Jill Petersen
Litr 5535 Journal Project
7/5/2002

The Modern Byronic Hero: Xena and Heathcliff?

Introduction

When I first thought about doing this project, I was fascinated with the heroes in Poe’s short stories, but when I went looking for outside sources I found several interesting websites that peaked my imagination. I originally thought that Poe’s heroes would not fit the image of the Byronic hero (see website review “Characteristics of the Byronic Hero”) but looking at the modern Byronic hero, some of Poe’s hero’s do fit the bill. Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado” is a man who has been insulted and goes about setting it right for himself. Like many modern heroes he goes to the point of destroying his nemesis. This need for revenge outside the law is a common theme in popular movies, television shows and books.

Since taking this class, I have noticed Romantic elements in several movies and television dramas especially the gothic elements in The House on Haunted Hill and the police drama Witchblade but since reading about the modern Byronic hero I have noticed quite a few parallels.

Of the many websites I found referring to Romantic heroes, there are four that seemed to be the most useful and/on interesting. I was not able to find any books in the UHCL library that either discussed modern Byronic heroes or added anything new to the definition of the Romantic hero; therefore, I did not review any books. I did, however, attach a list of possibly helpful titles.

Website Reviews

1 Characteristics of the Byronic Hero www.umd.umich.edu/casl/hum/eng/classes/434/charweb/CHARACTE.htm

This website defines the Byronic Hero by listing characteristics or attributes assigned to the protagonist of the story by Lord Byron. The Byronic hero is:

- a rebel.

- not in possession of “heroic value” but has many dark qualities.

- “larger than life” with regards to “intellectual capacity, self-respect and hypersensitivity”

- isolated from society.

- moody by nature or passionate about a particular issue.

- arrogant, confident, abnormally sensitive and extremely conscious of himself.

- rejects the values and moral codes of society and because of this he is often unrepentant by society’s standard

- characterized by a guilty memory of some unknown sexual sin.

- a figure of repulsion as well as fascination.

After describing the Byronic hero the author goes on to apply the effects of Byron on the Bronte sisters.

2. English Romanticism: The Hero

www.provincia.milano.it/scuole/vittorioveneto/PROGETTI/englishrom/html

This site describes the precursors to the Byronic hero. The author’s thesis is that Byron did not create the characteristics for his protagonist simply out of his own brain but borrowed from previous authors.

- Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus. It’s the play of the will for power...in his rebellion against the divine law.” (1)

- John Milton, Paradise Lost. “This time the rebel is Satan...Satan is the hero of the book...he’s the forerunner of the romantic overreacher: what he lacks to make him another Prometheus is a moral reason to justify his rebellion...” (2)

- Swift, Defoe and Richardson. “a new stereotype of man: the homoeconomicus, able to solve any problem in a methodic and scientific way” (2)

- Gothic novels (in this case used as a precursor to Byron) “two main kinds of hero...the overreacher... and the wanderer...the psychology of the characters gets more and more complex, and we find the figure of the Double, the alter-ego.” (3)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Frankenstein

After discussing the pre-Byron heroes, the author says “Actually, the Byronic hero has far more complex personality, and alternates moments of positive heroism to bursts of anger or of deep depression in which he gets a really negative connotation, while the typical hero as it appears in the Gothic novels has a precise role that can be good (Jonathan in Dracula) or evil (Mr. Hyde)” (3)

This site separates the Gothic novel from the Romantic novel and creates a separate categories

3. Xena and Heathcliff: Classic Byronic Heroes by Cathy H. McLain

www.whoosh.org/issue6/mclain.html

McLain uses Thomas B. Macauley’s definition of the Byronic hero, “proud moody, cynical with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart implacable in revenge yet capable of deep and strong affection.” (1) after listing the characteristics of the Byronic hero, McLain goes on to state that “Xena is the archetypal Byronic hero, but with a twist: she is a woman.” (1) she goes on to compare Xena to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights.

The comparison of Wuthering Heights goes beyond comparing Xena and Heathcliff to comparing Cathy and Gabrielle, Xena’s sidekick and constant companion, and the relationships between the characters. Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship is compared in depth to Heathcliff and Cathy’s relationship. The conclusion at which McLain arrives is that while the Byronic hero generally refers to men, Xena displays all the same attributes of the stereotypical male hero. “The Byronic hero has been presented...as a male figure, someone whom men emulate and women desire and wish to possess...{Xena} is a woman whom men AND women desire and whom women (and I assume some men) emulate.” (4)

4. Immortals and Vampires and Ghosts, Oh My!: Byronic Heroes in Popular Culture,

by Atara Stein, Professor at CSU Fullerton

www.rc.umd.edu/praxis/contemporary/stein/stein.htm

This website applies Byronic attributes to modern characters. Stein is a professor at CSU and uses popular culture to reinforce Romantic or Byronic characteristics. She states, “I believe {the Romantic Period} has never ended.” (1)

- Music - allusions to Romantic poems and many performers emulate Romantic Poets for example Jim Morrison of the Doors (Blake mixed with some Byronic flamboyance), Robert Smith of the Cure (mostly Shelley with some Byronic flamboyance), Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (Byron and Shelley), and the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana (mostly Byron again)” (1).

- Texts - Anne Rice The Vampire Lestat - comparison of Lestat with Childe Harold and Cain. Stein quotes Rice as saying, “I’ve always been fascinated by the vampire, the elegant yet evil Byronic figure” (4). The power of the vampire contrasted with the angst of the immortal, the eternal boredom and frustration attracts and repels the reader and causes the fascination of both the modern reader and the 18th century reader.

- Television - many television shows capitalize on the established stock of characters, specifically the Byronic hero. Science fiction and action-adventure heroes tend to be descendents of the Romantic hero. The gothic villain and eighteenth century crime and trial narratives have also made their way into popular television shows. The author goes on to list and describe the different shows and their stars. She compares Dracula and Heathcliff and the “Bad-boy syndrome” that they evoke in the women around them with Buffy: the Vampire-Slayer; discusses Q. from Star Trek: The Next Generation as a superhuman character; and shows the stylistic parallels between the stereotypical Romantic hero and Angel from the TV. show of the same name.

Not only are the main characters based on the Byronic heroes but the creators poke fun at their copied Romantic heroes by including characters who mock the conventions of the angst-ridden, “John-Wayne-like” Byronic hero as a “mere pose, a production of fashion.” (9)

As a conclusion, she states, “Contemporary Byronic heroes, like Manfred, give us a vicarious experience of utter autonomy and power, but at the same time they suggest that in our powerlessness we may be better off and almost surely happier than they are.” (9)

Bibliography

(Any summaries included are from the book’s review.)

Thorslev, Peter Larson, The Byronic Hero: Types and Prototypes, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1962.

Railo, Eino, The Haunted Castle; a Study of the Elements of English Romanticism. New York, Humanities Press, 1964.

Summary: The haunted castle.- Matthew Gregory Lewis.- Later developments of the picture of the haunted castle.- The criminal monk.- The wandering Jew and the problem of never-ending life.- The Byronic hero.- Ghosts and demoniac beings.- Incest and romantic eroticism.- The young hero and heroine and other characters.- Other themes.- Suspense and terror

Zipes, Jack David, The Great Refusal. Studies of the Romantic Hero in German and American Literature. Bad Homburg, Athenäum-Verl. 1970.

Martine, Alicia The Hero and Heroine of Shelley's The Revolt of Islam. Salzburg : Inst. f. Engl. Sprache u. Literatur, Univ. Salzburg, 1976.

Summary: Introduction / Pat Browne -- The emergence of woman as hero in the nineteenth century / JoAnna Stephen Mink -- The "Sin" of Isabel Vane: East Lynne and Victorian sexuality / Gail Walker -- The unsung heroine: a study of May Welland in "The age of innocence" / Gwendolyn Morgan -- The journey toward individuation of Adela Quested in E.M. Forster's and David Lean's A passage to India / Valerie Broege -- The women flyers: from aviatrix to astronaut / Elizabeth S. Bell -- A romantic feminist: Margaret Sullavan in Only yesterday / T.J. Ross -- Bradley and the Beguines: Marion Zimmer Bradley's debt to the beguinal societies in her use of sisterhood in her Darkover novels / Anne K. KalerDonna Trenton, Stephen King's modern American heroine / Carol A. Senf -- Woman as hero in Margret Atwood's Surfacing and Maxine Hong Kingston's The woman warrior / Mara E. Donaldson -- "New" women in old stories: silhouette "Intimate moments" / Diane M. Calhoun-French -- Scarlett O'Hara: a paradox in pantalettes / Ann E. Egenriether -- Anonymous heroines: black women as heroic types in Robert Gwathmey's art / Charles K. Piehl -- Soap opera heroines: Helen Trent's legacy / Suzanne Frentz / Lady as tiger: the female hero in rock / Frank W. Oglesbee

Reed, Walter L, Meditations on the Hero : A Study of the Romantic Hero in Nineteenth-Century Fiction. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1974.

Brookner, Anita, Romanticism and Its Discontents. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.

Summary: Romanticism: a change of outlook -- Gros: hero and victim -- Alfred de Musset: enfant du siècle -- Baudelaire: the black frock coat -- Delacroix: romantic classicist -- Ingres: art for art's sake -- The Brothers Goncourt: the breakdown of joy -- Zola: art for life's sake -- Huysmans: the madness of art.

Bruffee, Kenneth Allen Satan and the sublime : the meaning of the romantic hero [microform]. 1964.

Conclusion

Byronic heroes continue to fascinate and charm readers and viewers alike. The hero’s mixture of righteousness indignation and action outside of the law appeals to anyone who feels that they have been slighted and would like to do something about it. There is something empowering and attractive about the avenging angel working for justice in a system where there seems to be no justice. The Byronic hero is moody, separated from society, haunted by some past wrong and driven to reject society’s norms. These characteristics, while we do dislike some, cause us to like and even admire the hero.

I have been thinking lately of characters that I would add to Stein’s list of modern Byronic heroes. It seems to me that the majority of action heroes fit this bill, for example, Wesley Snipes in U.S. Marshals, Harrison Ford in Fugitive, Samuel L. Jackson in A Time to Kill, and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. In all of these movies, the main characters are running from or fighting the law, somehow the audience ends up rooting for the escaped convict or the father who shoots his daughter’s rapist. This empowerment draws an audience who likes to think that the common person can fight for their own rights and yet we in no way want to be that person hunted and persecuted by the law.

I truly enjoyed the websites I found and would encourage anyone to extend the idea of the romantic hero and any other aspect of Romanticism into modern methodology.