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THE POETICS OF HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY IN IVO ANDRIĆ’S BOSNIAN CHRONICLE

Abstract

This paper analyzes the ways in which the dynamics of hegemonic masculinity and the scandal of same-sex sexuality spark and reflect broader ideological and political con¬flicts in Ivo Andrić’s Bosnian Chronicle. I focus on the theoretical contributions of masculinity studies to the study of literature and three key aspects in which the themes of cultural identity and alterity are refracted through Andrić’s complex repre¬sentations of manifold masculinities. First, the paper theoretically situates the generational conflict that Andrić introduces between his two main characters, the French consuls Daville and Des Fossés, within the theoretical framework of hegemon¬ic masculinity. I then turn to the normative male characters’ differently gendered profiles that are established through their relationships with women. I also analyze the ways in which these private relationships reflect these men’s specific position within the configuration of hegemonic masculinity and their broader ideologies and political goals. Finally, I single out two specific situations in which the novel, through male homosexuality, cements a sense of belonging among normative men, and, fur¬thermore, also establishes boundaries within hegemonic masculinity that extend both beyond their mutual conflicts and beyond conflicting geopolitical missions and socio¬cultural loyalties.