Study tracks shift in masculine archetypes in fiction from 1771-1930

This paper analyzes masculine archetypes in English-language fiction from 1771 to 1930, using a corpus of 150 canonical novels. Researchers employed an unsupervised structural topic model, incorporating publication year and author gender, to identify six distinct masculine formations: aristocratic-chivalric, Christian manhood, gentlemanly respectability, country squire, professional-commercial, and imperial/adventure. The study found a decline in formations linked to inherited rank and sacred authority, with a significant rise in those associated with paid work and adventure, particularly the frontier-wilderness register. This shift indicates a move from inherited and sacred status towards achieved, commercial, and expansionary forms of masculine authority, with adventurous and commercial archetypes being more prevalent in novels by male authors. AI

IMPACT Provides a reproducible computational method for analyzing historical text data, potentially applicable to other literary or social science research.

RANK_REASON Academic paper analyzing literary trends using computational methods. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=0.4]

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