Portrayals of masculinity in selected Nigerian plays
- Authors: Onuoha, Beatrice Nwawuloke
- Date: 2021-06
- Subjects: Masculinity in literature , Nigeria -- In literature
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/22131 , vital:51985
- Description: This work critically interrogates the portrayal of masculinity in plays written by both male and female Nigerian playwrights. Selected plays (three from each author) of Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, Tess Onwueme and Tracie Utoh-Ezeajugh were studied in order to proffer answers to certain critical questions, some of which include determining whether the way male playwrights construct the psychosocial temperament of lead male characters differs from how such is depicted in the works of female authors. The study also sought to ascertain how the concept of masculinity has evolved through the careers of three generations of playwriting in Nigeria. While evaluating the differences that exist in the portrayal of masculinity in the male lead characters in the works of selected male playwrights when compared to those of their female counterparts, the study equally examines the portrayals of male identities in the selected texts. It also evaluates the notion of masculinity shift among the three generations of Nigerian playwrights with a view to ascertaining how textual portrayals of characters and events reflect the changing values that are held about male identities in different Nigerian societies. In executing these objectives, the study adopts a qualitative method, and then eclectically employs Raewyn Connell’s (1995) Theory of Masculinity, Judith Butler’s (1990) Theory of Performativity, and Louis Athan Althusser’s (1970) Idea of Interpellation as the Theoretical Framework to guide the analysis and interpretation of the selected texts. Furthermore, the study follows a constructivist model that involves several stages including the identification of the selected plays as the main texts, a perusal of the plays, review of the literature on gender portrayals in the plays, and a critiquing of the portrayal of masculinity in them. The findings of the analysis reveal that masculinity is a conditional, provisional and elusive subject. It is created in a certain socio-cultural and historical context and evolves according to situations. The studied texts demonstrate the artistic agency of women in constructing men’s masculinity. They imply that masculinity and femininity are like Siamese twins in the building of a peaceful, strong, and new nation. Moreover, the playwrights under study divulge that power is the key factor in (de)constructing and (re)defining of masculinity of men. Through their plays, the dramatists challenge and attempt to change the stereotypical constructs of men, dismantle the traditional gender roles and propose a new way of envisioning gender, where hegemonic principles can be nullified. It is therefore the submission of this work that Soyinka, Osofisan, Onwueme and Utoh-Ezeajugh do not affirm the social construct of masculinity but rather interrogate them. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-06
- Authors: Onuoha, Beatrice Nwawuloke
- Date: 2021-06
- Subjects: Masculinity in literature , Nigeria -- In literature
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/22131 , vital:51985
- Description: This work critically interrogates the portrayal of masculinity in plays written by both male and female Nigerian playwrights. Selected plays (three from each author) of Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, Tess Onwueme and Tracie Utoh-Ezeajugh were studied in order to proffer answers to certain critical questions, some of which include determining whether the way male playwrights construct the psychosocial temperament of lead male characters differs from how such is depicted in the works of female authors. The study also sought to ascertain how the concept of masculinity has evolved through the careers of three generations of playwriting in Nigeria. While evaluating the differences that exist in the portrayal of masculinity in the male lead characters in the works of selected male playwrights when compared to those of their female counterparts, the study equally examines the portrayals of male identities in the selected texts. It also evaluates the notion of masculinity shift among the three generations of Nigerian playwrights with a view to ascertaining how textual portrayals of characters and events reflect the changing values that are held about male identities in different Nigerian societies. In executing these objectives, the study adopts a qualitative method, and then eclectically employs Raewyn Connell’s (1995) Theory of Masculinity, Judith Butler’s (1990) Theory of Performativity, and Louis Athan Althusser’s (1970) Idea of Interpellation as the Theoretical Framework to guide the analysis and interpretation of the selected texts. Furthermore, the study follows a constructivist model that involves several stages including the identification of the selected plays as the main texts, a perusal of the plays, review of the literature on gender portrayals in the plays, and a critiquing of the portrayal of masculinity in them. The findings of the analysis reveal that masculinity is a conditional, provisional and elusive subject. It is created in a certain socio-cultural and historical context and evolves according to situations. The studied texts demonstrate the artistic agency of women in constructing men’s masculinity. They imply that masculinity and femininity are like Siamese twins in the building of a peaceful, strong, and new nation. Moreover, the playwrights under study divulge that power is the key factor in (de)constructing and (re)defining of masculinity of men. Through their plays, the dramatists challenge and attempt to change the stereotypical constructs of men, dismantle the traditional gender roles and propose a new way of envisioning gender, where hegemonic principles can be nullified. It is therefore the submission of this work that Soyinka, Osofisan, Onwueme and Utoh-Ezeajugh do not affirm the social construct of masculinity but rather interrogate them. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-06
An ideological analysis of the construction of masculinity in the South African superhero comic book, Kwezi
- Authors: Reyneke, Brendon George
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mkize, Loyiso, 1987- -- Kwezi , Superheroes -- South Africa , Comic books, strips, etc. -- South Africa , Graphic novels -- South Africa , Masculinity in literature , Violence in literature , Superheroes, Black
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144533 , vital:38354
- Description: In 2014, South African artist and comic book illustrator, Loyiso Mkize created Kwezi, South Africa’s first superhero comic book. His comic features the titular Kwezi as a young, black man living alone on the outskirts of Gold City who discovers he has superpowers. Along with Kwezi, the comic is populated by predominantly black African characters – both good and bad. The creation of Kwezi is an important step in the development of comic books in South Africa as it draws from the cultural and physical landscape of the country and speaks to young black people without them having to look outside of the country for superheroes to identify with. Stuart Hall (Hall, 1997, pp. 272-274) asserts that attempts to reclaim the black subject in popular culture tend to go through two phases. In the first phase blackness is liberated from negative representations and is replaced with more positive depictions. Thereafter though, the black subject is produced inside contemporary “regimes of representation”. In this thesis, I will show how Mkize’s representation of Kwezi follows Stuart Hall’s description of the reclamation of black subjectivity. Using narrative theory, visual social semiotics and Thompson’s modes of operational ideology I will show how in his attempt to represent African blackness positively, Mkize overlooks normative genre representations of masculinity and produces a story of a South African that remains unliberated from patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity. Mkize reproduces many of the hegemonic discourses concerning the masculine body, the power difference between male and female characters and subscribes to the justified, violent actions of the masculine superhero. Typically, in superhero comics there is an erasure of the ordinary man in favour of an excessive and powerful one-dimensional masculine ideal (Brown, 1999, pp. 31-32) At the end of my analysis I will show that Kwezi is constructed in this way as a physically strong and muscular, violent and emotionless, self-made man who is in control and overcomes all obstacles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Reyneke, Brendon George
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Mkize, Loyiso, 1987- -- Kwezi , Superheroes -- South Africa , Comic books, strips, etc. -- South Africa , Graphic novels -- South Africa , Masculinity in literature , Violence in literature , Superheroes, Black
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144533 , vital:38354
- Description: In 2014, South African artist and comic book illustrator, Loyiso Mkize created Kwezi, South Africa’s first superhero comic book. His comic features the titular Kwezi as a young, black man living alone on the outskirts of Gold City who discovers he has superpowers. Along with Kwezi, the comic is populated by predominantly black African characters – both good and bad. The creation of Kwezi is an important step in the development of comic books in South Africa as it draws from the cultural and physical landscape of the country and speaks to young black people without them having to look outside of the country for superheroes to identify with. Stuart Hall (Hall, 1997, pp. 272-274) asserts that attempts to reclaim the black subject in popular culture tend to go through two phases. In the first phase blackness is liberated from negative representations and is replaced with more positive depictions. Thereafter though, the black subject is produced inside contemporary “regimes of representation”. In this thesis, I will show how Mkize’s representation of Kwezi follows Stuart Hall’s description of the reclamation of black subjectivity. Using narrative theory, visual social semiotics and Thompson’s modes of operational ideology I will show how in his attempt to represent African blackness positively, Mkize overlooks normative genre representations of masculinity and produces a story of a South African that remains unliberated from patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity. Mkize reproduces many of the hegemonic discourses concerning the masculine body, the power difference between male and female characters and subscribes to the justified, violent actions of the masculine superhero. Typically, in superhero comics there is an erasure of the ordinary man in favour of an excessive and powerful one-dimensional masculine ideal (Brown, 1999, pp. 31-32) At the end of my analysis I will show that Kwezi is constructed in this way as a physically strong and muscular, violent and emotionless, self-made man who is in control and overcomes all obstacles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Ingqumbo yomthondo kukuzika kohlanga
- Authors: Mtirara, Zodwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women and literature , Feminism and literature , Gender identity in literature , Masculinity in literature , Sex role in literature , Xhosa poetry , South African poetry (English) , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: Xhosa, English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/154095 , vital:39562
- Description: Le yingqokelela yemibongo ebhentsisa ukutyeshelwa kobuntu nobuchule bamanina yinkolo yobuKrestu, kunye nenkolo yemveli okanye inkolo yesiNtu. Ikwenza oku ngokwaphula imithetho nemigaqo siseko yenkolo yobuKrestu nesiNtu sakwaXhosa malunga nokufanelekileyo ukuba owasetyhini akuthethe okanye akwenze. Ikwabhentsisa nokuhlukunyezwa kwabasetyhini, ibuza nemibuzo ngesimo esizifumana sikuso mva-nje. Ichukunyiswe bubomi bam kanye nobamanye amanina endiphila nawo ekuhlaleni. Ikubhentsisa ke oku ngokungenalusini njengoko imbongi uLesego Rampolokeng esenza. Izeka mzekweni ezibhalweni zooNtozakhe Shange, Diane Di Prima, Lidia Yuknavitch, noWame Molefhe. Iphikisa indlela ekubhalwe ngayo ngamanina ngooMema nooJolobe, isenza oko uNontsizi Mgqwetho angazange ade afikelele ukukwenza njengombhali wasetyhini.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Mtirara, Zodwa
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Women and literature , Feminism and literature , Gender identity in literature , Masculinity in literature , Sex role in literature , Xhosa poetry , South African poetry (English) , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: Xhosa, English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/154095 , vital:39562
- Description: Le yingqokelela yemibongo ebhentsisa ukutyeshelwa kobuntu nobuchule bamanina yinkolo yobuKrestu, kunye nenkolo yemveli okanye inkolo yesiNtu. Ikwenza oku ngokwaphula imithetho nemigaqo siseko yenkolo yobuKrestu nesiNtu sakwaXhosa malunga nokufanelekileyo ukuba owasetyhini akuthethe okanye akwenze. Ikwabhentsisa nokuhlukunyezwa kwabasetyhini, ibuza nemibuzo ngesimo esizifumana sikuso mva-nje. Ichukunyiswe bubomi bam kanye nobamanye amanina endiphila nawo ekuhlaleni. Ikubhentsisa ke oku ngokungenalusini njengoko imbongi uLesego Rampolokeng esenza. Izeka mzekweni ezibhalweni zooNtozakhe Shange, Diane Di Prima, Lidia Yuknavitch, noWame Molefhe. Iphikisa indlela ekubhalwe ngayo ngamanina ngooMema nooJolobe, isenza oko uNontsizi Mgqwetho angazange ade afikelele ukukwenza njengombhali wasetyhini.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
La masculinité dans quelques oeuvres des romanciers Francophones Africains
- Joseph, Joy Ifeanyichukwu Osarumwense
- Authors: Joseph, Joy Ifeanyichukwu Osarumwense
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Masculinity in literature , Men in literature , African fiction (French) -- History and criticism , Bâ, Mariama. Chant écarlate , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955-.Modukpè le rêve brisé , Sanusi, Ramonu Abiodun, 1961-.Le bistouri des larmes , Sanusi, Ramonu Abiodun, 1961-.Un nègre a violé une blonde à Dallas , Baboni, Azaratou.Vie de femme, vie de sang
- Language: French
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/97512 , vital:31446 , DOI 10.21504/10962/97512
- Description: This thesis is a sociocritic and comparative study in Francophone African Literature which examines how male and female authors depict masculinity amongst African men in selected works of Francophone authors and how it affects the emancipation of women in the society. These include Mariama Bâ’s Un chant écarlate (1981) from Senegal, Adelaïde Fassinou’s Modukpè le rêve brisé (2000) from Benin, Ramonu Sanusi’s Le bistouri des larmes (2005, 2010) from Nigeria, Azaratou Baboni’s Vie de femme, vie de sang, (2011) from Benin, Ramonu Sanusi’s Un nègre a violé une blonde à Dallas, (2016) from Nigeria. The study analyses the various forms of masculinity in the selected works of Francophone authors. The study also examines the notable similarities and differences in the portrayal of male characters in the novel and how prevailing environmental factors determine the themes in the novel. This study has demonstrated that hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity are the dominant forms of masculinity in West Africa. These forms of masculinity have negative effects not only on the woman but affects the society in general. Furthermore, the study pleads for a social change with respect to Molara Leslie-Oguundipe’s theory on stiwanism (Ogundipe 1994: 229-230) The thesis is made of six chapters. In the first chapter, we outlined the study’s subject matter, its aims and objectives, its significance, its assumptions and methodology. In the second chapter, we examined Raewyn Connell’s theory of Masculinity and Molara Leslie-Ogundipe’s theory of Stiwanism with respect to the selected novels. Raewyn Connell’s theory on masculinity a sociological theory was employed in analyzing the social patterns of societal relationships, social interaction and culture, while Molara Leslie-Ogundipe’s theory on stiwanism a literary theory mirrored the West African Society. Such analyses helped us in identifying how socio-cultural and religious contexts influence the attitude of men towards women. In the third chapter, we applied sociocritic and comparative analyses between Mariama’s Bâ’s Un Chant Écarlate and Adelaïde’s Fassinou’s Modukpè le rêve brisé. The study focuses on how hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity influences racial discrimination in mixed marriages, polygamy, unwanted pregnancy, secondary sterility and single motherhood. These masculinities had negative effects on women and the society. The study also analyzed how both male and female characters employed stiwanist strategy in enhancing peace and harmony in the society. In the fourth chapter, the study examined how hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity influenced domestic violence, primary sterility, female genital mutilation and its negative and permanent damage to the health of women, the loss of lives of women and children in Ramonu Sanusi’s Le bistouri des larmes and Baboni Azaratou’s Vie de femme, vie de sang. The study also examined how women can rise above traditional norms with respect to stiwanist activites. The fifth chapter analyzed the influence of socio-cultural and political challenges in a contemporary society with respect to marginalized form of masculinity. In the sixth chapter, the study concluded that hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity are the dominant forms of masculinity. These forms of masculinites have negative effects on both sexes (male and female) as well as the society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Joseph, Joy Ifeanyichukwu Osarumwense
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Masculinity in literature , Men in literature , African fiction (French) -- History and criticism , Bâ, Mariama. Chant écarlate , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955-.Modukpè le rêve brisé , Sanusi, Ramonu Abiodun, 1961-.Le bistouri des larmes , Sanusi, Ramonu Abiodun, 1961-.Un nègre a violé une blonde à Dallas , Baboni, Azaratou.Vie de femme, vie de sang
- Language: French
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/97512 , vital:31446 , DOI 10.21504/10962/97512
- Description: This thesis is a sociocritic and comparative study in Francophone African Literature which examines how male and female authors depict masculinity amongst African men in selected works of Francophone authors and how it affects the emancipation of women in the society. These include Mariama Bâ’s Un chant écarlate (1981) from Senegal, Adelaïde Fassinou’s Modukpè le rêve brisé (2000) from Benin, Ramonu Sanusi’s Le bistouri des larmes (2005, 2010) from Nigeria, Azaratou Baboni’s Vie de femme, vie de sang, (2011) from Benin, Ramonu Sanusi’s Un nègre a violé une blonde à Dallas, (2016) from Nigeria. The study analyses the various forms of masculinity in the selected works of Francophone authors. The study also examines the notable similarities and differences in the portrayal of male characters in the novel and how prevailing environmental factors determine the themes in the novel. This study has demonstrated that hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity are the dominant forms of masculinity in West Africa. These forms of masculinity have negative effects not only on the woman but affects the society in general. Furthermore, the study pleads for a social change with respect to Molara Leslie-Oguundipe’s theory on stiwanism (Ogundipe 1994: 229-230) The thesis is made of six chapters. In the first chapter, we outlined the study’s subject matter, its aims and objectives, its significance, its assumptions and methodology. In the second chapter, we examined Raewyn Connell’s theory of Masculinity and Molara Leslie-Ogundipe’s theory of Stiwanism with respect to the selected novels. Raewyn Connell’s theory on masculinity a sociological theory was employed in analyzing the social patterns of societal relationships, social interaction and culture, while Molara Leslie-Ogundipe’s theory on stiwanism a literary theory mirrored the West African Society. Such analyses helped us in identifying how socio-cultural and religious contexts influence the attitude of men towards women. In the third chapter, we applied sociocritic and comparative analyses between Mariama’s Bâ’s Un Chant Écarlate and Adelaïde’s Fassinou’s Modukpè le rêve brisé. The study focuses on how hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity influences racial discrimination in mixed marriages, polygamy, unwanted pregnancy, secondary sterility and single motherhood. These masculinities had negative effects on women and the society. The study also analyzed how both male and female characters employed stiwanist strategy in enhancing peace and harmony in the society. In the fourth chapter, the study examined how hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity influenced domestic violence, primary sterility, female genital mutilation and its negative and permanent damage to the health of women, the loss of lives of women and children in Ramonu Sanusi’s Le bistouri des larmes and Baboni Azaratou’s Vie de femme, vie de sang. The study also examined how women can rise above traditional norms with respect to stiwanist activites. The fifth chapter analyzed the influence of socio-cultural and political challenges in a contemporary society with respect to marginalized form of masculinity. In the sixth chapter, the study concluded that hegemonic and marginalized forms of masculinity are the dominant forms of masculinity. These forms of masculinites have negative effects on both sexes (male and female) as well as the society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Versions of masculinity in Zukiswa Wanners work
- Authors: Scina, Nontsikelelo
- Date: 2018-07
- Subjects: Gender , Zukiswa Wanner , Masculinity in literature , Sex roles
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/6708 , vital:47459
- Description: Traditional notions of masculinity which give power and authority to one dominant form of masculinity in the contemporary era are under scrutiny as they are constantly being challenged through the emergence of alternative forms of masculinity. Through the use of Wanner’s novels, this work examines how South African masculinities are constructed, how they are challenged, and how alternative forms are negotiated. It unpacks Wanner’s depiction of hegemonic, thwarted, complicit and marginalised masculinities as it traces the diversity and fluidity of masculinities in these literary texts and the resultant alternative masculinities these novels propose. Furthermore, this work foregrounds the often taken-for-granted role of women and portrays it as the centre around which masculinities are constructed. This is achieved by probing deeper into the familial unit and looking at the traditional gender roles of women, taking into consideration that the South African constitution allows them either to stick to these roles or to choose from an array of career choices presented to them. It is suggested that instead of viewing masculinity as a standard uniform entity, it is profitable to perceive it as a heterogeneous entity, comprising of different versions which are determined by different factors. It is further suggested that the role of women in the construction of masculinities should be given recognition, as they seem to play a significant role in either inhibiting or promoting the transformation of masculinities through the choices they make. , Thesis (M.Arts) -- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, 2018
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018-07
- Authors: Scina, Nontsikelelo
- Date: 2018-07
- Subjects: Gender , Zukiswa Wanner , Masculinity in literature , Sex roles
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/6708 , vital:47459
- Description: Traditional notions of masculinity which give power and authority to one dominant form of masculinity in the contemporary era are under scrutiny as they are constantly being challenged through the emergence of alternative forms of masculinity. Through the use of Wanner’s novels, this work examines how South African masculinities are constructed, how they are challenged, and how alternative forms are negotiated. It unpacks Wanner’s depiction of hegemonic, thwarted, complicit and marginalised masculinities as it traces the diversity and fluidity of masculinities in these literary texts and the resultant alternative masculinities these novels propose. Furthermore, this work foregrounds the often taken-for-granted role of women and portrays it as the centre around which masculinities are constructed. This is achieved by probing deeper into the familial unit and looking at the traditional gender roles of women, taking into consideration that the South African constitution allows them either to stick to these roles or to choose from an array of career choices presented to them. It is suggested that instead of viewing masculinity as a standard uniform entity, it is profitable to perceive it as a heterogeneous entity, comprising of different versions which are determined by different factors. It is further suggested that the role of women in the construction of masculinities should be given recognition, as they seem to play a significant role in either inhibiting or promoting the transformation of masculinities through the choices they make. , Thesis (M.Arts) -- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, 2018
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018-07
An investigation of masculinity in J. M. Coetzee's disgrace (1999)
- Authors: Kok, Marina Susan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Criticism and interpretation , Masculinity in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8463 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/783 , Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Criticism and interpretation , Masculinity in literature
- Description: The study of Masculinity is a fairly new phenomenon which developed as a refinement of gender studies. The theoretical frameworks on masculinity are still under development and are often severely contested. This study proposes to examine the dynamics of masculinity studies, critiquing the notion of ‘masculinity in crisis’. The premise of the masculinity in crisis debate is that men are experiencing an increasing sense of powerlessness. This dissertation aims to examine the masculine identities represented in Disgrace and to test whether they are better understood through the lens of masculine theory. The disgraceful situation of David Lurie is arguably not merely a result of hapless circumstance, but rather illustrates significant parallels with the crisis debate. The basic premise of this debate is that the behaviour previously condoned and applauded as healthy 'manliness' is now being labelled as anti-social and destructive. It is not just masculine roles that are under threat. Other forces behind the crisis are “the loss of masculine rights and changes in the pattern of employment” (Beynon 2002:75). One view held by theorists of masculinity studies is that for real change to occur, a fluid definition of masculine identity is needed. In J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), the main protagonist is David Lurie. He may arguably be said to typify a masculinity that is in a state of crisis because of his stoic refusal throughout the novel to change or reform: “I was offered a compromise, which I would not accept”, he says, and: “Re-education. Reformation of the character. The code word was counselling” (1999:66). His aversion to such counselling and refusal to compromise mark his resistance to change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Kok, Marina Susan
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Criticism and interpretation , Masculinity in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8463 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/783 , Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Criticism and interpretation , Masculinity in literature
- Description: The study of Masculinity is a fairly new phenomenon which developed as a refinement of gender studies. The theoretical frameworks on masculinity are still under development and are often severely contested. This study proposes to examine the dynamics of masculinity studies, critiquing the notion of ‘masculinity in crisis’. The premise of the masculinity in crisis debate is that men are experiencing an increasing sense of powerlessness. This dissertation aims to examine the masculine identities represented in Disgrace and to test whether they are better understood through the lens of masculine theory. The disgraceful situation of David Lurie is arguably not merely a result of hapless circumstance, but rather illustrates significant parallels with the crisis debate. The basic premise of this debate is that the behaviour previously condoned and applauded as healthy 'manliness' is now being labelled as anti-social and destructive. It is not just masculine roles that are under threat. Other forces behind the crisis are “the loss of masculine rights and changes in the pattern of employment” (Beynon 2002:75). One view held by theorists of masculinity studies is that for real change to occur, a fluid definition of masculine identity is needed. In J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), the main protagonist is David Lurie. He may arguably be said to typify a masculinity that is in a state of crisis because of his stoic refusal throughout the novel to change or reform: “I was offered a compromise, which I would not accept”, he says, and: “Re-education. Reformation of the character. The code word was counselling” (1999:66). His aversion to such counselling and refusal to compromise mark his resistance to change.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
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