ABSTRACT
The introduction discusses the peculiarities of Austrian masculinity and traces how masculinity has been analysed in Austrian and German literature. It argues that while there is ample evidence of frustrating and attempts at challenging hegemonic masculinity in Austrian contemporary literature, no successful attempts to offer an alternative emerge. Instead, the male characters adopt strategies of evasion to bridge the gap between the ideal of hegemonic masculinity and reality. Two patterns of ‘strategic evasion’ emerge: evasion in order to hide a softer, gentler side traditionally attributed to women, and evasion into a fantasy world where men can live up to the ideal of hegemonic masculinity. Linked to the concept of strategic evasion, the introduction discusses critical theory on masculinities and offers a methodological approach to analysing masculinities in literature through the use of a combination of concepts from social and human sciences and close reading. It argues that it is the strength of literature that it offers insights into the mental structures of hegemonic masculinity which are hardly available from other sources.
