No Country for Old Men? An Introduction

This introductory chapter by the book editor helps to identify the main aims, objectives, organization, and rationale behind the book. The book also advances the findings of each of the chapters and points, based on the initial findings, to some possible further research venues. Traditionally, gender studies have focused on women, which is logical, but gender studies have since the late 1980s started to pay increasing attention to men’s lives as well. This volume focuses on representations of aging masculinities in contemporary U.S. fiction, and thus investigates a selection of literary texts that place old men at the center of the narrative, analyzing specific depictions of issues such as older men’s health problems, body changes and shifting perceptions of sexual prowess, depression, loneliness and loss, but also greater wisdom and confidence, legacy, changing notions and appraisals of time, new relationships, and affective patterns, among others.