Good Dad, Bad Husband: Stay-at-Home Dad, Voluntariness, and the Struggling Masculine Identity in Contemporary German Novel Der Wickelvolontär

Abstract

This research article examines Mike Schier’s novel Der Wickelvolontär (2009), focusing on how the protagonist negotiates masculine identity and employs affective strategies while taking on the role of a stay-at-home father in the context of contemporary Germany. The analysis demonstrates that the protagonist neither fully rejects nor entirely embraces the domestic role; instead, he relies on humor, irony, and emotional bonding with his child as strategies to sustain a sense of traditional masculinity while appearing as a “good father.” These affective performances operate less as evidence of structural transformation toward gender equality in the familial sphere. At the same time, the narrative’s neglect of housework and the marginalization of the wife’s role reveal the persistent grip of patriarchal structures that underpin new modes of masculinity. This article argues that reading the novel by highlighting voluntariness and humor as central to the protagonist’s narrative illustrates masculine identity of stay-at-home dad not as a complete discursive transformation but as an ongoing negotiation shaped by the pressures of state policies, egalitarian ideals, and the cultural dominance of maternal codes of care.