The New Man:Theories of Masculinity around 1800

Summary

Recent historical research has placed considerable emphasis on the redefinition of masculinity around 1800. Scholars have rightly pointed to the French Revolution as a major event in the transformation of masculinity, an event that left its mark not only on France but also on other parts of Continental Europe. In the German countries, changes began to emerge during the 1780s, especially in the field of education; yet, it is only after the devastating Prussian defeat of 1806 that the question of masculinity receives official attention. For the Prussian reformers, the debacle of the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstedt represented much more than a simple military failure; rather, it signaled fundamental deficiencies within army and society that the state must confront. The reformers felt that a fundamental reorganization of the Prussian army was necessary in order to confront Napoleon's forces. At the heart of this question was the creation of a new type of soldier who would be an equal to the revolutionary spirit of the French soldiers. He was supposed to be both a warrior and a citizen, motivated to fight for his fatherland without regard for his life. The glorious Prussian army had been defeated, the reformers realized, because it consisted of soldiers who had been pressed to fight and had no reason to identify with the cause of the war. A new kind of virility was needed, not only within the army, but also at the base of the social structure from which the state draws its soldiers. Eighteenth-century masculinity came under close scrutiny and was considered deficient.