GRIEF, FREEDOM, AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IN SANDRA NEWMAN’S THE MEN: AN EXISTENTIAL FEMINIST STUDY

Abstract

Dystopian literature often explores how extreme social disruption affects human identity and moral responsibility. This paper examines how Sandra Newman’s The Men represents grief, freedom, and the search for meaning in a world where men suddenly disappear. It investigates how this catastrophic event unsettles personal identity, transforms social structures, and forces characters to reconsider their sense of purpose. The study uses a qualitative and interpretive approach based on close textual analysis of the novel. It focuses on how grief functions as a deep disruption of relational identity, how freedom becomes both an opportunity and a burden, and how meaning-making emerges as a necessary response to loss and uncertainty. The analysis shows that the disappearance of men does not automatically create a utopian feminist future; instead, it creates new ethical challenges that require responsibility, self-awareness, and social reconstruction. By bringing together existential thought and feminist concerns, this study argues that The Men is not simply a speculative narrative about gender absence but a thoughtful exploration of how individuals and communities rebuild identity and meaning after radical transformation. The article contributes to dystopian studies by demonstrating that existential feminism offers a useful framework for understanding grief, agency, and ethical reconstruction in contemporary fiction.