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

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. Show more