The battle of masculinity determines the male character's fate in A bout de souffle and Le Boucher, because their quest feel masculine overshadows other aspects of life ultimately leading to tragedy. In both films we see two men chasing after very independent women. The act of chasing after love can already be seen as not masculine, and the challenge is the woman not wanting to be with the male lead. Two different movies are closely tied together, ending in the male leads death after they fail at winning the leading ladies heart. Both Popaul and Michel have masculine qualities. Popaul is a veteran of war and is currently a butcher, and Michel is a gangster on the run. Two men put everything on the line including their masculinity for a shot at true love, and it determines their fate.
Both male leads struggle with their masculinity by falling in love with two independent woman. The main struggle with the male characters is clearly seen with their desire to have the woman that they want, and when they can’t
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In lecture we talked about how Popaul had a desire to penetrate ,and when Hélène refused to have a relationship with him he penetrated himself with a knife which killed him. Popaul seemed like a very masculine man that had a role in the war and came back to be a butcher, his infatuation with Hélène can be seen from early on from their walk home from a wedding, and carries on with his multiple attempts to please Hélène through many offerings of meat and brandy soaked cherries. His masculinity is challenges when Hélène rejects him in the woods, and blatantly tells him she does not want a romantic relationship with him. Miss Hélène can be seen as an independent modern woman who is perfectly content with not being in a romantic relationship. Popaul is not able to accept this and when he realizes there is no chance with Hélène he decided to take his