An Analysis Of The Female Protagonist's Identity Crisis In Three Tall Women

Edward Albee is one of the foremost playwrights in American literature history.He is also a playwright with great sense of social responsibility,since all of his works are trying to reveal and evoke the public concern on man's as well as the social existing problems.Three Tall women,one of Albee's latter important works,mainly tells a story of the female protagonist's tragic life experience by using the expressionist technique on the stage.After analysis,it can be noticed that the protagonist's tragedy mainly results from her identity crisis because she fails to truly recognize herself and build her identity.The identity crisis that the protagonist in this play suffers from is also a serious problem haunting the modern people,which leads to many modern symptoms like loss of belonging,disillusion,anxiety and other negative feelings.This thesis aims at the illustration of the female protagonist's identity crisis and its possible causes by using the identity crisis theory.By analyzing the formation of the protagonist's identity crisis,this thesis also aims to appeal for public's concern on one's integrated personality which will be beneficial for their self-recognition,and on the significance of the successful social interactions with others.The thesis starts with a brief introduction to Albee's life and plays as well as a literature review on Albee studies.In addition,it probes into its research significance in modern society.The second part introduces the theoretical frame of this thesis,including the theory of identity crisis and that of Jung's persona and shadow.The third part includes Chapter Two and Chapter Three,and analyses two aspects of the protagonist's identity crisis.The first one is her self-recognition crisis,while the other one is her unsuccessful establishment of social identity.Chapter two mainly deals with the protagonist's self-recognition crisis.On the one hand,the protagonist tries to suppress her shadow in personality like innocence and eagerness to keep true to herself.However,on the other hand,she hopes to be accepted by this corrupted society by rebuilding a new image as a hypocritical,money-oriented andover-strong woman,which is actually denied and even despised by herself.This contradiction in her self-recognition leads to her split personality and causes her great confusion and pain.Chapter Three analyses the protagonist's social identity crisis by exploring her failed social interactions with others.Living in a hostile society,the protagonist's interpersonal relationship is greatly alienated,whether with family members or with others.Her egoism and her conformity with the corrupted moral values impede her successful establishment of social identity and lead to her loss of belonging.Chapter Four examines the two main causes of the protagonist's identity crisis.The first one is women's unequal social status as “Other” in the patriarchal society.Influenced by the social standards for women which are set by men,the protagonist tries to reshape her image to please men.When her self-awareness is awakened,she hopes to succeed and become independent as a subject like men.But being confined by the current social conditions,she is unable to find a practical way to fulfill her goals.Therefore,she begins to doubt herself and falls into the helpless feeling as she is unable to fight against the reality.The second cause is the degenerated social moralities that pollutes the society as a hostile place.To a great degree,the protagonist's split personality is caused by her contradictory attitudes toward the corrupted moral values.Her practice of the corrupted moral values also leads to her failed interpersonal interactions and impedes her establishment of social identity.The last part of this thesis concludes the reasons and development of the protagonist's identity crisis,and at the same time,it is also intended to arouse readers' attention to the existing problems in modern society.