In Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Arthur Huntington, Helen's husband and Arthur's father, is presented as an alcoholic, shameful and narcissistic “gentleman” (Brontë 311). Despite Helen's efforts to protect their son, Arthur, from the corrupt masculinity embodied by Huntington and his friends, Huntington encourages Arthur's "manly achievements" that reflect his own character, such as excessive drinking, swearing and selfishness (297). Lest Arthur become "a curse to others and to himself", like his father, Helen set out to plot an escape; however, Huntington seizes his diary which reveals his plans (203). In this passage, Mr. Huntington is not only devaluing one aspect of his corrupt masculinity, such as excessive drinking, but he is implying a new quality in his definition, the lack of violence and the ability to cope with situations, like Helen's escape plan, with calm and rationality are courteous; this calls into question the violent men in the novel as lesser due to their irrationality and behavior. The obvious identification Mr. Huntington placed on alcohol in his corrupted view of masculinity is revealed early in his marriage to Helen. He often refers to alcohol in a positive way, or presents drunkenness as "glorious", which arguably reflects Huntington's intimacy with alcohol (218). His excessive drinking is the cause of Helen's long absences when he goes to London and a long illness upon his return to Grassdale due to his "regular bachelor style" (218). Helen notes Huntington's dependence on alcohol when she identifies it as "his medicine and his support, his comfort, his leisure and his friend" (220); alcohol is closely linked to Huntingt's message...... middle of paper, trivializes drunkenness, deflates violence and highlights the dishonor of Helen's plan. Huntington's alcoholism, selfishness, and shame are threats to Arthur's well-being, justifying Helen's escape plans. Although Huntington's drunken actions and behaviors, as well as his affair, are shameful to his character, they are justified by his profane image of masculinity. Huntington argues and reveals the humiliation that Helen's plan would cause simply because of the gossip it would produce. Therefore, the significance of this passage lies in Huntington's ability to "make his case like a man", reaffirming his devaluation of alcohol, his disapproval of violent masculinity, and his enlightenment of his conception of shame (311). Works Cited Brontë, Anne. The tenant of Wildfell Hall. Ed. Herbert Rosengarten. New York: Oxford Press, 2008. Print.