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

Year 2016, Issue: 6, 55 - 78, 22.08.2017

Tania Evans

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

Abstract

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.

Keywords

erkeklik, fantastik edebiyat, duygu; genç erişkin

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