In the novel, The Rabbit’s Hutch, written by Tess Gunty, a persistent overarching theme is toxic masculinity and the way that gender impacts the lives and actions of all characters, both major and minor. Blandine works in a café, and observes a unique interaction between two customers, one male and the other female. The woman and her child are sitting at a table, when a man walks up to them wanting to sit down with them, despite not knowing them. Throughout the entire interaction, the woman makes it rather clear that she is indeed waiting for the child’s father to come sit down and besides that, does not want to sit with him. Yet, the man is overconfident and is not picking up on the cues given to him. While observing this interaction, Blandine notes, “With his smile, and those jeans, it’s evident to Blandine that no one has ever truly criticized this young man to his face, and that he’s a product of extreme parental love. He believes that the whole world ought to love him like that, Blandine assumes” (77). The man is so oblivious to the fact that his presence is making this woman uncomfortable, yet he feels entitled to sit and talk to this woman because of his role as a man in society.
The most devastating and cruel manifestation of the theme of masculinity happens at the very end, when we see how brutally Todd, Jack, and Malik treat Blandine in her final moments. Throughout the novel, it is made abundantly clear that these three boys have some kind of loyalty to each other, always excluding Blandine and disregarding her completely. Yet, when Jack decides to strip her of her clothing and Todd brutally stabbing her, this is the ultimate display of cruelty of men. Todd only picks up the knife in the first place because he is pressured to by both Jack and Malik. He wants to conform to masculinity and all the roles a man is supposed to assume. Initially when pressured to sacrifice the goat, the boys were yelling at Todd, “Do it, do it, you fucking pussy. Do it for her. Show her you’re not a fucking pussy. This is the test. Are you a man or a boy? Are you a boy or a girl? Fucking do it” (374). The rhetoric used to force Todd to kill a goat is a strong demonstration of the toxic masculinity in society. To say that someone is a “woman” if they do not want to sacrifice an animal is to say they are weak. The boys consistently make Todd feel inferior and weak, simply because he does not want to do a role they see as the epitome of masculinity. The culmination of all of these feelings inevitably add up and forces Todd to do something unspeakable and portrays the cruelest manifestation of masculinity yet.
I agree that toxic masculinity affects every character in the novel The Rabbit Hutch. Toxic Masculinity is cultivated through acts pressuring other men to uphold the ‘standards’ set by society, but also in the ways it affects women. James Yeager, the teacher who grooms Blandine, is a prime example of how toxic masculinity affects women. He attracts and seduces Blandie, creating a false sense of comfort and connection for her, then proceeds to rip away this connection. He preys on his students who are vulnerable and uses that to his advantage. When Blandie confronts James about previous relationships with students, she catches him in a lie and he says, “Look, Tiffany, she was obsessed with me,” he says, rerouting. “ I intentionally avoided meeting with her one-on-one because she was so inappropriate, always sitting too close, always sending me messages, always trying to get private lessons” (331). James is caught in a lie and backpedaling to find his way out. He quickly turns to degrading Zoe’s, the other student, character putting all the blame on her. His examples of ‘inappropriate’ behavior mirror actions he has taken with Blandine. He was sending messages and spending one-on-one time with her leading to an inappropriate relationship. James does not see these girls as girls, nor does he see them as people but rather as an escape from his reality. He is unhappy with the state of his life and uses these girls to feel in control and powerful once more. He continues to try and play the role of someone who feels guilty and remorseful but rather this is a facade to continue to make these girls compliant with keeping his secrets.
ReplyDelete