HISTORICAL PRAGMATICS FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE: THE DISCURSIVE PROJECTION OF WOMEN'S ROLES IN 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY THEATRE

Abstract

This paper, within the field of historical pragmatics, presents a pragmatic-discursive study of the projection of female family social roles (wife, mother) in nineteenth and twentieth century theatre. For this purpose, from the theoretical framework of sociocultural pragmatics, the communicative behaviour of these roles has been analysed in relation to the needs of affiliation and autonomy of each of the roles in a selected corpus of plays. Specifically, the linguistic formulation, (a)polite modulation and social effects of the directive speech acts have been studied and the results of their socio-pragmatic interpretation have been correlated with those reflected in the socio-historical treatises of the time. The results indicate that, despite being established in a priori symmetrical relationships, female roles manifest a communicative behaviour in which a socio-functional inferiority role prevails (except for housework), oriented towards the reinforcement of affiliation with complementary family roles through self-denial and the expression of affectivity.