The Inherited Noose: Masculinity, Memory, and Intergenerational Trauma in Hangwoman

Abstract

This paper will analyse the representation of masculinity, memory, and intergenerational trauma in Hangwoman by K. R. Meera, and it will place the novel in the larger discourse of marginalised voices, identity formation, and patriarchal inheritance. Although the novel has been interpreted as a feminist text that critiques state violence and gender oppression, this paper will move the discourse in a different direction by examining the neglected aspect of male trauma that is inscribed within the structure of hegemonic masculinity. Through the trope of the executioner’s lineage, the novel reveals how patriarchal systems are not only oppressive to women but also how they condition men to become violent subjects. The inherited occupation of hanging becomes a symbolic and literal noose around male subjectivity. Based on the theories of hegemonic masculinity, trauma theory, and memory studies, this paper contends that the executioner family in ‘Hangwoman’ represents a marginalised masculinity that is both empowered through state power and silenced through the weight of patriarchal responsibility. The internalised violence and emotional repression of the father signify how masculinity is understood as a performance rather than an identity. The scaffold serves as a space where the state sanctions the power of masculinity even as it dehumanises the male body that enacts it. Through an examination of the intergenerational transmission of violence and memory, this paper shows how the novel problematizes the binary construction of victimhood and power. Ultimately, ‘Hangwoman’ rewrites masculinity as a space of trauma, suggesting that patriarchal legacy serves as a form of psychological imprisonment. Through this re-reading, this paper seeks to contribute to the discourse of marginalised voices by highlighting the silencing of male emotions within the structure of representation.