The silver cord is cut, and the golden bowl is broken : masculinity crisis and transcendence in Tender is the night and Brideshead revisited

Abstract

This dissertation studies two novels Tender is the Night and Brideshead Revisited set against mid and early 20th century British and American upper-class societies respectively. My theme is how male protagonists in both novels face a crisis in masculinity, that is occasioned by socio-political/ economic shifts that took place in these eras in the last century. My topic is the different representations of masculinity in crisis and the subsequent portrayal of transcendence in the two radically changing societies. I seek to study how common themes are illustrated in both novels: the rise of capitalism, the decline of the aristocracy , gender identities in flux . This project focuses on three questions: How does the British aristocracy deal with their loss of political and economic power and how does it affect their sense of masculinity? How does the ideal of the traditional American self-made man clash with the pressures and consumption brought about by capitalism in early 20th century? How do elite men in these societies handle these challenges? My thesis seeks to show how the male protagonists in these novels turn to religion and professional ethics respectively to transcend their struggles against their manhood. This project ends with the conclusion that not only do these male protagonists overcome such struggles of manhood, they have turned to better ways of life by “ transcending” the problematic masculine ideals in their societies.