyone else.

After graduating from college, Harold moves back to Squire Norman's estate. Shortly after his return, Norman and Harold are involved in a Phaeton (carriage) accident, in which Squire Norman breaks his neck and injures his head. Before he dies, he tells Harold to look after Stephen. He also grants Harold his blessing to marry Stephen one day should they ever develop a romantic affection, as long as Harold waits until Stephen is ready and has decided this for herself.

Stephen decides to test her theories about the roles of women in marriage and decides to propose marriage to Leonard. She writes him a letter, asking her to meet him. During their meeting, she asks Leonard to marry her. Leonard says no, and says that she is too much of a boss for him. He is appalled that a woman would propose to a man, because he believes the man should be the one to initiate marriage. Stephen is humiliated.

Later that night Leonard tells Harold about Stephen's proposal and shows him the letter she wrote. Harold is in disbelief that Stephen proposed, and also upset that she would want to be with someone other than him. Harold decides to visit Stephen the following morning, and proposes. Stephen knows that Harold is aware of her rejected proposal, and becomes incredibly angry. She believes Harold is proposing because she is desperate to marry any man she can. Stephen tells Harold to leave Normanstand and to never speak to her again.

The next day, a humiliated Stephen tells Leonard that in exchange for silence about her proposal, she will pay off his financial debts. Leonard is not from a wealthy family, and is heavily in debt. Stephen, as a squire's daughter, is incredibly wealthy. It dawns on Leonard that marrying Stephen would alleviate his financial woes, and he regrets rejecting her proposal. He tries to propose to her, and she rejects him.

Harold leaves Normanstand heartbroken, and boards a ship to New York. He assumes a new name, John Robinson, and decides to start a new life. During the ship's journey, a strong wave hits, forcing a six-year-old girl named Pearl Stonehouse overboard. Harold dives in and saves her, and the little girl has an immediate admiration for the man who has saved her life, and refers to him as "The Man." The Stonehouses offer "John" a job with their business, but he declines the offer, saying he needs to be alone with his suffering.

For two years, Harold lives in solitude in the uncivilized wilderness of Alaska. He decides to revisit England to find out what Stephen is up to. He boards a ship back to England, disguised by his beard.

Meanwhile, Stephen finds out that she was the closest descendant of the recently deceased Earl of Lannoy, and that she has inherited his London mansion and title. Her aunt Laetitia dies, and Stephen moves into the castle alone and is just as lonely as Harold. She befriends an old woman known as The Silver Lady, whom she confides in.

One day, while on a horseback ride, it begins to storm. Stephen sees a ship in the distance, on fire. Lightning had struck the ship, and it was going down in flames. Harold jumps off the boat and is trying to swim to shore. Stephen sees a man in the water (not knowing it was Harold) and runs to the scene and tells two fishermen to save him. One of the fishermen gets into the water on his horse and rescues Harold. However, Harold is struck by lightning. The last sight he saw before being struck was Stephen on the shore. Not being able to recognize him, Stephen insists they transport Harold back to her castle.

At the castle, Dr. Hilton assesses Harold's condition and they discover that he is blind. However, Dr. Hilton believes it is a temporary blindness caused by swelling, and that in a few weeks he will regain his sight. Harold, still assuming the pseudonym of John Robinson, stays in a private room with bandages over his eyes, only interacting with the Doctor. He knows that he is in Stephen's castle, but he knows that she does not recognize him. He still wants to adhere to her wishes and stay out of her life, so he plans to escape.

Stephen receives a letter in the mail from Mrs. Stonehouse, saying that she had heard of Mr. Robinson's accident and that she and her family were going to come visit him. Upon the Stonehouses' arrival, Alice Stonehouse explains to Stephen that the injured man staying in her manor had saved their daughter Pearl's life two years prior, and that Pearl had insisted on seeing "The Man." Stephen led them up to Harold's room. The little girl did not recognize Harold because of his beard, and was confused. The doctor removed Harold's bandages. The little girl, upon seeing "The Man," faints. Stephen, upon realizing that "The Man" is Harold, also faints. Harold gets up to help Stephen, and suddenly regains his sight.

Harold, Stephen, and the Stonehouses visit with one another. Pearl tells Stephen that she should marry Harold. Stephen, not knowing what to do, consults The Silver Lady. The Silver Lady then visits Harold, and asks him if he still loves Stephen, to which he says yes. She tells him he must act on it. Stephen goes out looking for Harold, and Harold goes out looking for Stephen. They see one another, run to each other, and the novel ends with their kiss.

Characters

• Marjorie- A little girl in the graveyard at Normanstand. Marjorie says she would rather be a submissive angel than a powerful God; she is similar in character to Harold.
• Susan- Another little girl in the graveyard at Normanstand. Susan says she would like to be a God who gives commands to the angels; she is similar in character to Stephen.
• Squire Stephen Norman- The Squire of Normanstand, husband of Margaret Rowly. He wants a son to inherit his estate, but his wife has a daughter. Norman gives his daughter his father-in-law's name and raises her to be "both a daughter and a son." Norman dies in a carriage accident.
• Squire Rowly- Squire Norman's neighbor and close friend since college. He is the older brother of Margaret Rowly.
• Margaret Rowly- She is the younger sister of Squire Rowly, wife of Squire Norman, and mother of Stephen. Margaret dies after giving birth to Stephen.
• Stephen Norman- The protagonist of the novel. Stephen possesses both feminine and masculine characteristics, due to her father raising her to become the heir to his estate; she challenges conventional gender roles. She is interested in Leonard Everard while Harold is in love with her.
• Laetitia Rowly- Margaret Rowly's aunt and Stephen's great-aunt. She has never been married, and moves in with Squire Norman to help raise Stephen. She is the primary female influence in Stephen's life, and her closest confidante. Laetitia dies of old age.
• Dr. An Wolf- A college friend of Squire Norman, father of Harold. He dies of pneumonia.
• Harold An Wolf- He is also known as "John Robinson" and "The Man", and is the son of Dr. An Wolf. He moves in with Squire Norman after his father's death, and falls in love with Stephen. Harold is a strong athlete and has masculine qualities, but is submissive in nature.
• Leonard Everard- The object of Stephen's affection. He is domineering, abrasive, and disinterested in her, but wants her money, because he is in debt.
• Jasper Everard- Leonard Everard's father.
• Andrew Stonehouse- A man that Harold meets aboard a ship; he is a wealthy businessman who develops a friendship with Harold after he saves his young daughter's life.
• Alice Stonehouse- Andrew Stonehouse's wife; Pearl Stonehouse's mother.
• Pearl Stonehouse- Daughter of Andrew and Alice Stonehouse; she falls overboard and almost drowns, but is saved by Harold. She begins to idolize Harold and calls him "The Man."
• The Silver Lady- An old woman who befriends Stephen after she becomes Lady de Lannoy.
• Dr. Hilton- The doctor who takes care of Harold after he becomes blind.

Genre and style

The Man possesses the typical characteristics of Gothic fiction: horror and romance. The setting of the novel begins in a cemetery, and often returns to the cemetery. Depictions of tombstones, Gothic architecture, gargoyles and other Gothic imagery are abundant. The novel focuses on a romance between the main character, Stephen, and Harold. The story focuses a great deal on the concept of death, as many of the characters die in tragic accidents. Through these deaths, Stephen and Harold grow closer.

Stylistically, the novel consists of a preface, or "fore-glimpse", followed by 37 chapters that are relatively short in length, typically between two and four pages.

Themes

The New Woman

The New Woman was a popular character featured in nineteenth century literature, which carried over to the twentieth century. The New Woman was typically a feminist, educated, independent career woman. The character of Stephen is an example of the literary New Woman. She is independent, and challenges the conventions of traditional nineteenth century women. An example of her progressive, independent nature is when she broke traditions around marriage proposals by proposing to Leonard. Literary characters like Stephen influenced the growing movement of Feminism.

Dominance and submission

Because Squire Norman raises Stephen to possess masculine qualities, it is noted that she "very early in life manifested a dominant nature." Furthermore, "this was a secret pleasure to her father, who, never losing sight of his old idea that she was both son and daughter, took pleasure as well as pride of each manifestation of her imperial will." As a teenager, Stephen announces that she would "rather be a God than an angel" because of her dominant nature, and that she would like to be able to make commands to the angels and make them submissive to her. Harold, on the other hand, comments that he would "rather be an angel than a God," because it is easier to simply accept commands from a higher authority and carry them out accordingly. This demonstrates the theme of female dominance and male submission, atypical for Victorian era fiction.

Critical reception

The Man never gained the same fame and notoriety as Bram Stoker’s most famous novel, Dracula. The novel is seldom discussed in literary journals and is considered by many to be widely forgotten. The novel has, however, earned a score of 3.73 stars out of a possible 5 on GoodReads, an online community for book lovers to rate, review and discuss books of all kinds. The online reviews unanimously report that although Bram Stoker’s description of the characters was excellent, the plot was forgettable and the ending predictable.^[6]

References

External links

• Bram Stoker Online Full text and PDF versions of this novel.