I have been looking at more
information about Benjamin Disraeli’s life, personality and political career.
He is still a man of mystery to me. Perhaps describing and contemplating the
aspects, good and bad, that have interested and affected me the most will help
me to decide what sort of man he really was and how sincere his views were.
This article describes some
personal aspects that caught my attention.
Disraeli the dashing dandy
Benjamin Disraeli’s exotic
appearance was a major factor in his life.
I have noticed many references
in Victorian writings to coal-black eyes. This is odd; I have never seen anyone
like that. Perhaps it was just a convention for describing very dark brown
eyes. It is also possible that the dim lights they used enlarged people’s
pupils so their eyes appeared black.
Disraeli too was described
as having coal-black eyes, and he had glossy black hair too. His family was of
Italian origin – just like Marie Corelli, he claimed Venetian ancestry - so
perhaps this was where the dark colouring came from.
His appearance meant that he could never pass as typically English, so he exploited his looks and went to the other extreme. He became an exhibitionist. He cultivated a flamboyant and exotic image, when he was a young man at least. He modelled himself on Lord Byron and developed a very colourful, striking and outrageous style of dressing in order to attract attention.
For example, he was seen in
-
“…a black velvet coat lined
with satin, purple trousers with a gold band running down the outside seam, a
scarlet waistcoat, long lace ruffles, falling
down to the tips of his fingers, white gloves with several
brilliant rings outside them, and long black ringlets
rippling down upon his shoulders.”
Another notably ostentatious
outfit consisted of green velvet trousers with a yellow waistcoat, shoes with
silver buckles and lace at his wrists again.
He is said to have worn
rouge, powder and perfume too.
He caused a big sensation when walking in central London:
"He came up Regent Street when it was
crowded wearing his blue surtout, a pair of military light blue trousers, black
stockings with red stripes, and shoes! 'The people,' he said, 'quite made way
for me as I passed. It was like the opening of the Red Sea...Even well-dressed
people stopped to look at me. I should think so!'"
Men usually wore boots not
shoes at the time, which explains why his footwear was mentioned.
Perhaps he was acting a
part; perhaps he was making his presence felt; perhaps he just enjoyed the
attention.
Other people’s descriptions
are better than nothing, but I wish that I could have seen Disraeli in all his
glory for myself. He would have been a sight well worth seeing.
Disraeli and the ideal
marriage
His critics alleged that
Disraeli had no genuine feelings. His well-documented attachment to his wife
Mary Anne, formerly Mrs Wyndham Lewis, proves them wrong. He just does not seem
like a user or manipulator where she is concerned.
There was a lot of good
feeling on both sides; they were devoted to each other. She was exactly what he
needed; she provided the financial, emotional and practical support necessary
for his political career.
Mary Anne Disraeli has been
described as a loud, talkative, over-painted, over-dressed, social-climbing
oddity whose speech and behaviour were often bizarre.
Many people disliked her,
and Queen Victoria said that she was very vulgar. Disraeli would not permit any
criticism of his wife, and when someone once asked him in effect how he could
stand it, replied, “Gratitude”.
This sounds sincere, and
anyone who can feel genuine gratitude can’t be all bad.
Disraeli had good reason to
feel grateful towards Mary Anne. She had rescued him, settled his debts and
promoted his political career. He might never have achieved his goal of
becoming Prime Minister and a great statesman without her.
She took care of her Dizzy.
In return, she got his loyalty and devotion, not to mention a lot of very
romantic letters and speeches.
She was 12 years his senior and 47 when they
married, but throughout the 33 years they were together he behaved as if she
were young and beautiful. He wouldn’t hear a word against her.
It is a very touching and
enviable relationship. They may have seemed a very odd couple to outsiders, but
they brought out the best in each other and had something that many people do
not, something that enabled Disraeli to say this after Mary Anne had died:
"Marriage is the greatest earthly
happiness when founded on mutual sympathy.”
It is good to learn that he
had some personal happiness in his life.
Disraeli and his dreadful
debts
Benjamin Disraeli’s
behaviour towards his wife may have shown him at his best; his attitude towards
borrowing money and getting into debt is for me the worst element in his
personality.
He was very good at
persuading people to lend him money and invest in his business enterprises.
He had borrowed and lost a
fortune by the age of 21. His South American mining investment venture and the
publishing enterprise both failed to bring in the huge amounts of money he had
hoped to make for himself and his supporters.
Not doing everything
possible to support oneself, not living within one’s means, having feelings of
entitlement to other people’s resources, sponging off friends and acquaintances
and asking to borrow more instead of paying back the original loan all seem
very horrific to me.
Perhaps Disraeli would have
asked what else could someone with expensive tastes, great ambition and little
money of his own do. He said, “As a general rule, nobody has money who ought to
have it.”
Perhaps he thought that
living within one’s means was all very well for ordinary people, but such rules
should not apply to a great but unrecognised genius. Some scruples were
luxuries that he could not afford, and the end justified the means.
As Lord Stanley explained to
Queen Victoria, “Mr Disraeli has had to make his position, and men who make
their positions will say and do things which are not necessarily to be said or
done by those for whom positions are made.”
