Female Masculinity in Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness and Joseph Heller's Catch-22

Abstract

This thesis is a study of how various factors contribute to the emergence of female masculinity in Heller's Catch- 22 and Hall's The Well of Loneliness. Nately's whore and Stephen act like males. They demonstrate features that look like the features of men. Their choices suggest that they care less for the normal and stereotypical things that are traditionally assigned to them. Judged from traditional angle, they appear to be deviant and abnormal. But their seemingly deviant and subversive acts reveal that masculinity is not the sole possession of males. Masculinity does not belong to the realm of the masculinity of man. Stephen and Nately's whore are nonconformists. They do not comply easily with the oppressive norms. The practices of the time in which they live are odious to them. They are notorious for their rash and radical choices. Their search for freedom is taken by their friends and relatives as the self-destructive venture.There are various parameters that contribute to the formation of manhood and womanhood. The intention of both the female heroines is to affirm that hegemonic masculinity has to be transformed and modified. In Heller's Catch-22, Nately is in love with a whore from Rome. He attracts her repeatedly for sexual relation. Her sister constantly interferes with their romantic attachment. Finally, she falls in love with Nately. After some time their romance begins to grow. Out of the blue, he is killed in a battle. Yossarian brings her the bad news. She blames him for Nately’s death. In a fit of anger, she tries to stab him. In The Well of Loneliness, a young woman named Stephen follows her passions. She and embarks on her own subjective world. Her activities and choices are sharply departed from the established mores concerning the role and position of women. Her parents are sure that they would produce a boy. They had fixed on that name. So they gave it to the girl anyway. She grew up a tomboy.