Masculinity in Manhattan : reading hegemonic masculinity in selected novels of Paul Auster, Don DeLillo, Bret Easton Ellis and Jed Rubenfeld

• Main Author: Ferry, Peter
• Published: Queen's University Belfast 2013
• Subjects: 820.935211
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.601475

The study of men and masculinities has enjoyed steady progress over the last four decades within the fields of sociology, psychology, and cultural studies. It is only in the last ten to fifteen years that Masculinity Studies scholarship has begun to recognise the sociological value of literary masculinities. An area of research still in its infancy, this thesis sets out to address the lack of critical discussion on masculinity in both the fields of Masculinity Studies and American literary studies by presenting a case-study analysis of the selected works of Paul Auster, Don Delillo, Bret Easton Ell is and Jed Rubenfeld. Gendering our reading of these Manhattan writers underscores masculinity as a central theme in their novels. What connects these authors is their employment of the one of the great figures in the history of literature: the flaneur. While scholars have identified masculinity as a major issue related to the flaneur, they have argued strongly for the disintegrative effect of the urban metropolis on the male flaneur's subjectivity. This inevitable "invisibility" of the flaneur shares notable parallels with major debates within the field of Masculinity Studies. With the majority of critical investigation placing undoubtedly worthy focus upon nonhegemonic groups of males, the hegemonic group is often overlooked and consequently becomes invisible. Carefully considering the negotiation of masculinity in these novels alongside Raewyn Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity illustrates that the hegemonic male, rather than existing as a static character type, is a complex individual shaped in relation to the nonhegemonic other. Connell's concept allows patterns to emerge in the performance of the protagonists of these novels within the masculine-affirming hierarchical frameworks in Manhattan. Ultimately this study aims to rehabilitate the flaneur as a sociologically conscious individual employed by these authors to write their counterhegemonic narratives of masculinity in Manhattan.