Analyzing Patriarchy's Impact on Men in Rintih Chicago by Faizal Tehrani 2011

Abstract

Abstract
This working paper examines the portrayal of patriarchy and its emotional consequences on male characters in Rintih Chicago (2011), a play by Malaysian writer Faisal Tehrani. While much critical attention on patriarchy focuses on the marginalisation of women, this study highlights how patriarchal expectations also shape and burden men. Specifically, it explores how ideals of masculinity influence identity formation, regulate emotional expression, and determine social roles within the narrative. By situating the play within broader discourses on gender and power, the paper demonstrates how Tehrani’s work offers a nuanced reflection on the human cost of patriarchal structures. The analysis employs close reading of selected passages to trace how male characters internalise, conform to, or resist dominant gender norms. Particular attention is given to patterns of emotional repression, struggles with vulnerability, and the tension between personal desires and societal obligations. These dynamics reveal how patriarchal values, while granting men symbolic authority, produce psychological strain, fractured identities, and emotional isolation. The characters’ experiences underscore the paradox that the very system designed to privilege men simultaneously constrains their humanity. By foregrounding the male emotional landscape, this study contributes to ongoing conversations in gender studies and literary criticism. It challenges the assumption that men are simply beneficiaries of patriarchy and instead demonstrates how they, too, are subject to harm, albeit in different ways than women. Rintih Chicago thus functions both as a critique of entrenched gender norms and as an exploration of the silent suffering that patriarchy engenders. Ultimately, this reading invites a more inclusive understanding of how patriarchal power operates, shaping and wounding all who live under its shadow.