The Representation of Gender Trouble in Albee’s Plays Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and The Goat, Or Who Is Silvia?

Abstract

The dissertation presents an exploration of gender in who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf (1962), and the Goat, or who is Silvia? From the gender perspective, gender has become increasingly the issue of our time; discussion of gender in society has spread from the field of feminist research to mainstream public discussion on politics and everyday life. For instance, one may legally female but feel more comfortable in practising as a man in terms of gender, or one may conceive as being either in between the gender categories or even not belonging to either of them. Butler, can be mentioned as one of the most important contemporary feminist philosophers, her writings, ever since the publication of her first book of gender " Gender trouble, Feminism and the subversion of Identity"(BUTLER1990) had remarkable influences on Feminism theorizing, as well as on different political movements motivated by question of sex,gender and sexuality. The aim of my work is to give an account of Judith Butler's theory of per formative gender in order to analyse Edward Albee's plays, The Goat, or who is Silvia? And Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?