A story without a plot, and the paradox of a private/public man: Lessons on masculinity from Patočka, Levinas, and Wenders

Pages: 79 - 92

Language: eng

This article explores masculinity through the lens of Jan Patočka’ s philosophical insights, based on Czech writer and dramatist Ivan Vyskočil’ s texts about masculine-powerful “mastodons”, Wim Wenders’ s film Perfect Days (2023). We use an analysis of Levinas’ s enigmatic concept of la caresse (the caress). This concept is rooted in Levinas’ s understanding of intersubjectivity and the non-invasive relationship with the other and used to explore its implications for gender roles and how they are changing. In order to understand this specific shift, the article contrasts perspectives on public and private spheres, highlighting Patočka’ s critique of societal power dynamics and victimhood. The analysis of Wenders’ s film underlines his critique of traditional gender norms, reflecting contemporary discourses on masculinity and identity in terms of the revolt of existential care and passivity, which is the opposite of the traditional masculine gender role, which also formed the construction of the analyzed stories.

Heczková, L., Svatoňová, K. 2025. A story without a plot, and the paradox of a private/public man: Lessons on masculinity from Patočka, Levinas, and Wenders. In World Literature Studies, vol. 17, no.4, pp. 79-92. 1337-9275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/WLS.2025.17.4.7

Heczková, L., Svatoňová, K. (2025). A story without a plot, and the paradox of a private/public man: Lessons on masculinity from Patočka, Levinas, and Wenders. World Literature Studies, 17(4), 79-92. 1337-9275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/WLS.2025.17.4.7

Publisher: Ústav svetovej literatúry SAV, v. v. i.