The Hermaphrodite, the Effete and the Butch

Questioning hegemonic masculinity in literature is not novel. In the nineteenth century, under the July Monarchy (1830−1848), several French writers depicted characters who did not conform to gender expectations: hermaphrodites, castrati, homosexuals, effete men and mannish women. This book investigates the historical conditions in which these protagonists were created and their success during the July Monarchy. It analyses novels and novellas by Balzac, Gautier, Latouche, Musset and Sand in ord