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As two figures that exist on the margins of society and culture, the antiheroine and the stranger are uncannily alike in their boundary-crossing and liminal occupation of physical and metaphorical [...]

El artículo analiza cómo la serie Dexter genera complicidad con el asesino en serie protagonista, Dexter Morgan, no sólo proporcionándole atributos heroicos que nos hacen olvidar la monstruosidad de sus crímenes, sino también presentando a Dexter como un hombre 'normal' que intenta pasar inadvertido haciéndose pasar por un buen esposo, padre y compañero de trabajo. Los intentos de Dexter de controlar su violencia y estar a la altura del ideal postfeminista de lo que debe ser un hombre, sin embargo, no tienen éxito y la serie acaba promoviendo una imagen de la masculinidad basada en la agresión, la individualidad y el egoísmo. Dexter, por lo tanto, no logra desligar la masculinidad de la violencia y activamente promueve la supervivencia del sistema patriarcal. Palabras clave: estudios culturales; ficción de asesinos en serie; psico-horror; masculinidad; televisión; Dexter The paper analyses how television series Dexter generates complicity with its serial killer protagonist, Dexter Morgan, not only by giving him a heroic edge that overrides the monstrosity of his crimes, but also by focusing on his attempts to blend in and pass undetected by posing as a caring partner, father and co-worker. Dexter's efforts to curve his inborn violence into submission and to appear as the New Man envisioned in our supposedly post-feminist state of affairs, however, do not prosper and the series ends up promoting an image of men as inherently aggressive, individualist and selfish. Dexter, I argue, does not manage to countermand a construction of masculinity based on violence and endorses a patriarchal ethos actively and stubbornly engaged in its self-preservation. Keywords: cultural studies; serial killer fiction; psycho-horror; masculinity; television; Dexter, Dexter: Villain, Hero or Simply a Man? The Perpetuation of TRAdiTioNAL Masculinity in Dexter 1. Introduction The television series Dexter (Showtime 2006-), based on the novels by Jeff Lindsay, (1) [...]

Critics of Christopher Marlowe's 'Tamburlaine the Great' believe the title hero's appeal was ironically undercut despite evidence that he was lionized by Elizabethan audiences as a transgressive hero. Others have suggested that the hero touches on cultural ideals of empowerment. Robert Vaughan's representation of Tamburlaine as 'modern worthy' reflects the social phenomenon of the late 16-century involving a rapid rise in social status.

Patrick Suskind's 'Das Parfum' anti-hero Grenouille is analyzed using the psychological approach. The approach is situated within the framework of Theodor Adorno's aesthetics of modernism and the easthetics of fascism. Max Horkheimer' critical theory and Klaus Theweleit's concept of ego pathology are also engaged. Grenouille as reason's Other embodies the repressed and therefore, pathologized nature. The truth content of Suskind's novel is presented as the dark side of art: society viewed from the perspective of redemption.

James Dickey in his novel 'Deliverance' proposes the evolution of a new romantic American hero. The novel presents the quintessential American Adam in the character of Lewis who fits the mold of an individual emancipated from history, without ancestry, undefiled by family and race and an individual alone, self-reliant and self-motivated. However, in the character of Ed Gentry Dickey portrays the American Cain who discovers that the most valuable thing in life are the ties of family. Unlike the American Adam, Ed leads others back to safety and the world of technology rather than to danger and escape from reality.

The character of the epic 'anti-hero' Duryodhana is examined across a variety of theatrical and other representations with the aim of showing that, in him, resides also the remnants of an older 'heroism' devoted to this-worldly dharmic values and hostile to the new bhakti of Krishna.

Many readers of Stendhal's 'La Chartreuse de Parme' have been confused by the passivity of the main character, Fabrice. Readers conditioned by the Aristotelian tradition's emphasis on action have found the novel unresolved and lacking in focus. Closer attention to the character of Fabrice suggests that in him Stendhal invented a new type of character who anticipated the anti-heroes of 20th-century fiction.

An analysis of the works 'Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery' by Norman Mailer and 'Libra' by Don DeLillo is presented. Both works describe the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald and the conspiracy theories surrounding this event. DeLillo's work emphasizes the sinister relationship between performance and reality in Kennedy's assassination and in Harvey's later assassination. Mailer sees Oswald as part psychopath and part soulful hipster.