Faculty of Arts and Philosophy The Crisis of Masculinity Brought About by Male War Neurosis in

comments and constructive help he kindly offered during the writing phase of the thesis. The thesis deals with Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy which presents both fictional and real-life characters of the First World War suffering from shell shock that was perceived as a crisis of masculinity, and supports the theory that it was a false interpretation based on the beliefs and highly adjusted codes the society had created. The introduction uncovers the problem of mental breakdowns that thwarted the dreams of many a man who entered the war with different views of the masculine deal. It also reveals a brief summary of some parts of Barker's life that had a great influence on the writing of the novel as well as on her own development as a writer. The main body of the thesis introduces the subject of masculinity and the construction, perception and infringement of its norms. Further on, mainly the rise and development of shell shock is explored based on non-fictional records compared to those semi-fictional externalized by Pat Barker. Similarly, two of the characters of the trilogy, real-life poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen and some of their poems ar