Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair by Christopher Oldstone-Moore

Author:Christopher Oldstone-Moore [Oldstone-Moore, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780226284149
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2015-12-01T23:00:00+00:00

9.2 Emperor Napoleon III, by Hippolyte Flandrin, 1852. Universal Images Group/Art Resource, NY.

In Napoleon, we can observe the military and romantic sources for the beard movement, but there were other, greater factors at work as well. It was really the failure of romanticism and revolution, not their success, that finally lifted the social restraints on facial hair. Napoleon himself, though exhibiting a style that was once revolutionary, had become a safe, conservative solution to the political upheavals in 1848. Other democratic uprisings around Europe that year had collapsed even before Napoleon betrayed the republic and declared himself a monarch. Midcentury economic prosperity also reduced political turmoil. As the threat of bearded youths and workers flying red flags on barricades evaporated, so too did the fear provoked by facial hair. Bearded men like Napoleon became respectable, and upright gentlemen were now at liberty to let their beards grow.

No longer fearful, beards and mustaches were newly available for men hoping to bolster their flagging masculine confidence. For decades, men had experimented with more and more hair, particularly sideburns, but now at midcentury they were ready to make the big move. On cue, brave leaders stepped to the fore to advance the cause. One of the most influential was Albert Smith, who, though little known today, was a famous Victorian stage performer who had just as much influence in Britain as Louis Napoleon had in France.

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