Coral Island Gender Roles

R. M. Ballantyne wrote The Coral Island in 1857 during the Victorian Era and the peak of the British Empire which was a time in history where there were clear gender divisions. Men were expected to defend, protect and to be strong and women were submissive, dependent and protected by men. Evidence of this was clear in The Coral Island through the male characters of Jack and Ralph and the damsel in distress characters such as Avatea and women during the fight between the war canoes. Further to this, the British males were seen to be stronger and wiser than the male savages from the Polynesian Islands.
The three boys were extremely brave when they felt women needed protection and despite being outnumbered, they felt they could rescue them.
When Ralph finds Tarao on another island and enquires about Avatea, he is upset to hear that Avatea is being forced to marry a chief on another island instead of the man she loves. Once again, Ralph, Jack and Peterkin feel it is their place as young men to interfere and help save the damsel in distress. “Both were worried by what I could tell them of probable fate of the girl Avatea” Despite the many people on the island of Mango, and their lack of understanding of the culture of the savages, the three boys felt they were wise enough t save Avatea. They naively go the island where they nearly got killed in their attempted rescue. Luckily it all works out for the boys when Tararo eventually accepts Christianity and releases the boys from prison. Arriving on the Island of Mango and trying to rescue to Avatea demonstrates that the boys felt she was helpless and they were strong enough and wise enough to help her. Again, the boys felt that being British was enough to outwit the savages on the island.

Ballantyne also implies that the British men were superior to the male savages. On page 35 shortly after landing on the island, Peterkin states, “of course we’ll rise, naturally, to the top of affairs. White men always do in savage countries” implying that the British males are superior to the savages. By using “white men” we assume again that women do not have a