THE DYNAMICS OF MASCULINE VULNERABILITY, SEXUALIZED VIOLENCE AND FEMALE PASSIVITY: A TRANSITIVITY APPROACH TO MOHSIN HAMID’S A BEHEADING

Abstract

This article applies Sara Mills’s feminist stylistic framework to a transitivity analysis of Mohsin Hamid’s short story A Beheading, revealing how grammatical choices both reinforce and complicate patriarchal representations of male vulnerability and female silencing. The findings reveal that male narrator is centrally positioned in the three selected excerpts. Although his emotional vulnerability is foregrounded through dominant mental and behavioral processes yet he retains narrative authority and control. While the male narrator is portrayed as introspective and emotionally burdened, he continues to occupy active grammatical roles, such as Actor, Sayer, Senser, whereas his wife is largely positioned as passive recipient, Phenomenon or Goal. The analysis unmasks how patriarchal structures regulate both male and female identities: women are silenced, objectified and their agency curtailed, while men, even when vulnerable, remain central.  The representation of male trauma, particularly in contexts of violence and humiliation, challenges dominant ideals of masculinity, aligning with intersectional feminist critiques that call for a more inclusive understanding of gendered emotional expression. Ultimately, this study highlights how transitivity patterns not only reflect but also reproduce systemic gender inequalities, while also offering space to interrogate and reframe normative gender roles.