Take it like an elf: masculinity and emotion in Christopher Paolini’s young adult fantasy series The Inheritance Cycle

Abstract

Fantasy genre fiction has increasingly received academic attention for its representations of gender and sexuality, and scholars have acknowledged that the genre has the potential to challenge accepted ideas about femininity and heterosexuality. However, few studies have questioned how men and masculinity are constructed within the fantasy genre, despite the prevalence of masculine characters and readers and the influence that popular cultural texts exert over young audiences. This paper uses Raewyn Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity and Judith Butler’s poststructuralist gender theories to reveal how dominant ideas about masculine stoicism are negotiated and (re)imagined within Christopher Paolini’s young adult fantasy series The Inheritance Cycle (2005-2011). I argue that while unemotional masculine discourses are present within the narrative, fantasy genre conventions such as magic and magical creatures invite readers to question their desirability and recognize how they are socially constructed and compelled. By analysing magical telepathic bonds, crying, magical races, and magic, I find that young readers are presented with complex but often progressive ideas about how masculine subjects may experience and express their emotions. The article demonstrates that fantasy genre fiction is a crucial site for analysis in masculinities studies because it provides a means of reflecting and re-creating masculine discourses without the constraints of realism.  

Keywords

• Masculinity,fantasy fiction,emotion,young adult

Elf gibi düşün: Christopher Paolini’nin genç erişkin fantezi serisi Miras Döngüsü’nde erkeklik ve duygu

Öz

Toplumsal cinsiyet ve cinselliğin fantastik edebiyattaki temsillerine yönelik akademik ilgi gittikçe artmakta ve araştırmacılar bu türün feminenlik ve heteroseksüellikle ilgili kabul gören görüşleri sarsma potansiyeli taşıdığını kabul etmektedir. Ancak, erkek karakterlerin ve okurların yaygınlığına ve popüler kültür metinlerinin genç izleyiciler üzerinde oluşturduğu etkiye rağmen, erkeklerin ve erkekliğin fantezi türünde nasıl inşa edildiğini sorgulayan çalışmaların sayısı oldukça azdır. Bu çalışma, eril stoacılık hakkındaki baskın fikirlerin Christopher Paolini’nin The Inheritance Cycle (Miras Döngüsü: 2005 - 2011) isimli genç erişkinlere yönelik fantezi serisinde nasıl ele alındığını ve (yeniden) tasavvur edildiğini ortaya çıkarmak amacıyla Raewyn Connell’ın hegemonik erkeklik kavramından ve Judith Butler’ın postyapısalcı cinsiyet teorilerinden faydalanmaktadır. Anlatı içerisinde duygusuz eril söylemler yer alıyor olsa da, büyü ve sihirli yaratıklar gibi fantezi türünün ayrılmaz parçalarının okuyucuları bu söylemlerin arzu edilirliğini, nasıl inşa edildiklerini ve oluştukları sosyal bağlama nasıl bağlı olduklarını sorgulamaya davet ettiğini savunuyorum. Sihirli telepatik bağlar, gözyaşı, sihirli ırklar ve büyüyü analiz ederek genç okuyucuların eril öznelerin duygularını nasıl deneyimleyebilecekleri ve ifade edebilecekleri hakkında karmaşık ancak genellikle ilerici fikirlerle karşılaştığını buldum. Bu makale, eril söylemlerin realizmin sınırlılıkları olmaksızın yansıtıldığı ve yeniden yaratıldığı bir araç sunması bakımından fantastik edebiyatın erkeklik çalışmaları içinde analiz edilmesi gerekli bir alan olduğunu göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• erkeklik,fantastik edebiyat,duygu; genç erişkin

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