The Return of the Loving Father: Masculinity, Legitimacy and the French and Dutch Restoration (original) (raw)

matthijs lok and natalie scholz Historians of gender often see the construction of hegemonic images of masculinity as the result of long-term cultural processes. In this article we investigate the influence of short-term political events on the shaping of dominant political masculinities by comparing the representations of the early French and Dutch Restoration monarchies. The events of the political transition of 1813-1815 greatly influenced the competition of different models of masculinity existing in the early nineteenth century. In both countries the newly established monarchs aimed to legitimate their insecure rule by presenting themselves as 'loving fathers' returning to their despairing children after the dark years of exile. The Dutch monarchy differed from the French case with regards to the role of women in the monarchical representation and the duality of the representation of William I as father and hero. Unlike Louis XVIII, William could present his fatherly rule as a return to the national tradition of domesticity (huiselijkheid). Masculinity and political crisis It has often been observed that in times of deep crisis gender categories play a particularly important role in political discourse. At such moments gendered concepts and images are often used to confirm one's own party's strength and legitimacy, as well as to undermine the credibility and authority of the enemy, whether domestic or foreign. Gender historians of political culture, who soon began to study masculinity intensively, have paid a great deal of attention to this aspect, for example in the context of the French Revolution, the Third Reich or, most recently, the early Cold War. For this reason, the