Has the representation of masculinity and homosocial bonds changed since E.M. Forster wrote Maurice?: : A comparison between Forster’s novel and Jim Grimsley’s Dream Boy

Abstract:

This essay provides some insight into how the representation of masculinity, homosocial bonds and homosexuality in two novels has changed during the last century. The essay analyzes the novels, Maurice (E.M Forster)and Dream Boy (Jim Grimsley). The main focus lies on how Maurice and Dream Boy handle certain topics; social behavior in private and public among the male protagonists and the role of the father figure. The essay points out similarities and differences between how each topic is being handled in the respective novels. The main theoretical concept focuses on masculinity, homosocial bonds and the perception of homosexuality and how it is constructed in the two novels. The representations of masculinity seem to change over time only to take the same shape as before. The same kinds of masculinities are represented in both Maurice and Dream Boy. The fact that young men have learned that their bodies can be used as instruments of power makes it difficult for them to allow intimacy within homophobic cultures which might threaten their male identities and therefore influence the way their homosocial bonds.