'Perfect' Hands

The nature of manual labour has been a subject much written about; indeed, it is one lending itself aptly to a discussion of the inequalities of class, race, and gender. The nature of such labour has never been, however, exclusive to such modern environments as factories and mining sites. Tolkien described, in the Hobbit, the character of Beorn thus:

Standing near was a huge man with a thick black beard and hair, and great bare arms and legs with knotted muscles.

The particular attention paid to his arms is an act of description meriting consideration. It exemplifies the ‘imperfections’ possessed by those employed in manual labour, beyond the ‘sterility’ of the office.

Equally, in the seminal People Might Hear You, Robin Klein mentions the work performed by Mr. Tyrell, noting his hands were not marked by the strain of heavy labour. Francis, the heroine of the novel, details the fact that Tyrell could not possibly have worked in a factory.

In this, (perhaps somewhat Marxist strain of thought – of recognizing the distinctions between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat –) it is possible to note that a system of ‘perfect hands’ amongst certain professions would lead one to recognise higher status, and moreover, to a system denoting the type of work undertaken by certain person, and their fields.