Male Dominance In Hisham Matar's In The Country Of Men

In Hisham Matar’s Novel In The Country of Men, male dominance is heavily present in the country of Libya. Suleiman is a young boy coming of age and is influenced by the many male models in his life. Suleiman must deal with the conflict of finding his true identity in a society in which carries strict norms of masculinity. Living in a society where violence is a big factor in male power and what it means to be a male, Suleiman is taught from a very young age what he should aspire to be as he matures into a man. He is strongly influenced by the individuals in his personal life as well as powerful members of society such as the Revolutionary Committee. Things such as the smell of his father’s cologne to the intimidating attitudes of the men who …show more content…
He constantly wants approval and attention from Baba and views him as his safe space. His crave for attention of his father is usually never satisfied due to Baba never being home. As much as Suleiman looks up to his father, he is always thinking about what life would be like if another man were his father. He desires a strong male relationship with someone who gives him the attention he wants. “At times I used to wish that Baba was more like Ustath Rashid…At other times I secretly wished that Moosa, Baba’s closest friend, was my father instead” (Matar 29). As a young boy he desires a strong bond with a father figure and his relationship with his actual father is torn. He uses all of the male figures in his life as a model and wants to learn what it means to be a man. Although Suleiman and his father have a broken relationship he admires and respects him so much because when he is home there is order in his house and he no longer needs to be the man in charge. “I felt such relief now that Baba was home. Now every can be normal again, I thought” (Matar 44). Suleiman knows his mother will no longer fall “ill” if Baba is around. Suleiman can live his childhood when his father is around and that is one of the many reasons he cherishes his fathers presence. The constant longing for attention and recognition represents Suleimans obsession with becoming closer to his father. In a particular …show more content…
Bahloul’s character in the book is physically a homeless man and metaphorically a representation of Libya as a country. When Suleiman throws rocks at him it signifies his ability to be violent to others and be violent for his country. As Hisham describes it in the interview, it is a moment of realization of the connection between him and violence. In Libya, men held power and with power came violence. There are many models in the novel that connect violence with masculinity. It is common for men in Libya to become products of their environment and take on violent jobs. Sharief, a member of the Revolutionary Committee, had a big influence on Suleiman by initiating a powerful mindset into him. “He handed me the gun, handle first, and said, “Here, touch it.” As I extended my hand, he said, “Men are never afraid. And you are a man aren’t you?” (Matar 130). Sharief, the man in the white car who often sat outside Suleiman’s neighborhood, is a significant model that teaches Suleiman that men do not fear anything. To tell a young boy who is obsessed with masculinity that he is only a man if he is unafraid of violence weighs in heavy and caused Suleiman to keep going back to him with information because being recognized as a man is what he yearned