Masculinity and Patriarchal Villainy in the British Novel: From Hitler to Voldemort sits at the intersection of literary studies and masculinity studies, arguing that the villain, in many works of contemporary British fiction, is a patriarchal figure that embodies an excess of patriarchal power that needs to be controlled by the hero. The villains' stories are enactments of empowerment fantasies and cautionary tales against abusing patriarchal power. While providing readers with in-depth studies of some of the most popular contemporary fiction villans, Sara Martín shows how current representations of the villain are not only measured against previous literary characters but also against the real-life figure of the archvillain Adolf Hitler.
Author(s): Sara Martín
Series: Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature
Edition: 1°
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 248
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Defining the Patriarchal Villain
1 Adolf Hitler: The Threat of Absolute Villainy
2 Big Brother and O’Brien: The Mystique of Power and the Reproduction of Patriarchal Masculinity
3 Morgoth and Sauron: The Problem of Recurring Villainy
4 Steerpike: Gormenghast’s Angry Young Man
5 Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Larger than Life: The Villain in the James Bond Series
6 Richard Onslow Roper and the ‘Labyrinth of Monstrosities’: John le Carré’s Post-Cold War Villains
7 Michael Dobbs’s Francis Urquhart Trilogy: Democracy at Risk
8 Big Ger Cafferty, Crime Boss: The Constant Struggle to Retain Power
9 Voldemort and the Limits of Dark Magic: Self-empowerment as Self-destruction
Conclusions
Index
