Like father, like son: Parental models and influences in the making of masculinity at an english public school, 1929–1950

Abstract

This paper is about the way a small group of parents brought up their sons, as revealed in their letters to the headmaster of a public school between 1929 and 1950. For them masculinity was about enabling their sons to enter a suitable occupation, preferably the professions, and schooling was a pragmatic means to the end of social reproduction and mobility. They employed diverse and often ingenious strategies in which the whole family was involved. Contemporary theories of child rearing were based on Freudian psychology. They emphasised the need for constant maternal attention in emotional development and regarded fathering as marginal to adequate parenting. The empirical evidence presented suggests that for those adolescent boys their fathers' influence was all-important and that of their mothers marginal.