Masculine crisis in Ian McEwan's Enduring Love

Abstract

Masculine crisis has always been with men and presented in masculine studies, but it becomes popular in the post modern era after crucial events such as feminism, the world wars, economical problems, etc. The issue of masculinity and masculine crisis exists in works of Ian McEwan and this study applies masculine crisis on his Enduring Love (1994). Most of McEwan’s characters are men who seek to find their places in post modern era. Thus this paper focuses on masculine crisis which emerges in Joe Rose, the male protagonist of this novel, when the shattering moments in the beginning of the novel threaten his power and authority which is very important in masculinity of men. There is another factor (homophobia) in the novel that leads him toward masculine crisis as well. All through the novel the male character tries to regain his lost authority and power. At the end of the novel, he somehow overcomes masculine crisis. This paper uses Butler's theory of gender and other critics of masculine studies.