Mary Elizabeth Braddon was one of the most successful writers during the Victorian era. Her literal works not only brought her to the limelight but also attracted both praise and criticism from different quarters. One of her famous works that continue to attract the attention of different audience to this day is her novel, Lady Audley’s Secret, which feature a woman, Lady Audley, who has a deep secret. An analysis of the story in this novel indicates that Braddon’s focuses on the life of Lady Audley, who was engaged in “accidental bigamy”. Thus, the narrative in the novel concentrates on Lady Audley marriage to two men and how she tries to conceal her identity in order to keep her current marriage. Whereas this is the case, there is a need to observe that one of the major themes that feature in this novel is masculinity. In this case, despite the fact one would expect the narrative to focus on a woman and as such, portray themes such as femininity, masculinity features widely throughout the novel. Thus, Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret is a reflection of the element that masculinity and patriarchy were the expected and widely acceptable social standards of a normal society.
玛丽·伊丽莎白·布拉登是维多利亚时代最成功的作家之一。她的文学作品不仅使她成为众人瞩目的焦点，也受到了来自不同方面的赞扬和批评。她的作品之一是她的小说《奥德利夫人的秘密》（Lady Audley's Secret），这部小说讲述了一个女人，奥德利夫人，她有一个很深的秘密。对这部小说中的故事的分析表明，布拉登的小说关注的是奥德利夫人的生活，她正从事着“偶然的重婚”。因此，小说中的叙述集中于奥德利夫人与两个男人的婚姻，以及她如何试图隐藏自己的身份以维持目前的婚姻。鉴于这种情况，需要注意的是，这部小说中的一个主要主题是阳刚之气。在这种情况下，尽管人们期望叙事集中在一个女人身上，并因此在小说中广泛地描绘女性气质、男性特征等主题。因此，玛丽·伊丽莎白·布拉登（Mary Elizabeth Braddon）的《奥德利夫人的秘密》（Lady Audley’s Secret）反映了一种元素，即男性气质和父权制是正常社会的预期和广泛接受的社会标准。
To begin with, one of the key characters in Lady Audley’s Secret is Robert Audley, who investigates Lady Audley in order to portray himself as a professional person and as such, gain his position on the social stratum that was defined by masculinity and patriarchy. Researchers and scholars agree that Robert the secret of Lady Audley and the dark incidences that began to happen when he visits his uncle, Sir Michael Audley, played a key role in defining his career as a barrister, thus creating an avenue to be accepted a successful man in society (Petch 3). Notably, Robert is first initiated into the world of patriarchy and masculinity when his friend George gives him the responsibility to become the guardian and trustee of his son, Georgey. To Robert, this was a great responsibility that probably defined his masculinity. Robert notes, “It’s a great responsibility…I, guardian to anybody or anything! I, who never in my life could take care of myself” (Braddon 67). Note through the response of Robert to George when he was given the responsibility of being a trustee and a guardian to George’s son reveals that as a man, Robert perceived himself as a failure, particularly when compared to other men in society. His failure as a man is captured in a statement earlier in the novel whereby the writer notes: “Robert Audley was supposed to be a barrister…he was a handsome, lazy, care-for-nothing fellow…” (Braddon 45). Therefore, despite the fact that his name was on the list of barristers, for five years Robert preferred to live on the £400 a year that his father had left him, which his male friends thought undermined his social status as a man in society. However, this changes when he realises that he could make a name for himself through pursuing the case against Lady Audley.
首先，《奥德利夫人的秘密》中的一个关键人物是罗伯特·奥德利，他调查奥德利夫人是为了把自己塑造成一个专业人士，从而在由男性气质和父权制定义的社会阶层中获得自己的地位。研究人员和学者一致认为，罗伯特·奥德利夫人的秘密以及他拜访叔叔迈克尔·奥德利爵士时开始发生的黑暗事件，在定义他作为律师的职业生涯方面起到了关键作用，从而创造了一条被社会接纳为成功人士的途径（佩奇3）。值得注意的是，罗伯特次进入父权制和阳刚之气的世界是因为他的朋友乔治赋予他成为儿子乔治的监护人和受托人的责任。对罗伯特来说，这是一个巨大的责任，可能是他男子气概的定义。罗伯特指出，“这是一项巨大的责任……我是任何人或任何事的监护人！我，一个在我生命中从未照顾过自己的人”（布拉登67）。罗伯特被赋予作为乔治儿子的受托人和监护人的责任时，罗伯特对乔治的回应表明，作为一个男人，罗伯特认为自己是一个失败者，尤其是与社会上的其他男人相比。他作为一个男人的失败被记录在小说早些时候的一份声明中，作者写道：“罗伯特·奥德利本应该是一名律师……他是一个英俊、懒惰、无忧无虑的家伙……”（布拉登45）。因此，尽管罗伯特的名字在律师名单上，五年来，他宁愿靠父亲留给他的每年400英镑生活，他的男性朋友认为这损害了他的社会地位。然而，当他意识到自己可以通过起诉奥德利夫人而声名鹊起时，这种情况发生了变化。
Apart from perceiving success as an element that defines masculinity and as such, an element that creates a platform for one to ascend the echelons of patriarchy in society, Braddon’s novel also promote the aspect that women perceived women as foolish and week in society as compared to men who were perceived as strong and intelligent. In his analysis of Robert as character in Lady Audley’s Secret, Petch points out that men in this novel portrayed a negative perception towards women, which helped elevate them in society (8). For instance, Robert notes, “How pitiless these women are to each other” (Braddon 16). This was Robert’s statement when Mrs Vincent gave him information that could implicate Lady Audley. From Petch’s analysis, Robert’s statement implied that women were not loyal to each other as compared to men and as such, even in the face of trouble, they were unable to protect each other as compared to men. With this in mind, through the analysis of Robert as a character in Lady Audley’s Secret, Petch manages to promote the aspect that this novel portrays the element that during the Victorian era, patriarchy and masculinity were critical elements that defined this society.
除了将成功视为定义阳刚之气的一个因素，以及创造一个平台让一个人在社会中登上父权制阶梯的一个因素外，布拉登的小说还宣传了一个方面，即女性认为女性在社会中比男性更愚蠢、更脆弱，而男性则被认为强壮、更聪明。佩奇在分析《奥德利夫人的秘密》中罗伯特的性格时指出，这部小说中的男性对女性的负面看法有助于提升她们在社会中的地位（8）。例如，罗伯特指出，“这些女人对彼此是多么无情”（布拉登16）。这是罗伯特的陈述，当时文森特夫人给了他可能牵连奥德利夫人的信息。根据佩奇的分析，罗伯特的陈述暗示，与男性相比，女性对彼此并不忠诚，因此，即使面对麻烦，与男性相比，她们也无法保护彼此。有鉴于此，通过对《奥德利夫人的秘密》中罗伯特的角色分析，佩奇成功地提升了这部小说所描绘的元素，即在维多利亚时代，父权制和阳刚之气是定义这个社会的关键因素。