A tale of two genders
Men choose novels of alienation, while women go
for passion
The novel that means most to men is about indifference, alienation and lack of emotional responses. That which means most to women is about deeply held feelings, a struggle to overcome circumstances and passion, research by the University of London has found.
Professor Lisa Jardine and Annie Watkins of Queen Mary College interviewed 500 men, many of whom had some professional connection with literature, about the novels that had changed their lives. The most frequently named book was Albert Camus’s The Outsider, followed by JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. The project, called Men’s Milestone Fiction, commissioned by the Orange prize for fiction and the Guardian, followed on from similar research into women’s favourite novels undertaken by the same team last year.
Women, by contrast, most frequently cited works by Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Margaret Atwood, George Eliot and Jane Austen. They also named a “much richer and more diverse” set of novels than men, according to Prof Jardine. There was a much broader mix between contemporary and classic works and between male and female authors.
“We found that men do not regard books as a constant companion to their life’s journey, as consolers or guides, as women do,” said Prof Jardine. “They read novels a bit like they read photography manuals.” Women readers used much-loved books to support them through difficult times and emotional turbulence, and tended to employ them as metaphorical guides to behaviour, or as support and inspiration.
I think that when you’re growing up can make a significant difference, as well. Two of the formative books in my life were written within the context of World War 2 — when I was kid discovering the power and breadth of reading.
Interesting that they fit into each category. "Days and Nights" by Konstantin Simonov was set within the context of the Battle of Stalingrad -- and very much into the Women category. "Beach Red" by Peter Bowman was a minute-by-minute prose poem of one deadly hour during the American assault of a Pacific island held by the Japanese. Very much the Man category described above.
Posted: Thu - April 6, 2006 at 06:37 AM