This dissertation researches the applicability of Judith Butler's early work to literary texts dealing with masculinities, particularly the work of Ernest Hemingway and David Herbert Lawrence. The dissertation focuses on Hemingway's texts "Soldier's home", "Big two-hearted river", "The sun also rises", and "A farewell to Arms", and on Lawrence's non-fictional writing on the subconscious as well as his "Women in love" and "Lady Chatterley's lover". This dissertation sets out to provide innovative and relevant readings of aforementioned texts based on a careful interpretation of Butler's work
