First off, a huge welcome to the 'Mascujonesities' blog!
Let me introduce myself. The name is Sarah but I'm better known by people as Jonesy. At the moment, I'm in the final stage of completing my degree in English Literature and History at the fabluarse Edge Hill University in Ormskirk. While also applying to do a two year part-time MA at Edge Hill University in English and specialising in Masculinities within Literature. Hopefully this will then lead onto a PHD study of Masculinity within Literature and becoming a University Lecturer in the field.
With the main introduction of myself out of the way, I would like to move on to discuss what this blog will hopefully be about. Firstly, after discussing with my good friend from University (when she reads this, she knows who she is!), I decided to embark on blogging. A number of reasons for this. Firstly, the thought of blogging on Literature and masculinity that I haven't read within my degree and commenting on it appeals to me. Secondly, I am so passionate about the subject and feel there sin't enough commentary on the topic. And finally, I wanted to share my views to the world.
Why masculinities I guess your wondering? Ever since my second year and completing and enjoying a module on the topic with one of the most amazing lecturers ever, I decided I wanted to research into this topic further.
As I love reading in general, but from reading books such as Bridget Jones' Diary, About A Boy, Fever Pitch etc, I was interested in how writers portray men within novels in the wider social context that it was written in. (For example, Bridget Jones' Diary was written in 1996 and was a publishing success that provided a revision of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that seems to highlight the notion of not just feminism in the character of Bridget but also the concept of the 'gentlemen' in characters such as Daniel and Mark).
Taking this into account, I then decided during my third year to write a dissertation on men and masculinities and how they are represented within the 1990's and 2000's in works such as Helen Fielding, Mike Gayle and Nick Hornby with the apart from a very nice tutor in Switzerland! Also, I had the opportunity to write a short project in my Victorian Literature module, writing about 'Men and masculinities in the fiction of Elizabeth Gaskell' using the novel North and South. And I have to say even though the novel wasn't Gaskell's best work, it was really interesting and challenging to write, especially as I could have written a dissertation on it as my tutor said. While studying Victorian Literature this year, my expectations of Victorian Literature have changed. Within the space of 100 years, men were projected within the 1800's as the breadwinner, strong, an authoritian figure. But however, during this period, men changed from maintaining certain characteristics surrounding their masculinities, but moving onto new ones such as the concept of the gentlemen, the dandy-saint, homosexual etc. (In Gaskell's novel, you have characters such as Thornton who seem to be projecting the expected version of Victorian Masculinity, while also becoming more liberal and seem to be experiencing a crisis of masculinity (such as Richard Hale) and characters such as Higgins and Boucher becoming more dangerous and lethal (it has been suggested by critics such as Adams that these characters who be hiding homosexuality but there is no evidence to argue this case academically and correctly). And after this project, I'm extremely keen to research Victorian Masculinity even further using novels such as Dorian Grey.
Over the course of maybe two years, with this blog, I would like to share with you some novels/articles and bits of masculinity theory too to discuss and hopefully make you see what other academics don't see.
That's all for now folks. Hope that introduction hasn't put you off.
I'll write soon.
Take Care
Jonesy x
