Manhood lost : fallen drunkards and redeeming women in the nineteenth-century United States / Elaine Frantz Parsons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parsons, Elaine Frantz, 1970-

Series:

New studies in American intellectual and cultural history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Alcoholism--United States--History--19th century.

Alcoholism.

Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History--19th century.

Drinking of alcoholic beverages.

Sex role--United States--History--19th century.

Sex role.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

xi, 241 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Summary:

In fiction, drama, poems, and pamphlets, nineteenth-century reformers told the familiar tale of the decent young man who fell victim to demon rum: Robbed of his manhood by his first drink, he slid inevitably into an abyss of despair and depravity. In its discounting of the importance of free will, argues Elaine Frantz Parsons, this story led to increased emphasis on environmental influences as root causes of drunkenness, poverty, and moral corruption--thus inadvertently opening the door to state intervention in the form of Prohibition. At the same time, womanhood was portrayed as a moral force powerful enough to rescue the nation's manhood. In this study, Parsons untangles the complicated relationship between drink, gender, and autonomy which informed nineteenth-century debates over alcohol consumption and its consequences.

Contents:

Volition

Manhood

Contentment

Seduction

Invasion

Resolution.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0801871662

OCLC:

49935979