Transgression:Gender,Class And Nationality In Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Plays

Being a reflection of her perspective on individual existence and world views,transgression consistently stands as the strongest feature of the playwriting by Timberlake Wertenbaker,a distinguished British woman playwright who came into fame in the late 1980s.Taking transgressive thoughts as the theoretical guidance and close-reading as the basic research methodology,this dissertation provides a systematic study on Wertenbaker’s representative works in the 1980s,1990s and the new millennium,so as to explore how transgression phenomena prevail in such issues as gender,class and nationality,and how the playwright’s transgressive consciousness dynamically shapes her idea about subject’s identity.The sense of transgression in Wertenbaker’s plays not only subverts the static view of inner identity in traditional western philosophy,but also conveys her humanistic concern for the individual existence in the contemporary society,stressing the necessity of constructing a multicultural society.This dissertation includes seven parts:introduction,five chapters of argument and conclusion.The introduction mainly presents the significance of the research topic,a survey of previous research findings,as well as the themes and the structure of this dissertation.The first chapter aims at elaborating the concept and connotation of transgression,summarizing the transgressive ideas in contemporary literary theories,particularly with reference to feminist and post-colonialist theories,and presenting a general overview of the development of transgressive writings in the history of literature.The second chapter argues that such three factors as her early diaspora experience,the contemporary trend of globalization and the cultural mood of Postmodernism,had jointly contributed to the formation of her strong sense of mobility and transgressive thinking,exerting far-reaching influence on the themes and stylistic features in her works.The third,fourth and fifth chapters focus on text analysis.Chapter Three studies the gender transgression in Wertenbaker’s representative works in the 1980s-New Anatomy,The Grace of Mary Traverse and The love of Nightingale,which reveal Wertenbaker’s reflection,critique and transcendence on the gender boundaries in patriarchal discourse.Gender transgression not only deconstructs the female subject under the constraint of social norms,but also demonstrates w omen’s pursuit towards spiritual freedom and self-liberation,which is above the“rational order",beyond the limits and boundaries,and breaking various conventions and expectations.Chapter Four studies Wertenbaker’s another two representative works in the 1980s—The Grace of Mary Traverse and Our Country’s Good.From the perspective of class transgression,this chapter not only reveals that class,like gender,can never cut off its connections with the dominating social power,but also breaks the intrinsic identity of the upper class with their self-superiority and inferiority of the lower class,deconstructing the hierarchical concept of class,and presenting Wertenbaker’s pursuit of equality and dialogue.Chapter Five studies national transgression in Wertenbaker’s works—Three Birds Alighting on the Field and The Break of Day in the 90s,and Credible Witness in the new millennium.This chapter explores how the British diaspora constructed hybrid national identity and how indigenous ethnic groups broke down the pursuit of a unitary and pure British national identity in the context of border-crossing globalization.National transgression not only breaks the natural boundaries between states and nations,but also subverts the intrinsic definition of national identity in the traditional western civilization,manifesting Wertenbaker’s conception of constructing a multicultural society from a higher perspective of universal values.The conclusion summarizes the whole dissertation,reemphasizes the significance of transgression in Wertenbaker’s works,and points out that transgression conveys the playwright’s humanistic values and moral concerns.Transgression breaks the traditionally constructed boundaries of gender,class and nationality,impairs the oppressive thinking patterns,and endeavors to expand the space of individual development.However,transgression is not a denial of the existence of boundaries.On the contrary,it acknowledges boundaries,differences and distinctions.What lies behind transgression is Wertenbaker’s humanistic concern for individual existence and her vision of constructing a heterogeneous,hybrid and floating multicultural society.