Liminality refers to the period of transition or phase during a rite-of-passage, when the participant is between two stages in life: adulthood and adolescence. Liminal space is the struggle between one’s physiological and physical stage of life. Fight Club’s main characters Tyler and Robert Paulsen both live in liminal spaces. Guyland Kimmel explains that the liminal area is an area where men and women can both occupy to escape from the responsibilities of growing older. The liminal area is where they can escape from all the things they will have to deal with in their lives. Bob Paulsen is a movie star who was diagnosed as having testicular and breast cancer. Tyler is a man who will change his mental state from being unstable and passive to one that is assertive, balanced and confident throughout the story. Robert, while Tyler is more suited to liminality than Tyler I believe. However, Robert does a better job of representing castration anxiety than Tyler.
Robert is not as able to represent liminal space like Tyler. Liminality is a state of mind in which a person finds themselves in conflict during a transitional phase in their lives. It could be either a mental or physical one. Liminal is defined by Michael Kimmel as the “undefined period between adolescence, adulthood,” (Kimmel 4). Tyler’s mental journey can be seen in flight club. Tyler has allowed his life to dictate what other people say or do. This is important because it shows Tyler’s passive or weak characteristics throughout the first half. He is timid, soft-spoken, and push-over. Robert portrays Liminality better than Tyler. Robert’s physical Liminal Space is because he is trapped in a gender position. In other words, he is a Testicular tumor patient and now has no testicles. It is this situation that makes Robert unique. He has lost his masculinity and is now experiencing low levels of estrogen, which causes him to have “bitch-tits”. He explained that the “Incredible Confluence between Conservative Religion, Popular Culture: Fight Club is a Heteronormative Ritual” Westerfelhaus article explains. Jack frequently visits a support program for men with testicular carcinoma. These men feel that they are still men, regardless of the fact that their cancer treatment has resulted in them being castrated with chemicals and surgically. This is significant as it shows that bob cannot be sure that he’s still a man even though he has undergone surgery. Clark, J. Michael explains why bob is in this liminality in his article “Faludi Fight Club and Phallic Masculinity” he wrote:
Faludi (1999), asserts that the primary factors that destabilize American masculinity are economic. The “onrush of Mass Consumption” has made it a more symbiotic state. According to Faludi (1999), the “good life” has become “measured only in participation in… Consumer Culture.” (Clark65).
This is important because Robert Paulsen was a victim of “Consumer culture” which “has emasculated man”. Robert Paulson, a former wrestler and bodybuilder. He developed testicular cancer from his overuse of steroids. Robert fell prey to social constructs and consumer culture. He used steroids to gain an edge over his coworkers. So Robert is not a better representative of Liminal space than Tyler.
Robert Paulsen Embodies Castration anxiety better than Tyler. Castration anxiety can both be understood as fear or emasculation. Castration anxiety, which can be interpreted literally as fear of losing any or all of one’s organs or parts of them, is an unconscious or conscious fear. Metaphorically, castration anxiety, which refers to feeling insignificant, is a fear of being degraded and dominated. Robert Westerfelhaus has written an article titled “Fear of Castration, Obsession with Potency…Concern about
Emasculation–symbolic and literal–is expressed early and often in Fight Club” (Westerfelhaus311). This is significant as Roberts Castration anxiety can be seen in the Support group scene. Roberts is crying out and hugging Tyler, sharing his sad castration story (Fight Club 1999). Roberts felt this liminal Space and he joined the fight club to share his story. Robert is Castration anxiety’s better representative than Tyler.
Tyler is not more Castration anxious than Robert Paulsen. J. Michael Clark writes in his article:
Fight Club and the Betrayal of American Man insist on the fact that consumerism has made men more passive and less heroic. (Clark 65)
This quote is important because it explains why Tyler took up “passive ornamental” roles normally assigned to women. Tyler also doesn’t portray the severity castration anxiety Bob experiences. Yes, Tyler has shown minimal concern towards castration anxiety throughout the film, but who wouldn’t want their balls cut? Tyler’s metaphorical, or literal castration is clear in the film. Tyler places a limit on his self-worth by ordering from IKEA (Fight Club1999). This attribute is only related to a femininity role because of Social Construct. Tyler only realized his masculinity after Tyler’s apartment was toppled. Robert, on the other hand, is more castration-averse than Tyler.
The film’s transition between passive and unstable and assertive to stable and stable is a clear example of Tyler embodying liminal territory better than Robert. Robert “Bob,” who portrays liminal area less well than Tyler, has more physical setbacks than Tyler which only effected Tyler’s ego. Tyler is less castration anxious than Robert. This is because Tyler has to demonstrate his dominance over his dyer even though he doesn’t have balls. Tyler does not have the same castration anxiety traits as Robert. Tyler places more emphasis on his possessions rather than his masculinity.
