A Queer Interpretation Of Gender Fluidity In The Shining

A turbulent society where its people are suppressed is often the time when Gothic horror literature flourished,such as fin-de-siècle Victorian Britain or paranoid Cold War Era in 1970 s America.Similar themes and settings have made Gothic literature from two different time periods break through the boundaries of time and space,thus having far-reaching influence.Stephen King’s Gothic horror novel The Shining has achieved commercial success since its initial release,making him one of the well-known horror novel writers,and highlighting the enduring influence of such genre of literature.This modern Gothic horror creatively combines classical and contemporary styles.In addition,the literary value of The Shining also surpassed its era.Not only because it draws on scenes,characters,and supernatural elements that appear in many other American Gothic literary works,but also because its story reflects the protagonists’ change in self-identity.Regardless of whether the change is helpful or destructive,it makes the protagonists suffer a completely different impact when facing their own dilemmas,which needs to be carefully analyzed.By elaborating the cutting-edge theories from contemporary queer gender theorists such as “androgynous ethos”,the main purpose of this thesis is to explore the fundamental reasons of depression in each protagonist,and to analyze the gender identity of other appeared characters in the hotel.So,the argument that queerness exists in both the“unspeakable” places of the hotel and the troubled psyches of the protagonists can be supported.The conclusion of the thesis is that gender fluidity plays a decisive role in the protagonists’ self identification in The Shining.