Fornes의 작품에 나타난 여성들의 성 역할 - Mud와 The Conduct of Life롤 중심으로 - = Female Gender Roles in Fomes’ Plays

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper aims to verify that Maria Irene Fornes’ plays take strong feminist stance by showing the female protagonists desperately trying to escape from the traditional gender roles imposed on them by oppressive male-centered societies. In Fornes’ plays, the females are playing two traditional gender roles. One is the biological gender role which they take up by becoming the object of sexual desire, and the other is the social gender role which they play as the caregiver of housework and child-rearing. As these traditional female gender roles make them stuck in the animal status devoid of reason, the female protagonists in Fornes’ plays like Mae in Mud and Leticia in The Conduct of Life try to acquire the abilities based on the ‘reason,’ which are exclusive male rights, and overcome the oppression of modern society. Despite their aggressive effort, Mae fails to escape and is killed by Lloyd, and Leticia victimize Nena by putting the gun in her hand after killing Orlando. These tragic ending can be regarded as a limitation of Fornes’ plays, but, as Fornes herself insisted, to show a woman at the center of a situation, at the center of the universe can be an important feminist statement.