Masculinity, Femininity and Simone Benmussa’s Singular Life of Albert Nobbs

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Masculinity, Femininity and Simone Benmussa’s Singular Life of Albert Nobbs

The semiotics of traditional theatrical form reinforce an oppressive patriarchal system. The physical body becomes the catalyst by which gender is assigned and expected. This emphasis on the body is amplified in the theater. Simone Benmussa’s play The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs, adapted from the short story by George Moore, deals with issues of femininity and masculinity and how these are portrayed within the theater as well as how theater is formed by the traditional patriarchal gaze. This play also deals with issues of class and how class status is intrinsically tied to gender, gender performance and sexuality. Through the example of this play it is seen that a form of theater which creates and maintains the woman as subject rather than object (as Sue-Ellen Case proposes) cannot be truly realized until the performative nature and many issues inherent in masculinity are acknowledged and processed. Here also is an excellent case study of how the politics of the theater are deeply rooted in body politics and gender essentialism. All of these factors contribute to the play’s overall complexity in matters surrounding and pertaining to the performative nature of masculinity and the manner in which masculinities are brought forth on stage and how that differs from femininity on stage.

One of the central themes of theatrical form is identity and the catalyst by which identity is formed is the body. In using the body as the site of formation of individual identity, women are “uniquely identified with their anatomy” and specifically the parts of their anatomy that differ from that of men (Callaghan 30). Because women are thus defined by their relation ...

... middle of paper ...

... femininity and female masculinity are brought under scrutiny.

Works Cited:

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble. New York, Routledge. 1990

Callaghan, Dympna. Shakespeare Without Women: Representing Gender and Race on the Renaissance Stage. New York, Routledge. 2000

Case, Sue-Ellen. Towards a New Poetics. from Feminism and Theater. New York, Methuen. 1988

Gardiner, Judith Kegan. Introduction. from Masculinity Studies & Feminist Theory. (also ed.) New York, Columbia University Press. 2002

Halberstam, Judith. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. from Masculinity Studies & Feminist Theory. ed Judith Kegan Gardiner. New York, Columbia University Press. 2002

Hopkins, Patrick D. Gender Treachery: Homophobia, Masculinity, and Threatened Identities.

Kano, Ayako. Acting Like A Woman in Modern Japan: Theater, Gender, and Nationalism. New York, Palgrave. 2001

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