To the new masculinity: The paradigmatic change of sexual rolesin Sabahattin Ali's novel Madonna in a Fur Coat

Along with Romanticism, a reverse has been observed in masculinity and the roles of male hero's. In our research the masochism which is the reason of the decadance of male's masculinity and their desire of dominant females is analyzed with psychoanalytic theories, sociological atmosphere of the period, and of course with the significant examples in literature. We have discussed the decadance of masculinity and the reverse in sexual roles by analyzing both Western works and also one of the most crucial novels of Turkish Literature which is Sabahattin Ali's Madonna in a Fur Coat. In the First Chapter, we have analyzed the aspects of Romanticisim to the nature and the woman, and also its stance against the patriarchal elements of Classic culture. Also, the impact of The Great Mother Goddess theme and the mythical powerful women which was reawaken in Romanticism has been explained with the works of Romantic writers and their characters. In The Second Chapter, we have taken Sacher-Masoch's famous novel Venus in Furs and the Freud's and Kraft-Ebing's psychological theories as references in order to explain that masochism is one of the main reasons of the decadence of males' masculinity, And finally, in the Last Chapter we have indicated that the decadence in masculinity and the paradigmatic change in sexual roles which has been associated with Western literature, can also be observed in a Turkish novel, Madonna in a Fur Coat. The significance of our research is to remind the universality of literature by finding the traces of Western culture in one of the most important novel in Turkish literature. Keywords: Romanticism, Sexual Roles, the Decadence of Masculinity, Masochism, Sacher-Masoch, Venus in a Fur Coat, and Sabahattin Ali.