This paper provides a methodological demonstration, using a Ricoeurian analytic framework, to assess the impact of well-known fictional narratives on male teachers’ construction of masculinities within educational settings. The analysis identifies a salient teacher type, The Static Vocational, as a durable professional identity in education. The alignment of key themes found in the teachers’ survey data and interviews with those revealed in the novel Goodbye Mr. Chips demonstrates how literary tropes inform the enactment of social tropes in an educational setting. The findings have implications for new methods of reflective practice seeking deeper insights into becoming an education professional.