Julia’s Self-Performance In Maugham’s Theatre

William Somerset Maugham(1874-1965)was a brilliant novelist and playwright in Britain in the 20 th century.Theatre(1937)is Maugham’s only novel that is related to drama.This novel narrates a story where in the British society before the Second World War the actress Julia not only performs on the stage,but also "acts" in daily life now and then.Researchers in China have mainly discussed the theme of freedom in this novel,while scholars in the West mainly focus on the themes of stream of consciousness,functions of the language and recreational functions and others in the novel.However,there are few researchers who discuss the theme of "self-performance" in this novel with sociological theory.Erving Goffman(1922-1982)is a famous American sociologist.Dramaturgical theory he put forward is helpful to the literary studies,to a certain extent.Goffman holds that life is just like theatrical performances.An Individual makes his or her behaviors be in line with others’ expectations through varied codes in order to achieve what he or she wants to."The self" is produced from the individual and the whole scene where the individual performs.It is the product of the performance and the scene."Self-performance" means that individuals perform in given situations in order to achieve the goals and the performances could influence the other participants in the situations.In this novel,Julia often "plays" different roles in life for shaping and maintaining "good images".With the enrichment of her emotional experiences and the advancement of career,she finally frees from the bonds of life and treats her life rationally.Focusing on the pursuer,the controller and the judge the three images,the thesis tends to discuss the theme of the protagonist Julia’s "self-performance" in Theatre with dramaturgical theory in view of given social and historical background at that time.Chapter One will analyze Julia’s "self-performance" as a pursuer in this novel.Julia is "attentive" to Tom(accountant)for merely satisfying her vanity.Obsessing with Michael’s appearance,Julia leaves a good impression on him intentionally for the pursuit of love in her mind.Charles is of noble birth,and Julia intends to get close to him through her "performances" because she thinks that to do so could promote the advancement of her acting career.Chapter Two will discuss Julia’s "self-performance" as a controller in the novel.In order to maintain their marriage,she tries to control the illusory love(between her and Michael)through "performances".Charles loves Julia,and Julia always "turns to" him for help when she is in need,which makes her dominate his tenderness opportunely.And also she intends to take control of the indecent relationship with Tom through "performances" for keeping "good images".Chapter Three will center on Julia’s "self-performance" as a judge in this novel.With the enrichment of acting experiences,Julia finally could treat Michael’s selfless giving,Charles’ fool and the transitory relationship with Tom rationally.Through the analyses of Julia’s images as a pursuer,a controller and a judge,this thesis discusses the theme of the protagonist’s "self-performance" in this novel and reveals the social phenomenon that people "perform" for the satisfaction of their inner desires at that time,to some extent.Theatre expresses Maugham’s concern and thinking about this phenomenon "performance".According the thesis,people are supposed to keep calm and make self-regulation in daily life so as to control the situations when they confront with different situations,and then they could treat the persons and things during social contact more rationally.