Abstract:
This thesis aims to study the construction of Thai masculine identity in exotic novels written by Thai authors during 1941-1946. These novels include Sod Kuramarohitas Pakking Nakorn Haeng Kwam Lang (1941, 1942, 1946), Witt Suddhasthiras Trawain Manila (1943) and Seni Saowaphongs Chaichana Kong Kon Phae (1943) and Mai Mee Khaw Jak Tokyo (1947). The study focuses on social and political background of the novels in order to see how the meaning of Thai masculinity is historically constructed. The study found that the male traveler-protagonists in the selected novels use travel writing as a narrative framework for constructing their gender identity. Confined by the traditions of their home land, the male protagonists travel elsewhere in search of their self-definition. The study thus examines key elements relevant to the construction of masculine identity: foreign setting, relationship between characters, taste, and style of living. These elements reveal certain aspects of the protagonists masculine identity: intellectual power, physical strength, and sex appeal. With the emergence of the middle class at the Siamese revolution in 1932 and World War II, the meaning of masculinity is informed by the middle class ideology including freedom, self-reliance, and nationalism. Although the notion of Thai masculinity found in the novels reflects the shift in meaning away from the one defined by the aristocratic, there exist the recurrent meanings of masculinity; namely, domination, superiority, and male privilege. The analysis of this study has shown that the construction of masculine identity is not a complete project; rather, it is a continuous process in which the meaning of masculine identity has been repeatedly deconstructed and reconstructed. Therefore, inherent in these male characters is a sense of insecurity and anxiety concerning their subject position as male.