'The Dance of Masks': Desire and Identity in Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers
Date
2011-10-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
This thesis examines Leonard Cohen’s postmodern novel Beautiful Losers (1966). It considers the novel in relation to common themes in Cohen’s body of work, and the social context in which it was published. It applies postcolonial and philosophical theories of desire to examine how colonial hierarchies of race structure representations of desire. Through the lens of queer theory, it also examines how homosexuality is constructed, reflecting the homophobia of the time and unsettling concepts of sex and gender. This study argues that desire is integral and instrumental in the construction of identity, particularly of race and gender.
Description
Keywords
Cohen, *Beautiful Losers*, queer theory, postcolonialism, masculine studies, Quebec history, identity formation, mysticism/spirituality/asceticism
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
English
Program
English