BrexLit through Gender Lens: A Study of Ali Smith s Autumn and Jonathan Coe’s Middle England

BrexLit through Gender Lens: A Study of Ali Smith s Autumn and Jonathan Coe’s Middle England

Mousumi Chowdhury

Abstract

Brexit, Britain’s exit from the European Union, has been approached critically from political, economic, social, and cultural points of view, but gender issues in the Brexit discourses are less explored. Brexit discourses have institutionalised masculinity to such an extent that Brexit has been critiqued as a masculinist resurgence. Theresa May’s employment as Britain’s second female prime minister and her steering of the Brexit deal does not offer any narrative of women empowerment. Underrepresentation of women in the Brexit deal, preference for “Hard Brexit”, and naturalisation militarism in Brexit discourses betray Britain’s androcentric culture. Social and political realities have been documented in the pages of creative literature down the ages. Brexit has spawned a new sub-genre called BrexLit, which, as state-of-the-nation novels, mirror various socio-political ramifications. Although BrexLit is critiqued from political, economic, and other perspectives, gender issues in Brexit novels are largely overlooked. Taking a cue from two major Brexit novels, namely Autumn by Ali Smith and Middle England by Jonathan Coe, the article, unveils the toxic, sexist culture of contemporary Britain. The article also analyses how gender issues trigger Euroscepticism and, driven by xenophobia, femonationalists stigmatise certain immigrants.