Deciphering the Underlying Patriarchal Patterns in Manu Josephs Serious Man

Patriarchy is a system of hierarchy where man holds the higher position in every aspects of life. “ It is a political-social system that insist that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (Bell Hooks). It controls and determines how someone perceived the world. Though, its control and dominance is not limited to the females alone. It infects every section of our society ; both men and women, irrespective of any caste, class or gender. However, it may manifest its control and power in various social settings, with different variations across different times and spaces. It does not function in a homogenous way.This paper will examine the complex nature of patriarchy and its need for a close dissection. It will reveal how some patterns of patriarchy are not always self-evident, but are rooted deeply in the deepest core of our society and engrained closely in an individual’s psyche. Masculinity, however as defined by C.J.Pascoe & Tristan Bridge are “ the practices, behaviours, attitudes, sexualities, emotions, positions, bodies, organizations, institutions, and all manner of expectations culturally associated with (though not limited) to people understood to be male”.It is a space where a specific type of male identity is formed and assigned to them.The article focuses on the continuous interaction of the patriarchy and masculinities in Manu Joseph’s Serious Man. It examines how these two operate in parallel manner. “Patriarchy makes men superior, whereas masculinity is the process of producing superior man”.(Rohit Dasgupta and K.Moti Gokulsing).