Constructing The Unmasculine The Femasculine and The NonMasculine Gender Identities Analysing the Subversion of Hegemonic Masculinity through an Inquisitive Study of the selected novels of A S Byatt

Abstract

The thesis intends to subvert the conventional notion of masculinity. It studies the destabilization of the socially defined characteristic traits that have perennially remained adhered to maleness and masculinity. By diluting the gender-specific bifurcations, the thesis creates the newfangled definitive grounds for the gender identities of masculinity and femininity. The long recognized attributes that affixes the dogma of masculinity with the male get vehemently shattered. As masculinity becomes a characteristic trait that has nothing to do with sex and gender, the inquisitive endeavour constructs the cutting-edge gender identities of the unmasculine , the femasculine and the non-masculine . While masculinity as an unconstrained trait gets detached from the very essence of the male, we find it getting more concordant with the female existentiality. Thus, the groundbreaking gender identities get established as the thesis demolishes the persistently accepted stereotypical order. While pursuing such a study dealing with the theoretical grounds of masculinity, the study takes into concern the masculinity theories propounded by R. W. Connell (1987, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005), John Stoltenberg (1990, 2000), Jeff Hearn (1983, 1990, 1992, 1995), Todd W. Reeser (2010), Eric Anderson (2008, 2009, 2011). It is through a hermeneutic method of analysis that the thesis promulgates such subversion by examining the four novels by the writer and critic, A.S. Byatt. The analytical perspective revolves around Possession: A Romance (1990), Angels and Insects (1992), Babel Tower (1996) and The Biographer s Tale (2000) - all written within a decade s expanse. newlineKeywords: subversion of conventional notion of masculinity, destabilization of the gender-specific bifurcation of masculinity and femininity, construction of new gender identities of the unmasculine , the femasculine and the non-masculine , delinking masculinity from the definitive criterion of sex and gender, dissociating masculinity from maleness.The basis of this research originally stemmed from my passion for developing better insights into the domain of English Literature and the emerging critical discourses on the same. The foundation of the analytical work began from my intense zeal to portray the recent development within this field of study and my desire to focus on the contemporary these whereby a whole new platform emerges. The thesis attempts to shatter the conventional barriers and transgresses the boundaries of gender-specific norms. With an intention of subverting the entrenched boundaries, the thesis takes into concern the essential theoretical purviews to contribute towards the enhancement of critical and analytical knowledge. As the gender bifurcation gets destabilized, the equation of gender coexistence transforms, paving the path for the disintegration of hegemonic order. By framing newfangled gender identities, the thesis assists in the development of perceptivity and cognition of the readers as a widespread initiative of mass culture influence comes to the fore. newline newline newline