The Feminized Male Character in Twentieth-century LiteratureThis study explores a character type who is neither androgynous nor feminine, presenting a critique of the way in which the term androgynous has been misapplied to the feminized male, and through the use of reader response theory, argues that this type of figure appeals to female readers because he reflects parts of themselves often ignored or outrightly ridiculed through male literary representation. The book presents new arguments about characters created by James Joyce (Ulysses), Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises, The Garden of Eden), Jack Kerouac (On the Road), and Saul Bellow (Humboldt's Gift), advancing a growing body of research rejecting the majority view of these four writers as antifeminine artists. The feminized male, whose male creator has intentionally endowed him with feminine as well as masculine qualities in an effort to explore the complexities of gender in a dialectically social (via literary) realm, presents a powerful technique to explore, challenge, and re-define gender, not only in fiction but in everyday lives as well. |
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ability ambivalence American androgyny Andy Murray appears artist assert associated attitude become behavior believes Bellow Bill Brett bullfight Cantabile Catherine Catherine's character Charlie Citrine Charlie's conflict consciousness create critical cultural David Dean Dean's death Dharma Bums emotional experience expression fact father fear feelings female feminized male fiction gender role George Grosz Harold Loeb Hemingway Hemingway's Henderson human Humboldt Humboldt's Gift identifies identity interpretation Jake Barnes Jake's James Joyce Japhy Joyce Joyce's Kerouac language Leopold Bloom literary live manhood Marilyn French Marita masculine masculine and feminine middle-class Mike mode of identification Molly Molly's moral mother narrative narrator nature novel passive physical reader reality relationship Renata response Robert Cohn Romero Sal Paradise Sal's Saul Bellow sense sexual social Stephen story Sun Also Rises takes tells thought transformation Ulysses understanding vision voice wants woman women writing