Anxious Masculinity in the Drama of Arthur Miller and Beyond: Salesmen, Sluggers, and Big Daddies

This study explores the male breadwinner figure in Arthur Miller's plays and its legacy in American drama from the 1950s to the present, arguing that gendered anxieties exhibited by characters are the same ones invoked by Donald Trump. It examines the figure in the plays of Miller, Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Lisa Kron, and Jeanine Tesori, and contemporary Black dramatists Suzan Lori-Parks, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Jeremy O. Harris.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Staunchly homosocial, often veiled or overtly misogynistic, and anxiously homophobic, this study delves into the portrayal of the male breadwinner in Arthur Miller's most celebrated plays and its reoccurring manifestations in American drama from the 1950s to the present. Anxious Masculinity presents a profound exploration of gender dynamics and the enduring influence of this figure as he stalks through the works of various American dramatists. Claire Gleitman meticulously examines this character in Miller's plays, as well as the works of Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, and Sam Shepard, who reimagine him in more racially and economically marginalized contexts. He resurfaces in the recent creations of playwrights Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, and collaborators Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, who shift their focus to the next generation, desperately striving to break free from his clutches and forge new, often joyfully queer identities. The concluding chapter delves into contemporary Black dramatists Suzan Lori-Parks, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Jeremy O. Harris, whose plays seamlessly transition from anxious masculinity to anxious whiteness, offering poignant commentary on the current societal landscape.

Staunchly homosocial, often veiled or overtly misogynistic, and anxiously homophobic, this study delves into the portrayal of the male breadwinner in Arthur Miller's most celebrated plays and its reoccurring manifestations in American drama from the 1950s to the present. Anxious Masculinity presents a profound exploration of gender dynamics and the enduring influence of this figure as he stalks through the works of various American dramatists. Claire Gleitman meticulously examines this character in Miller's plays, as well as the works of Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, and Sam Shepard, who reimagine him in more racially and economically marginalized contexts. He resurfaces in the recent creations of playwrights Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, and collaborators Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, who shift their focus to the next generation, desperately striving to break free from his clutches and forge new, often joyfully queer identities. The concluding chapter delves into contemporary Black dramatists Suzan Lori-Parks, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Jeremy O. Harris, whose plays seamlessly transition from anxious masculinity to anxious whiteness, offering poignant commentary on the current societal landscape.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350272972