From Victorian to Modern Era: Representation of Prevailing Toxic Masculinity in British Women’s Writings

Abstract

The social construct of gender befuddles and shatters individual identities. The constraints of rigid institutionalized gender have been so naturalized in the male and female psyche that they consider their masculine and feminine traits to be innate. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss are considered the primary texts which delve deep into the paradigms of toxic and hegemonic masculinity in the Victorian as well as the modern era. The research contends that males are also victimized by the patriarchal structures of society and it is not only the female gender that is stereotyped and conformed to their certain role but this ideological baggage confines men too. The research analyzes the two respective texts by employing Bell Hooks’ critical stance on patriarchy and Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity.