Chapter 4 - Toxic Masculinity: Agatha Christie’s A Caribbean Mystery, John Harvey’s “Yesterdays,” Dorothy Koomson’s The Brighton Mermaid, and Pekka Hiltunen’s “Jenkem”

Summary

Fourth-wave feminism and the #MeToo movement both interrogate toxic masculinity and its manifestations, and these themes are also prominent in crime fiction. Toxic masculinity is defined by Terry A. Kupers as “the constellation of socially regressive [masculine] traits that serve to foster domination, the devaluation of women, homophobia, and wanton violence.” Furthermore, Katherine M. Ingram et al. define toxic masculinity as “a form of traditional masculinity that becomes harmful to others.” Toxic masculinity is, then, an extreme manifestation of hegemonic masculinity which is constructed as dominant, aggressive, violent, non-empathetic, and misogynistic. My investigation of this theme in crime fiction extends these debates to examine representations of toxic masculinity and male violence in wider contexts, including against other men, a facet of toxic masculinity which is less frequently explored. While acknowledging the historical origins of the term “toxic masculinity” in the 1980s and the reservations some critics have articulated regarding the term as an analytical category, my book asserts the validity and importance of examining toxic masculinity as a concept and literary theme. In the crime texts studied in this chapter, toxic masculinity emerges as both the origin and effect of patriarchal genderbased violence and misogynoir. The crime texts analyzed here demonstrate that, just as rape culture upholds patriarchal society, so toxic masculinity serves as the other pillar upholding the symbolic and physical structure of white male supremacy. Caitlin Wahrer explains how toxic masculinity is typically represented in crime and suspense fiction, stating that: “[m]uch of the genre deals with stories of women who are victimized by men whose conduct has been encouraged by toxic masculinity.” My analysis further explores the intersections of toxic masculinity with race, class, and sexuality, demonstrating the complexity of the theme and its representation in crime fiction.

This chapter examines representations of toxic masculinity in crime fiction and how these representations have changed over time, analyzing the complex aspects of toxic masculinity that are belied by its stereotypical portrayal. Starting my investigation with a stereotypical portrayal of toxic masculinity in Agatha Christie's 1964 novel, A Caribbean Mystery, I consider this novel's representation of toxic masculinity as part of its serial killer plot, arguing that the novel illustrates an intrinsic function of toxic masculinity within the crime genre: namely driving psychological and physical violence against women and murder.