| Original Message |
Megan Coral (no login)
Posted Apr 20, 2008 10:09 PM
My paper will focus on how misogyny is present in Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho and Michel Houellebecq’s The Elementary Particles. Katharine M. Roger’s book The Troublesome Helpmate defines misogyny in three ways: as the hatred of women by acting in ways to belittle their intellect, objectify their bodies, and behaving in violent ways toward them.
I will use examples from feminist literature to show how misogyny is and has been part of literary culture since the creation of the Bible. It is mainly male writers who have tried to make misogyny sexy and this is no different for American Psycho. I will use examples to illustrate how the behaviors of the two protagonists, Patrick Bateman and Bruno, fall into the category of misogynistic behavior. I will be looking at reasons why these characters act in these ways.
The interview with Michel Houellebecq conducted by Bourriaud, Jounnais, and Marchandise provides some insight because many of Bruno’s actions are reflections of Houellebecq’s personal feelings. Patrick Bateman’s motivations behind his actions can be supported by theories from feminist literature, in that he is threatened and acts whenever someone tries to assert more power than he does.
Lastly, a comparison of the two characters will show how both objectify women, are sexual deviants, and ruin the lives of the all of the women they encounter. |
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