Text

theses

As the title suggests, this thesis explores, in ways both direct and indirect, the life of a single middle aged man. This is not a scenario I would have imagined for myself when I was younger. While I never gave it much thought, I assumed the same future for myself that most of my friends and siblings did: that I would embark on a fulfilling career, fall in love, get married, and start a family. In fiction, movies, and television, these ambitions, however traditional some of them might be, are often the province of the women in those stories, and the possible thwarting of them the primary source of conflict. Oddly, the idea that men might share them is rarely addressed. Using my own experiences as a barometer, I was interested in exploring what becomes of men who have similar longings that go unfulfilled. Demographic trends seem to indicate that more people, both men and women, are living alone than ever before, but their stories, for whatever reason, often go untold. Perhaps they’re not considered dramatic enough. In an effort to contradict this trend, this thesis will attempt to chronicle some of the circumstances and events in the life of an unmarried, middle aged man. In both dramatic and comic scenarios, it will attempt to illuminate some of the anxieties and satisfactions that can arise from a man getting older while remaining single.

ETD_6706

M.A.

by Matthew Jordan

doi:10.7282/T3B85B2W

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.