| In the Irish society saturated with the androcentric view and the Irish theater dominated by masculine playwrights,the Irish women were always depicted and eulogized as idealized mothers within the family or as glorious emblems of the nation in the last century.One of the most acclaimed playwrights in Ireland,Marina Carr,devotes herself to exploring the predicaments of the Irish women in her works.Her play,By the Bog of Cats...presents a different female image which breaches the androcentric norms in the patriarchal society.The thesis is going to analyze By the Bog of Cats...with the theory of symbolic violence proposed by Pierre Bourdieu.It concentrates on the specific symbolic violence of masculine domination which is represented as androcentric norms in the play.This thesis first approaches the naturalization of this representation and discloses the reason why the masculine domination is stable and invisible but with destructive effect.Then,it explores the effect of the symbolic violence of masculine domination in order to reveal that it not only damages the dominated women but also injures the dominant men.These two chapters suggest that women should have diverse identities instead of being confined to the standard one stipulated by androcentric norms.Finally,it investigates the resistance of the protagonist Hester Swane,the only character with rebellious spirit in the play.In spite of her courage,her resistance fails and ends up in her tragic death.This chapter signifies that it is very difficult for women to exert any influence on the masculine domination with their individual efforts unless the androcentric norms or other unfairness in it can be changed or eliminated from the higher level of society or government.Hence,the conclusion is drawn that centering on women,By the Bog of Cats...not only discloses the predicament of women but also criticizes the masculine domination which exists as an undetectable symbolic violence. |
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