Published Paper Details:

Anitha Nair's fiction foregrounds the interior lives of men at a moment of social and cultural transition in India. This paper examines the representation of male identity and masculinity in three selected novels: Mistress (2005), Lessons in Forgetting (2010), and The Better Man (2013). Through a gender-studies lens informed by R.W. Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity and feminist ethics of care, the paper argues that Nair traces a critical trajectory: from masculinity defined by possession, authority, and emotional detachment, to a masculinity reconstructed through vulnerability, accountability, and relational presence. In Mistress, male characters seek to own women, narratives, and art. Lessons in Forgetting exposes the violence and ethical bankruptcy of that model in the context of trauma and institutional failure. The Better Man proposes an alternative masculinity grounded in care work and emotional labour. Nair thus contributes to postcolonial gender discourse by suggesting that masculinity is not innate but performed, and can be unlearned and re-performed.