The Self Question in Woolf and Deshpande Women Gender Performances Through the Lens of Goffman’s Dramaturgy

Abstract

Amidst the dilemma on switching gender roles in a conservative society, the experiences of women as a gender in collective has always been the ‘other’ irrespective of the differences in socio-cultural systems. Yet varying in degree of experiencing the ‘otherness’ they are expected to accept the otherness as gender roles. Decoding the ties which binds women to their gender roles and the dilemma in deviating from those to commit to their individual self. Through the sociological theory of Erving Goffman on ‘Dramaturgy’, the study explores the concept of social role ascribed to women and how it led them to the lineage of accepting the social role of women as gendered responsibilities. The study employs a method of close analysis to examine the experiences of female characters and their gender performances. Further investigating the applicability of Dramaturgy in relation to their anticipated social roles within the chosen literary texts. In conclusion, the article tests the idea of confining women in their gender roles for the benefit of the society by screening them from committing to their individual self as portrayed in Mrs. Dalloway and That Long Silence.