The presentation of self in everyday life | Goffman, Erving | download\nالرئيسية The presentation of self in everyday life\nOverview: A study of human behavior in social situations and the way we appear to others. Dr. Goffman has employed as a framework the metaphor of theatrical performance. Discussions of social techniques are based upon detailed research and observation of social customs in many regions.\nالناشر: Anchor Books [u.a\nالصفحات: 255 / 173\nISBN 10: 0684836351\nISBN 13: 9780684836355\nFile: PDF, 3.43 MB\nتحميل (pdf, 3.43 MB)\nlik e ly36\ntiv e ly33\nFile: EPUB, 72 KB\nFile: EPUB, 792 KB\nUniversity o f Edinburgh\nPrice : Ten Shillings\n$9 George Square, Edinburgh S\nM a s k s are a r r e s t e d e x p r e s s i o n s and a d m irab le e c h o e s of\nf e e lin g , a t o n c e f a ith fu l, d i s c r e e t , a n d s u p e r l a t i v e .\nL iv in g\nt h i n g s in c o n t a c t with th e a ir must a c q u i r e a c u t ic l e , and it i s\nnot u rg e d a g a i n s t c u t i c l e s th a t th e y are not h e a r t s ; y e t som e\np h i l o s o p h e r s s e e m to be a ngry w ith im a g e s for not b ein g th in g s ,\na n d w ith w ords for no t b e in g f e e lin g s . Words and im a g e s are\nl ik e s h e l l s , no l e s s in te g r a l p a r t s o f n a tu re th a n a re th e su b \ns t a n c e s th e y c o v e r , but b e t te r a d d r e s s e d to the e y e a n d more\no p e n to o b s e r v a tio n . I w ould not sa y th a t s u b s t a n c e e x i s t s for\nth e s a k e of a p p e a r a n c e , or f a c e s for the s a k e of m a sk s, or the\np a s s i o n s for the s a k e o f p o etry a n d virtu e . N oth in g a r i s e s in\nn a tu re for th e s a k e o f a n y th in g e l s e ;\na ll t h e s e p h a s e s and\np r o d u c ts are in v o lv e d e q u a l l y in th e round o f e x i s t e n c e .............\nG eorg e S a n ta y a n a 1\n1 S o lilo q u ie s in E n g la n d\n1922), p p . 131-132.\nL a te r S o lilo q u ie s\n(New York: S cribners,\nA CK N O W LED G EM EN T S\nT h e re p o r t p r e s e n t e d h ere w a s d e v e lo p e d in c o n n e c tio n with\na stu d y of i n te r a c t io n u n d e r ta k e n for th e D epartm ent of Social\nA n th ropolo gy and t h e S ocia l S c i e n c e s R e s e a r c h Com m ittee of\nth e U n iv e r s ity of E dinbu rgh and a stu d y o f s o c i a l s tr a t i f i c a t i o n\ns u p p o r te d by a F o rd F o u n d a tio n gran t d ir e c te d by P r o f e s s o r\nE. A. S h i l s a t th e U n iv e r s ity o f C h ic a g o . I am grateful to t h e s e\ns o u r c e s of g u i d a n c e an d support.\nI would l i k e to e x p r e s s\nt h a n k s to my t e a c h e r s C. W. M .H a rt, W. L. Warner, an d E. C.\nH u g h e s . [ w ant, too, to th a n k E l i z a b e t h B ott, J a m e s L itt le jo h n ,\na n d E d w ard B a n fie ld , who h e lp e d me at the b eg in n in g of th e\nstu d y , and f e ll o w - s tu d e n ts o f o c c u p a t i o n s a t th e U n iv e r sity o f\nC h ic a g o who h e l p e d me la te r . Without th e c o l la b o r a t io n of my\nw ife, A n g e lic a S. Goffman, t h i s rep ort would not h a v e been\nm ean t h i s report to s e r v e a s a sort of handbook d e t a il in g\no n e s o c io lo g ic a l p e r s p e c t i v e from w hich s o c ia l lif e c a n be\ns t u d i e d , e s p e c i a l l y t h e kind o f s o c i a l lif e th a r i s o r g a n is e d\nw ith in t h e p h y s i c a l c o n f in e s of a b u ild in g or p lant. A s e t of\nf e a t u r e s w ill be d e s c r ib e d w hich to g e th e r form a framework th a t\nc a n be a p p l ie d to any c o n c r e te s o c ia l e s ta b l is h m e n t, be it\ndo m e s tic , i n d u s t r i a l , or com m ercial.\nT h e p e r s p e c t i v e em ployed in t h i s report i s th a t of th e t h e a t \nrical p erfo rm an ce ; th e p r i n c i p l e s deriv e d a r e dram aturgical\no n e s . I s h a ll c o n s i d e r th e way in which th e in d iv id u a l in ordin \nary work s i t u a t i o n s p r e s e n t s h im s e lf and h i s a c t i v i t y to o th e rs ,\nth e w a y s in w hich he g u id e s and c o n t r o l s th e im p r e s s io n th e y\nform of him, and th e k in d s o f t h i n g s h e may an d may not do\nw hile s u s t a i n i n g h i s p erform ance before them . In u sin g t h i s\nmodel I will attem p t not to make lig h t of i t s o b v io u s in a d e q u a \nc i e s . T h e s t a g e p r e s e n t s t h i n g s th a t are m a k e - b e lie v e ; p resum \nab ly life p r e s e n t s th i n g s th a t are rea l a n d s o m e tim e s not well\nMore im portant, p e r h a p s , on th e s ta g e one p la y e r\n» r e s e n t s h im s e lf in th e g u is e of a c h a ^ . c t e r to c h a r a c t e r s pro\nje c te d by o th e r p l a y e r s ; th e a u d i e n c e c o n s t i t u t e s a th ird party\nto t h e i n t e r a c t i o n —o n e that i s e s s e n t i a l and yet, if t h e s t a g e\nperfo rm an ce were re a l, o n e th a t would not be th e re . In re a l life,\nth e t h r e e p a r t i e s are c o m p re s s e d into t w o ; th e p a rt o n e in d i\nv id u a l p l a y s i s ta ilo r e d to th e p a r ts p la y e d by th e o t h e r s pre\ns e n t , and yet t h e s e o th e rs a l s o c o n s t i t u t e t h e a u d i e n c e . Still\noth e r i n a d e q u a c i e s in t h i s model will be c o n s id e r e d la ter.\nT h e i l l u s t r a t i v e m a te r ia ls u se d in t h i s stu d y are of mixed\ns t a t u s : som e are ta k e n from r e s p e c t a b l e r e s e a r c h e s w here q u a l\nified g e n e r a l i s a t i o n s are given c o n c e r n in g r e li a b ly re c o rd e d\nr e g u l a r i t i e s ; some are ta k e n from informal mem oirs w ritten by\ncolourful p e o p l e ; many fall in betw een. T h e j u s t if i c a tio n for\nt h i s ap p ro a c h ( a s I t a k e to be th e ju s t i f i c a t i o n for Simmei’ s\nalso) i s th a t th e i l l u s t r a t i o n s to g e th er fit into a co h e ren t frame\nwork that t i e s to g e th e r b i t s of e x p e r ie n c e the r e a d e r h a s a lre a d y\nhad and p r o v id e s th e stu d e n t with a guide worth t e s t i n g in c a s e s t u d i e s ’of i n s t itu ti o n a l s o c ia l life.\nT h e framework i s p r e s e n te d in lo g ic a l s t e p s .\nT h e intro\nduction i s n e c e s s a r i l v a b s t r a c t and may be skip ped.\nOF CO N TEKTS\nPA G E\nA ck n o w led g em en ts\n'N T R O D U C T IO N\nDISCREPA N T\nC O M M U N IC A TIO N\nCON CLU SION\nI M P R E S S IO N\nIN T R O D U CTIO N\nWhen a n in d iv id u a l e n t e r s t h e p r e s e n c e of o th e r s , th e y\ncom m only s e e k to a c q u i r e inform atio n a b o u t him or to bring in to\np la y inform ation a b o u t him a l r e a d y p o s s e s s e d . T h e y w ill be\ni n t e r e s t e d in h i s g e n e r a l s o c i o - e c o n o m i c s t a t u s , h is c o n c e p t io n\no f s e l f , h i s a t t i t u d e tow ard them , h i s c o m p e te n c e , h i s tr u s t\nw o r t h in e s s , e t c . A lthough so m e of th is in form ation s e e m s to be\ns o u g h t a lm o st a s a n end in i t s e l f , th e re a r e u s u a lly q u ite p r a c \nt i c a l r e a s o n s for a c q u ir in g it. Inform ation a b o u t th e in d iv id u a l\nh e l p s to d e f in e th e s i t u a t i o n , e n a b l i n g o th e rs to know in ad\nv a n c e w hat he w ill e x p e c t of them and w h a t th e y may e x p e c t of\nhim. Inform ed in t h e s e w a y s , th e o t h e r s w ill know how b e s t to\na c t in o r d e r to c a ll forth a d e s ir e d r e s p o n s e from him.\nF o r t h o s e p r e s e n t , many s o u r c e s of in fo rm atio n bec om e\na c c e s s i b l e an d many c a r r i e r s (or ' s i g n - v e h i c l e s ’) bec om e a v a i l \na b l e for c o n v e y in g t h i s inform ation. If u n a c q u a i n te d w ith th e\nin d iv id u a l, o b s e r v e r s c a n g le a n c l u e s from h i s c o n d u c t an d\na p p e a r a n c e w h ich a llo w them to a pp ly th e ir p r e v i o u s e x p e r i e n c e\nwith i n d i v i d u a l s roughly s im ila r to th e o n e befo re them or, more\nim portant, to a p p ly u n t e s t e d s t e r e o t y p e s to him. T h e y c a n a l s o\na s s u m e from p a s t e x p e r ie n c e th a t only i n d i v i d u a l s o f a p a r ti c \nu la r kind a r e l ik e ly to be found in a g iv e n s o c i a l s e ttin g . T h ey\nc a n r e ly o n w h a t th e in d iv id u a l s a y s ab o u t h i m s e l f or on do c\nu m e n tary e v i d e n c e he p r o v id e s a s to who and w hat he i s . If\nttiey know, or know of, th e in d iv id u a l by v irtu e of e x p e r ie n c e\nprior to t h e in te r a c t io n , th e y c a n r e ly on a s s u m p t i o n s a s to th e\np e r s i s t e n c e an d g e n e r a lit y o f p s y c h o lo g ic a l t r a i t s a s a m e a n s\nof p r e d ic tin g h i s p r e s e n t an d future beh a v io u r.\nH o w ev er, d u rin g th e p e r io d in w hich th e in d iv id u a l i s in th e\nim m e d ia te p r e s e n c e of t h e o th e r s , few e v e n t s may o c c u r w hich\nd i r e c t l y p ro v id e the o t h e r s w ith the c o n c l u s i v e in fo n n a tio n they\nwill n e e d if th e y a r e to d i r e c t w is e ly th e ir own a c t i v i t y . Many\nc r u c ia l f a c t s l i e b e yond th e tim e and p l a c e of i n te r a c t io n or l i e\nc o n c e a l e d w ithin it.\nFor- ex a m p le , th e ' t r u e ’ o r ’ r e a l ’ a t t i \ntu d e s , b e l ie f s , a n d e m o tio n s o f th e in d iv id u a l c a n be a s c e r t \na i n e d o n ly in d ir e c tly , through h i s a v o w a l s or through what\na p p e a r s t o be in v o lu n ta ry e x p r e s s i v e behaviour.\nS im ilarly,\nif th e in d iv id u a l o f f e r s t h e o t h e r s a p ro d u c t or s e r v ic e , they w ill\no f te n find th a t d u rin g the in te r a c t io n th e re will be no tim e an d\np l a c e im m e d ia te ly a v a i l a b l e for e a t i n g th e pudd in g t h a t the\np roof c a n b e found in. T h e y will b e fo rc ed to a c c e p t s o m e\ne v e n t s a s c o n v e n tio n a l or n a tu ra l s i g n s of s o m e th in g not d i r e c t \nl y a v a i l a b l e to th e s e n s e s . In I c h h e i s e r ’ s t e r m s 1, t h e in d i\nvidu al w ill h a v e to a c t so th a t h e in te n tio n a lly or u n in te n tio n \na l ly expresses h im s e lf , and th e o t h e r s will in turn h a v e to be\nimpressed in so m e way by him.\nWe find, th e n , th a t w hen th e ind iv id u al i s in t h e im m e d ia te\np r e s e n c e o f o th e rs , h is a c t i v i t y w ill h a v e a p r o m isso r y c h a r \na c te r. T h e o t h e r s a r e l i k e l y to find th a t th e y m u st a c c e p t the\nin d iv id u a l o n f a ith , offe rin g him a ju st retu rn w h ile h e i s p re \ns e n t before them in e x c h a n g e for s o m e th in g w h o s e tru e v a lu e\nw ill not be e s t a b l i s h e d u n til afte r h e h a s left th e ir p r e s e n c e .\n(Of c o u r s e , th e o t h e r s a l s o liv e by in f e r e n c e in th e ir d e a l i n g s\nwith th e p h y s i c a l world, but it i s only in th e world of s o c i a l\ni n te r a c t io n th a t th e o b j e c t s ab o u t which th e y m ak e i n f e r e n c e s\nwill p u r p o s e ly f a c i l i t a t e a n d h inde r t h i s in f e r e n tia l p r o c e s s .)\nT h e s e c u r i t y th a t they j u s t i f i a b l y feel in m aking in f e r e n c e s\nab o u t th e in d iv id u a l w ill vary, of c o u r s e , d e p e n d in g on suc h\nf a c t o r s a s th e am ount of p r e v io u s inform ation th e y p o s s e s s\na b o u t him, but no am ount of s u c h p a s t e v i d e n c e c a n e n t ir e ly\no b v i a t e th e n e c e s s i t y of a c tin g on th e b a s i s o f i n f e r e n c e s .\nL e t u s now tu rn from t h e o t h e r s to th e p o in t of v iew of the\nin d iv id u a l who p r e s e n t s h im s e lf before them . H e may w is h them\nto th in k highly of him, or t o think th a t he th i n k s h ighly of them,\nor to p e r c e iv e how in f a c t h e f e e ls toward them, or to o b ta in no\nc le a r - c u t i m p r e s s i o n ; he may w ish to e n s u r e s u f f i c ie n t harmony\ns o th a t the i n te r a c t io n c a n be s u s t a i n e d , or to d efrau d , g e t rid\nof, c o n f u s e , m is le a d , a n t a g o n iz e , or in s u lt them . R e g a r d l e s s o f\nth e p a r ti c u la r o b j e c t i v e w hich th e in d iv id u al h a s in mind and of\nh i s m otive for h a v in g t h i s o b j e c t i v e , it will be in h i s i n t e r e s t s\nto c o n tro l the c o n d u c t of th e o th e r s , e s p e c i a l l y th e ir r e s p o n s i v e\nt r e a tm e n t of him. 2 T h i s control is a c h ie v e d la rg e ly by in flu \ne n c in g t h e d e f in itio n of th e s i t u a t i o n w hich the o th e r s com e to\nfo rm u late , and h e c a n in f lu e n c e t h i s d e f in itio n by e x p r e s s i n g\nh im s e lf in s u c h a way a s to g iv e them th e kind o f im p r e s s io n\n' G u s t a v I c h e i s e r , ‘ M i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s in Human R e l a t i o n s ' , S u p plem en t\nto T h e A m e r ic a n J o u rn a l o f S o c io lo g y , LV, (S e ptem b er, 1949) p p . 6- 7.\na i ! e r e 1 o w e m uch t o an u n p u b l i s h e d p a p e r by Tom B u r n s of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of\nE din burgh, w h ere the argum en t i s p r e s e n t e d r h at in a l l i n t e r a c t i o n a b a s i c\nu n d e r ly in g th em e i s th e d e s i r e of e a c h p a r t i c i p a n t to g u i d e a n d co n tro l th e\nr e s p o n s e m ad e by the o t h e r s p r e s e n t .\nth a t w ill l e a d them to a c t v o lu n ta r ily in a c c o r d a n c e with h i s\now n pla n . T h u s , w hen an i n d iv i d u a l a p p e a r s in th e p r e s e n c e of\no t h e r s , t h e r e w ill u s u a l l y be so m e r e a s o n for him to m o b iliz e\nh i s a c t i v i t y s o th a t it w ill c o n v e y a n im p r e s s io n to o t h e r s w hich\nit i s in h i s i n t e r e s t s to c o n v e y .\nI h a v e s a i d th a t when an in d iv id u a l a p p e a r s before o t h e r s\nh i s a c t i o n s w ill in f lu e n c e th e d e f in itio n of th e s it u a ti o n w hich\nth e y c o m e to h a v e .\nS o m etim es th e in d iv id u a l will a c t in a\nth o roughly c a l c u l a t i n g manner, e x p r e s s i n g h im s e lf in a given\nway s o le ly in o rd e r to giv e th e kind of im p r e s s io n to o t h e r s th a t\ni s lik e ly to e v o k e from them a s p e c i f i c r e s p o n s e he is c o n c e r n \ned to o b ta in . Som etim es th e in d iv id u a l w ill be c a l c u l a t i n g in\nh i s a c t i v i t y but be r e l a t i v e l y u n a w a re t h a t t h i s is th e c a s e .\nSom etim es he w ill in te n tio n a lly an d c o n s c i o u s l y e x p r e s s him\ns e l f in a p a r ti c u la r way, but c h i e f ly b e c a u s e the tr a d itio n of h is\ngroup or s o c i a l s t a t u s r e q u ir e t h is kind of e x p r e s s i o n an d not\nb e c a u s e o f an y p a r ti c u la r r e s p o n s e (o th e r th a n v ag ue a c c e p t \na n c e or approval) th a t i s l ik e ly to be e v o k e d from th o s e im\np r e s s e d by t h e e x p r e s s i o n .\nS om etim es the tr a d i tio n s o f an\ni n d iv i d u a l’s ro le w ill l e a d him to g iv e a w e ll-d e s ig n e d im p r e s s \nion of a p a r t i c u l a r kind and y e t he may be n e i th e r c o n s c i o u s l y\nnor u n c o n s c io u s l y d i s p o s e d to c r e a t e s u c h an im p re ssio n . T h e\no t h e r s , in th e ir turn, may be s u i t a b l y im p r e s s e d by th e in d iv i d \nu a l ’s e ff o rts to c o n v e y s o m e th in g , or may s c e p t i c a l l y ex am ine\na s p e c t s of h i s a c t i v i t y o f w h o se s i g n i f i c a n c e he i s not a w a re ,\no r may m is u n d e r s ta n d th e s i t u a t i o n and com e to c o n c l u s i o n s\nt h a t are w arra n te d n e ith e r by th e in d iv i d u a l’s in te n t nor by the\nf a c t s . In an y c a s e , in s o far a s the o t h e r s a c t as i f th e in d iv i d \nual had co n v e y e d a p a r t i c u l a r im p r e s s io n , we may ta k e a f u n c t\nional or p r a g m a tic view an d s a y t h a t th e in d iv id u a l h a s ’ e f f e c t \ni v e l y ’ p r o je c te d a g ive n d e f in i tio n of th e s i t u a t i o n and ' e f f e c t \ni v e l y ’ f o s te r e d th e u n d e r s ta n d in g th a t a g iv e n s t a t e o f a f f a ir s\no b ta in s .\nWhen w e a llo w th a t t h e in d iv id u a l p r o j e c t s a d e f in itio n o f\nthe s i t u a ti o n w hen he a p p e a r s before o th e rs , w e must a l s o s e e\nchat th e o th e r s , how ever p a s s i v e their ro le may s e e m to be, will\nt h e m s e l v e s e f f e c t i v e l y p r o j e c t a d e f in itio n of the s i t u a t i o n by\nv irtu e o f th e ir r e s p o n s e to t h e in d iv id u a l and by virtu e of any\nl i n e s of a c tio n th e y i n i t i a t e to him. O rd in arily we find th a t th e\nd e f in i tio n s of th e s i t u a t i o n p r o je c te d by th e s e v e r a l d iffe ren t\np a r t i c i p a n t s are s u f f i c i e n t l y a ttu n e d to o n e a n o th e r s o t h a t open\nc o n t r a d ic t io n will not occ u r. I do not mean th a t th e re will be\nth e kind of c o n s e n s u s th a t a r i s e s w hen e a c h in d iv id u a l p r e s e n t\nc a n d id ly e x p r e s s e s w hat he r e a l l y f e e l s an d h o n e s tly a g r e e s\nwith th e e x p r e s s e d f e e l i n g s of th e o t h e r s p r e s e n t. T h i s kind o f\nharm ony i s an o p ti m i s t i c id e a l an d in a n y c a s e n o t n e c e s s a r y\nfor th e sm ooth w orking of s o c i e t y . R a the r, e a c h p a r ti c ip a n t i s\ne x p e c t e d to s u p p r e s s h i s im m e d ia te h e a r t f e l t f e e lin g s , c o n v e y \nin g a view of the s i t u a t i o n w hich he f e e l s th e o t h e r s w ill be\na b l e to find a t l e a s t te m p o rarily a c c e p t a b l e . T h e m a in te n a n c e\no f t h i s s u r f a c e of ag re em e n t, th is v e n e e r of c o n s e n s u s , i s\nf a c i l i t a t e d by e a c h p a r t i c i p a n t c o n c e a l i n g h i s own w a n ts b e h in d\ns t a t e m e n t s w hich a s s e r t v a l u e s to w hich ev e ry o n e p r e s e n t is\nl i k e l y to g iv e l i p - s e r v i c e . F u rth e r, th e r e i s u s u a lly a k in d of\nd iv is io n of d e f in itio n a l la b o u r. E ac h p a r ti c ip a n t i s a l lo w e d to\ne s t a b l i s h th e t e n t a t i v e o f f ic ia l ru lin g r e g a r d in g m a tte rs w hich\na r e v ita l to him b a t not im m e d ia te ly im portant to o th e rs , e .g .,\nth e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n s and j u s t i f i c a t i o n s by w hich he a c c o u n t s for\nh i s p a s t a c t i v i t y ; in e x c h a n g e for t h i s c o u r t e s y h e r e m a in s\ns i l e n t or non-com m ittal on m a tte r s im p o rta n t to o th e r s but not\nim m e d ia te ly im p ortant to him. We h a v e th e n a kind of i n t e r \na c t i o n a l modus vivendi.\nT o g e t h e r t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s c o n t r i b u te to\na s i n g l e o v e ra ll d e f in i tio n o f th e s i t u a t i o n w hich in v o lv e s n o t\ns o much a r e a l a g re e m e n t a s to w hat e x i s t s but r a th e r a r e a l\nag r e e m e n t a s to w hose c l a i m s c o n c e r n in g what i s s u e s w ill b e\ntem porarily honoured. R e a l a g r e e m e n t will a l s o e x i s t c o n c e m the d e s i r a b i l i t y o f a v o id in g an o pen c o n f li c t o f d e f i n i t i o n s of\nthe s i t u a t i o n . 1 L e t u s refer to t h is le v e l of a g re e m e n t a s a\n' w o r k i n g c o n s e n s u s ’. It i s to be u n d e r s to o d t h a t t h e w orking\nc o n s e n s u s e s t a b l i s h e d in o n e i n te r a c t io n s e t t i n g will be q u i t e\nd if fe r e n t in c o n t e n t from th e w orking c o n s e n s u s e s t a b l i s h e d in a\nd iffe ren t ty p e o f s e ttin g . T h u s , b e tw e e n two f r ie n d s a t lu n c h , a\nr e c ip ro c a l show of a f f e c tio n , r e s p e c t , and c o n c e r n for t h e o th e r\ni s m a in ta in e d . In s e r v i c e o c c u p a t i o n s , on t h e o th e r hand, th e\ns p e c i a l i s t o f te n m a i n t a i n s a n im a g e of d i s i n t e r e s t e d in v o lv e ment in th e problem o f t h e c l i e n t , w hile t h e c l i e n t r e s p o n d s with\na show of r e s p e c t for th e c o m p e t e n c e and in te g r ity of t h e s p e c \ni a l i s t . R e g a r d l e s s o f s u c h d i f f e r e n c e s in c o n t e n t, h o w ev e r, t h e\ng en e ral form of t h e s e w orking a r r a n g e m e n ts i s th e sam e.\nIn n o tin g th e te n d e n c y for a p a r t i c i p a n t to a c c e p t th e d e f in \ni t i o n a l c l a i m s m a d e by t h e o t h e r s p r e s e n t , we c a n a p p r e c i a t e\nthe c r u c ia l im p o r ta n c e of t h e -information t h a t th e in d iv id u a l\ninitially p o s s e s s e s or a c q u i r e s c o n c e r n in g h i s fellow p a r t i c i \n1 An in t e r a c t i o n c a n be p u r p o s e l y s e t up a s a tim e a n d p l a c e for v o i c i n g\nd i f f e r e n c e s in o p in io n , but in s u c h c a s e s p a r t i c i p a n t s m ust be c a r e f u l to\na g r e e no t to d i s a g r e e o n t h e proper t o n e o f v o i c c , v o c a b u l a r y , a n d d e g r e e o f\ns e r i o u s n e s s in w h i c h a l l a r g u m e n t s a r e to b e p h r a s e d , an d up on t h e m u tu al\nr e s p e c t w h ic h d i s a g r e e i n g p a r t i c i p a n t s m u s t c a r e f u l ly c o n t i n u e to e x p r e s s\nto w a r d o n e a n o t h e r . T h i s d e b a t e r s ' or a c a d e m i c d ef i n i ti o n of th e s i t u a t i o n\nmay a l s o be s u d d e n l y a n d j u d i c i o u s l y in v o k e d a s a way of t r a n s l a t i n g a\ns e r i o u s c o n f l i c t o f v i e w s into o ne t h a t c a n be h a n d l e d w i th in a framework\na c c e p ta b le to all p re se n t.\np a n t s , for it i s o n th e b a s i s o f t h i s in i t i a l in fo rm ation th a t t h e\nin d i v i d u a l s t a r t s to d e f in e t h e s i t u a t i o n and s t a r t s to build up\nl i n e s o f r e s p o n s i v e a c t i o n . T h e i n d i v i d u a l ’s in it ia l p r o je c tio n\nc o m m its him to w h a t h e i s p r o p o s i n g to be a n d r e q u i r e s him to\ndrop a ll p r e t e n c e s of b e in g o th e r th in g s . ■ A s t h e i n te r a c t io n\nam ong th e p a r t i c i p a n t s p r o g r e s s e s , a d d i t i o n s a n d m o d if ic a ti o n s\ni n t h i s in i t i a l in fo rm atio n al s t a t e w ill of c o u r s e o c c u r, -but i t i s\ne s s e n t i a l th a t t h e s e l a t e r d e v e lo p m e n ts be r e l a t e d withouc c o n \ntr a d i c t i o n to, and even b u ilt up from, t h e i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n s ta k e n\nby t h e s e v e r a l p a r t i c i p a n t s . It would seem th a t a n in d iv id u a l\nc a n more e a s i l y m a k e a c h o i c e a s to w hat l i n e of tre a tm e n t to\ndem and from an d e x te n d to th e o th e r s p r e s e n t a t th e b e g in n in g\no f a n e n c o u n te r th a n h e c a n a l te r t h e l i n e of tr e a tm e n t t h a t i s\nb e in g p u r s u e d o n c e t h e in t e r a c t i o n i s u n derw ay.\nIn e v e r y d a y life , of c o u r s e , t h e r e i s a c l e a r u n d e r s ta n d in g\nth a t f irs t i m p r e s s i o n s a r e im portan t. T h u s , t h e work a d j u s tm e n t\no f t h o s e in s e r v i c e o c c u p a t i o n s will o fte n h in g e upon a c a p a c i t y\nto s e i z e and hold t h e i n i t i a t i v e in t h e s e r v i c e r e la tio n , a c a p \na c i t y th a t w ill r e q u ir e s u b t l e a g g r e s s i v e n e s s o n th e p a rt of t h e\ns e r v e r w hen h e i s of lo w e r s o c io - e c o n o m ic s t a t u s th a n h is\nc l ie n t . W. F. Whyte s u g g e s t s th e w a i t r e s s a s a n e x a m p le :\nT h e firs c p o i n t t h a t s t a n d s o u t i s t h a t t h e w a i t r e s s who b e a r s up\nu n d e r p r e s s u r e d o e s n o t s im p ly r e s p o n d ro her c u s t o m e r s . S h e a c t s with\ns o m e s k i l l to c o n tr o l t h e i r b e h a v i o u r . ] T h e f i r s t q u e s t i o n t o a s k when\nw e l o o k a t t h e c u s t o m e r r e l a t i o n s h i p i s , “ D o e s t h e w a i t r e s s g e t t h e jump\no n t h e c u s t o m e r , o r d o e s t h e c u s t o m e r g e t t h e jump on t h e w a i t r e s s ? ' 1\nT h e s k ille d w a itr e s s r e a l i z e s the cru cial nature o f th is q u es tio n . . . .\nT h e s k i l l e d w a i t r e s s t a c k l e s t h e c u s t o m e r w ith c o n f i d e n c e and\nw ith o u t h e s i t a t i o n .\nFo r e x a m p l e , s h e may find t h a t a n e w c u s t o m e r h a s\ns e a t e d h i m s e l f b efo re s h e c o u l d c l e a r off t h e d irty d i s h e s a n d c h a n g e rhe\nHe i s now l e a n i n g on t h e t a b l e s t u d y i n g t h e m enu .\nh im , s a y s , “ May I c h a n g e th e co v e r , p l e a s e\nand, w ith o u t w a itin g for\nan a n s w e r , t a k e s h i s m e n u a w a y from him s o t h a t he m o v e s b ack from t h e\nt a b l e , a n d s h e g o e s a b o u t h er work. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p , i s h a n d l e d p o lite ly\nbut firmly, a n d t h e r e i s n e v e r a n y q u e s t i o n a s to who i s in c h a r g e . 1\nWhen t h e i n t e r a c t i o n th a t i s i n i t i a t e d by " f i r s t i m p r e s s i o n s ”\ni s i t s e l f m e re ly t h e in it ia l i n t e r a c t i o n in a n e x t e n d e d s e r i e s o f\ni n t e r a c t i o n s in v o lv in g t h e s a m e p a r t i c i p a n t s , we s p e a k of\n' 'g e t t i n g o ff on t h e right f o o t ” a n d feel th a t it i s c r u c ia l th a t we\ndo so . T h u s , o n e l e a r n s th a t s o m e t e a c h e r s t a k e t h e follow ing\nv iew :\nYou c a n ' t e v e r ler th e m g e t t h e u p p e r h and on y ou o r y o u 'r e through.\nSo I s ta rt out tough.\nT h e f i r s t day I g e t a new c l a s s in, I l e t them\nknow w h o ’s b o s s . . . .\nY ou 'v e go t to s t a r t oil t ou gh , t h e n y o u c a n e a s e\nu p a s y ou go a l o n g .\nIf y o u s t a r t o u t e a s y - g o i n g , w h e n y ou t r y to g e t\nt o ug h, t h e y ’ll j u s t l o o k a t y o u a nd l a u g h . 2\n1 W. F . Whyte, 11 When Workers an d C u s t o m e r s M e e t , ” C h a p . VII, In d u stry\na m i S o c ie ty , e d . W . F . Whyte (N ew Y o r k : M cGraw-H ill, 1946), pp. 132-133? T e a c h e r i n t e r v ie w q u o te d by H ow ard S . B e ck er, " S o c i a l C l a s s V a r i a t i o n s\nin r h e T e a c h e r - P u p i l R e l a t i o n s h i p , " Journal o f E d u c a tio n a l S o c io lo g y ,\nS im ilarly, a t t e n d a n t s ih m ental i n s t i t u t i o n s may feel th a t if t h e\nnew p a t i e n t i s s h a rp ly put in h i s p l a c e th e f irs t day on th e ward\na n d m a d e to s e e who i s b o s s , much future d iffic u lty w ill be\np r e v e n te d . 1\nG iv en t h e fac t th a t th e in d iv id u a l e f f e c tiv e ly p r o j e c t s a\nd e fin itio n o f t h e s it u a ti o n when h e e n t e r s th e p r e s e n c e of\no th e r s , w e c a n a s s u m e th a t e v e n t s may o c c u r within th e in te r\na c t i o n w hich c o n t r a d ic t , d is c r e d it, o r o th e r w is e throw doubt\nupon t h i s p ro je c tio n . When t h e s e d i s r u p tiv e e v e n t s o cc u r, th e\nin te r a c t io n i t s e l f may com e to a c o n f u s e d and e m b a r ra s s e d h a lt.\nSome o f t h e a s s u m p tio n s upon which the r e s p o n s e s of the p a r\nt i c i p a n t s h ad b e e n p r e d ic a te d becom e u n te n a b le , and th e p a r \nt i c i p a n t s find t h e m s e l v e s lo d g e d in a n in te r a c t io n for which th e\ns i t u a t i o n h a s been wrongly d e fin e d and i s now no lo n g e r de\nfined. At s u c h m om ents th e in d iv id u a l w h o s e p r e s e n t a t i o n h a s\nb ee n d is c r e d ite d may feel a s h a m e d w hile th e o t h e r s p r e s e n t may\nf e e l h o s t i l e , and all th e p a r t i c i p a n t s may co m e t o feel ill at\ne a s e , n o n p lu s s e d , our of c o u n te n a n c e , e m b a r ra s s e d , e x p e r ie n c \nin g th e kind of an o m ie th a t i s g e n e ra te d w hen th e m inute social\ns y s t e m o f f a c e - to - f a c e in te r a c tio n b r e a k s down.\nIn s t r e s s i n g t h e fact th a t th e in it ia l d e fin itio n of the s i t \nu a tio n p r o je c te d by a n in d iv id u al t e n d s to p ro v id e a p la n for th e\nc o - o p e ra tiv e a c tiv i ty th a t f o llo w s —in s t r e s s i n g t h i s a c tio n po in t\no f v ie w —we m u st n o t overlook th e c r u c ia l fac t th a t any pro\nj e c t e d d e f in itio n o f th e s i t u a ti o n a l s o h a s a d i s t i n c t i v e moral\nc h a r a c t e r . It i s t h i s moral c h a r a c t e r of p r o je c tio n s t h a t will\nc h i e f ly c o n c e r n u s in t h i s report. S o cie ty is o r g a n iz e d on th e\np r in c i p le th a t any in d iv id u a l who p o s s e s s e s c e r ta in s o c i a l\nc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s h a s a moral right to e x p e c t th a t o t h e r s will\nv a l u e a n d tr e a t him in a co rre sp o n d in g ly a p p r o p r ia te way.\nC o n n e c te d with t h i s p r in c ip le i s a se c o n d , nam ely th a t an indi\nv id u a l who im p lic itly .o r e x p l ic i tly s i g n i f i e s th a t he h a s c e r ta in\ns o c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ought to h a v e th is claim honoured by\no t h e r s a n d o u g h t in f a c t t o be w hat h e c l a i m s h e is. In c o n \ns e q u e n c e , when a n in d iv id u al p r o j e c t s a d e f in itio n of th e s i t \nu a tio n and th e re b y m a k e s an im p licit or e x p l ic i t claim to be a\np e r s o n of a p a r ti c u la r kind, he a u t o m a tic a lly e x e r t s a moral\ndem and upon th e o th e rs , o b lig i n g them to v a l u e and tr e a t him in\nt h e m anner th a t p e r s o n s of h i s kind h a v e a right to e x p e c t. H e\na l s o im p lic itly fo rg o e s all c l a im s to b e th in g s h e d o e s not\na p p e a r to b e 2 and h e n c e fo rg o e s th e treatm ent th a t would be\n1 H arold T a x e l , 'A u th o r ity S tru c tu re in a Mental H o s p it a l Ward’, U n p u b lish e d\nM a s t e r ’ s t h e s i s , D ep artm en t o f S ociolo gy , U n iv e r sity o f C h i c a g o , 19532 T h i a r o l e o f th e w i t n e s s in l im itin g what i t i s th e i n d i v i d u a l c a n b e h a s\nb e e n s t r e s s e d by E x i s t e n t i a l i s t s , who s e e ic a s a b a s i c th r e a t ro i n d iv id u a l\nfre edom . S e e J e a n - P a u l S artre ; L ’e tr e e t le n e a n t ( P a r i s : Gallim ard, 1948),\np. 319 ff.\nap p r o p r ia te for s u c h in d i v i d u a l s TKv. o t h e r s find, t h e n , c h i t th e\nin d iv i d u a l h a s inform ed them a s to whac i s and a s to what ^hey\nought to s e e a s t h e ' i s ’.\nWe c a n n o t ju d g e th e im p o rta n c e of d e f in itio n a l d is r u p tio n s\nby th e fre<|'iency w ith w hich th e y occ ur, for a p p a r e n tly they\nn-rmld o c c u r more fre q u e n tly w ere noc c o n s t a n t p r e c a u t i o n s\nta k en .\nWe find th a t p r e v e n tiv e p r a c t i c e s a r e c o n s t a n t l y em\np lo y e d to u.void t h e s e e m b a r r a s s m e n ts and th a t c o r r e c t i v e p r a c \nt i c e s a re c o n s t a n t l y e m p lo y e d to c o m p e n s a t e for d i s c r e d i t i n g\no c c u r r e n c e s th a t h a v e not been s u c c e s s f u l l y a v o id e d . When th e\ni n d iv id u a l e m p lo y s t h e s e s t r a t e g i e s and t a c t i c s to p r o t e c t h i s\nown p r o je c tio n s , we m ay refer to them a s ' d e f e n s i v e p r a c \nt i c e s ’ ; w hen a p a r t i c i p a n t e m p lo y s them to s a v e th e d e f in i tio n\nof th e s i t u a t i o n p r o j e c t e d by a n o th e r , we s p e a k o f ' p r o t e c t i v e\np r a c t i c e s ’ o r ' t a c t ’. T o g e t h e r , ’d e f e n s i v e and p r o te c tiv e p r a c \nt i c e s c o m p ris e th e t e c h n i q u e s em plo yed to s a fe g u a r d th e im\np r e s s i o n f o s te r e d by a n in d iv id u a l d uring h i s p r e s e n c e b efo re\no th e rs . It s h o u ld be a d d e d th a t w hile we a r e p e r h a p s re a d y to\ns e e th a t no f o s te r e d i m p r e s s io n would s u r v iv e if d e f e n s i v e\np r a c t i c e s w ere not e m p lo y e d , we a re p e r h a p s l e s s r e a d y to s e e\nt h a t few i m p r e s s i o n s c o u ld s u r v iv e i f t h o s e who r e c e iv e d th e\ni m p r e s s io n did n o t e x e r t t a c t in th e ir re c e p tio n of it.\nIn a d d itio n to th e f a c t th a t p r e c a u t i o n s a re t a k e n to p re v e n t\nd isr u p tio n of p r o je c te d d e f in i tio n s , we may a l s o n o te th a t an\ni n t e n s e i n t e r e s t in t h e s e d i s r u p t i o n s co m e s to p la y a s ig n i f i \nc a n t role in t h e s o c i a l lif e of th e group. P r a c t i c a l j o k e s an d\ns o c i a l g a m e s a re p la y e d in w hich e m b a r r a s s m e n ts which a r e to\nb e ta k e n u n s e r i o u s l y a r e p u r p o s e ly e n g i n e e r e d . 1 P h a n t a s i e s\na r e c r e a t e d in w hich d e v a s t a t i n g e x p o s u r e s o c c u r . A n e c d o te s\nfrom th e p a s t —re a l, em b ro id ered, or f i c t i t i o u s —a r e to ld and re\nto ld , d e t a il in g d i s r u p t i o n s w hich o cc u rre d , a lm o s t o c c u r re d , o r\no c c u rre d and w ere a d m irab ly re s o lv e d . T h e r e s e e m s to be no\ngrouping which d o e s not hav e a r ea d y su p p ly of t h e s e gam es,\nr e v e r ie s , an d c a u tio n a r y t a l e s , to be u s e d a s a s o u r c e of hum\nour, a c a t h a r s i s for a n x i e t i e s , and a s a n c ti o n for in d u c in g in d i\nv id u a ls to be m o d e st in th e ir c la im s an d r e a s o n a b l e in th e ir\np r o je c te d e x p e c t a t i o n s . T h e in d iv id ual m a y te ll h im s e lf through\nd re a m s o f g e t tin g in to i m p o s s ib le p o s i t i o n s . F a m i l i e s te ll of\nth e tim e a g u e s t got h i s d a t e s mixed and a rriv e d when n e i th e r\nth e h o u s e nor an y o n e in it w a s r ea d y for him. J o u r n a l i s t s te ll\nof tim e s when a n a ll-to o -m e a n in g fu l m is p rin t o cc u rre d , an d th e\np a p e r ’s a s s u m p tio n of o b j e c t i v i t y or decorum w a s hum orously\nd i s c r e d ite d . P u b l i c S e r v a n ts te ll of tim es a c l i e n t r id ic u lo u s ly\n1 E rv in g G o f fm in , 'C o m m u n i c a ti o n C o n d u c t in an I s l a n d C o m m u n i t y ’ (Un\np u b l i s h e d P h . D . d i s s e r t a t i o n , D ep artm en t of S o c i o l o g y , U n iv e r sity of\nC h i c a g o , 1953), p p . 319-327.\nm is-u n d e rsto o d form i n s t r u c t i o n s , g iving a n s w e r s which im plied\n;m u n a n t ic i p a te d a n d b iz a r r e d e f in itio n of t h e s i t u a t i o n . 1 S e a \nmen, w h o se hom e aw ay from home i s r ig o ro u s ly he-m an, te ll\ns t o r i e s of com ing bac k home and in a d v e rte n tly a s k in g mother to\n" p a s s th e f-cking b u t t e r ” . 2 D ip lo m a ts tell of the tim e a n e a r \ns ig h t e d Q uee n a s k e d a r e p u b li c a n a m b a s s a d o r about th e h e a lth\nof h i s K ing. 3\nT o su m m arize , th e n , I a s s u m e that when an in d iv id u al\na p p e a r s before o t h e r s h e will h a v e many m o tiv e s for trying to\ncontrol t h e im p r e s s io n they r e c e iv e of the s itu a tio n .\nreport i s c o n c e r n e d with so m e of the common te c h n iq u e s th a t\ni n t e r a c t a n t s em ploy to s u s t a i n su c h i m p r e s s io n s and with so m e\no f th e common c o n t i n g e n c i e s a s s o c i a t e d with the em ploym ent of\nt h e s e te c h n iq u e s . T h e s p e c if ic c o n t e n t of any a c tiv i ty p r e s e n t \ned by t h e in d iv id u a l p a r t i c i p a n t , o r the role it p l.\_y s in th e\nin te r d e p e n d e n t a c t i v i t i e s of an on-going s o c ia l s y s t e m , will not\nbe at i s s u e ; I s h a ll be c o n c e r n e d on ly with th e p a r t i c i p a n t ’s\nd ram a turg ica l p ro b le m s of p r e s e n tin g the a c tiv ity before o th e rs .\nT h e i s s u e s d e a lt with by s ta g e - c r a f t an d s ta g e - m a n a g e m e n t a re\ns o m e tim e s triv ia l but th e y a r e q u ite g e n e r a l ; they seem to\no c c u r e v e ry w h e re in so c ia l life, prov id in g a c le a r- c u t d im e n sion\nfor formal s o c i o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s .\nIt will be c o n v e n ie n t to end t h i s in troduc tion with som e\nd e f in i tio n s th a t a r e im plied in whac h as gone befo re an.) r e \nquired for what i s to follow. For t h e pu rp o se of th is report,\ni n te r a c t io n ( th a t .is, f a c e - to - f a c e in te r a c tio n ) may be roughly\n•Jctined a s th e r e c ip r o c a l in f lu e n c e of i n d iv i d u a ls upon one\na n o t h e r ’s a c t i o n s when in one a n o t h e r ’s im m edia te p h y s ic a l\np r e s e n c e . An in te r a c t io n may be defin e d a s all th e in te r a c t io n\nwhich o c c u r s th rou ghout any one o c c a s io n when a given s e t of\nin d iv i d u a ls a r e in one a n o t h e r ’s c o n t in u o u s p r e s e n c e ; the term\n' a n e n c o u n t e r ’ would do a s well.\nA ‘ p e r f o r m a n c e ’ may be\nd e fin e d a s all th e a c tiv i ty of a given p a rtic ip a n t on a given\no c c a s i o n which s e r v e s to in f lu e n c e in any way any of th e o th e r\np a r t i c i p a n t s . T a k in g a p a r t i c u l a r p a r tic ip a n t and h i s perform \na n c e a s a b a s i c point of r e f e r e n c e , we may refer ro t h o s e who\nc o n trib u te t h e o th e r p e rf o rm a n c e s a s th e a u d i e n c e , o b s e r v e r s ,\nor c o - p a r ti c ip a n ts . T h e p r e - e s t a b lis h e d p a tte r n of a c tio n which\ni s unfolded during a p e rfo rm an ce and which may be p r e s e n t e d or\n1 P e t e r lilau , ' D y n a m ic s of B u r e a u c r a c y ' ( P h .D . d i s s e r t a t i o n . D epartm ent of\nSocio lo g y , C o lu m b ia U n iv e r sity , forthcoming, U n iv er sity of C h i c a g o P t c s s ) ,\n2 ^’n l t e r M. b e a t t i e , J r . , ' T h e M erchant S e a m a n ' (U n p u b l i s h e d M.A .\nReport, D ep artm en t of S o c io lo g y , U niv ersity of Cliic.iRo, 1950), |>. 35.\n3 Sir l-'redcrick P o n s o n b y ,\nD utton, 1952), p. 46.\nR e c o lle c tio n s\no f T h ree\nR e ie n s\n(N ew York:\np la y e d through on o th e r o c c a s i o n s may be c a l l e d a ' p a r t ’ or\n‘ r o u t i n e ’. 1 T h e s e s i t u a ti o n a l te rm s c a n e a s i l y be r e l a t e d to\nc o n v e n tio n a l s tr u c t u ra l o n e s . When an in d iv id u al or perform er\np l a y s th e s a m e part to t h e s a m e a u d i e n c e o n d iffe ren t o c c a s \nio n s , -a s o c ia l r e l a t i o n s h i p i s l ik e ly to a r i s e . D efining s o c ia l\nro le a s t h e e n a c tm e n t o f r ig h ts and d u t i e s a t ta c h e d to a given\ns t a t u s , 'We ca n sa y th a t a s o c i a l role will in v o lv e one or more\np a r t s and th a t e a c h o f t h e s e diffe ren t p a r t s may be p r e s e n t e d by\nth e perform er on a s e r i e s o f o c c a s i o n s to th e s a m e k i n d s of\na u d i e n c e or to an a u d i e n c e o f th e s a m e p e r s o n s .\n1 F o r c o m m e n ts on t h e i m p o rta n c e of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g b e t w e e n a ro u tin e o f\ni n t e r a c t i o n and any p a r t i c u l a r i n s t a n c e when t h i s r o u tin e i s p l a y e d through,\ns e e J o h n von Neu m an n a n d O s k a r M o rgenstern, T he T h eo ry o f G am es ana\nE c o n o m ic B e h a v io u r (2nd e d . ; P .- i n c e t o n : P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s ,\n1947), p. 49.\nPER F O R M A N C ES\nBelief in the Part One is Playing\nWhen a n in d ividu al p l a y s a part h e im p lic itly r e q u e s t s h is\no b s e r v e r s to ta k e s e r io u s ly th e im p r e s s io n that i s fo ste r e d\nbefore them . T h e y a r e a s k e d to b e l ie v e th a t th e c h a r a c t e r they\ns e e a c t u a l l y p o s s e s s e s th e a t t r i b u t e s h e a p p e a r s to p o s s e s s ,\nth a t the t a s k h e perform s will h a v e th e c o n s e q u e n c e s th a t a re\nim p lic itly c l a im e d for it, a n d tha t, in g e n e r a l, m a tte rs are w hat\nth e y a p p e a r to be. In lin e with t h is , th e re i s the p o p u la r view\nthat the in d iv id ual o f fe rs h is p erfo rm an ce an d p u t s on h is show\n' for the b e n e fit of o th e r people.' It will be c o n v e n ie n t to begin\na c o n s id e r a tio n of p e r f o rm a n c e s by turning t h e q u e s tio n aroun d\nand lo oking a t the in d iv id u a l’s own b e lie f in th e im p re ssio n of\nr e a l i t y th a t he a t te m p ts to e n g e n d e r in th o s e am ong whom h e\nf in d s h im self.\nAt one extrem e, ■we find th a t th e perform er c a n be fully\ntaken in by h i s own a c t ; he c a n be s in c e r e l y c o n v in c e d th a t th e\nim p re ssio n o f r e a l i t y which h e s ta g e s i s th e real r e a lity . When\nh i s a u d i e n c e i s a l s o c o n v in c e d in t h i s way a bo ut th e show he\np u t s o n —a n d t h i s s e e m s to be the ty p ic a l c a s e —then for the\nmoment, anyw ay, only th e s o c i o l o g i s t o r t h e s o c i a l l y d is \ng ru n tle d will h a v e a n y d o u b ts abo u t th e ' r e a l n e s s ’ of what i s\np r e s e n te d .\nAt the oth e r ex tre m e, we find th a t th e performer may n o t be\nta k e n in a t all by h is own ro utine.\nT h i s p o s s i b i l i t y i s under\ns t a n d a b l e , s i n c e no o n e i s in q u ite a s good an o b s e rv a tio n a l\np o s itio n to s e e through the a c t a s th e p erso n who p u ts it on.\nC o u p led with th i s , th e perform er may be moved to .guide the\nco n v ic tio n of h i s a u d i e n c e only a s a m e a n s to o th e r e n d s ,\nha v in g no u ltim ate co n c ern in th e c o n c e p t io n th a t th e y hav e of\nhim o r of th e s it u a ti o n .\nWhen the ind iv id u al h a s no b e lie f in\nh i s own a c t a n d no u ltim a te concern with th e b e l ie f s o f h i s\na u d i e n c e , we may ca ll him c y n ic a l, r e s e r v i n g th e term s i n c e r e\nfor i n d iv i d u a ls who b e lie v e in th e im p r e s s io n f o s te r e d by th e ir\nown perform ance.\nIt shou ld be u n d e rsto o d th a t th e c y n ic , with\na ll h i s p r o f e s s io n a l d isin v o lv e m e n t, may o b ta in u n p r o fe s s io n a l\np l e a s u r e s from his m a sq u e ra d e , e x p e r ie n c in g a kind of gleeful\ns p ir itu a l a g g r e s s io n from th e fac t that h e c a n toy a t will with\nsom ething h i s a u d i e n c e m ust ta k e s e r i o u s l y . 1\n’ P e r h a p s the real cr im e of th e c o n f i d e n c e man i s n o t th at he t a k e s money\nfrom h i s v i c t i m s buc chat he r o b s all of u s o f the b e lie f chat m i d d l e - c l a s s\nm a n n e r s an d a p p e a r a n c e c a n be s u s t a i n e d o n ly by m i d d l e - c l a s s p e o p l e . A\nIt i s not a s s u m e d , of c o u r s e , th a t all c y n i c a l perform ers a re\ni n t e r e s t e d in d e lu d in g th e ir a u d i e n c e s for p u r p o s e s of what i s\nc a l l e d ' s e l f - i n t e r e s t ' o r p r iv a t e gain. A c y n i c a l in d ividual may\nd elu d e h i s a u d i e n c e for what he c o n s i d e r s to be th e ir own good,\nor for the good o f the com munity, e t c . F o r i l l u s t r a t i o n s of th is\nwe n e e d not a p p e al to s a d ly e n l ig h te n e d showmen s u c h a s\nM arcus A u re liu s or H sun T z u . We know that in s e r v i c e o c c u \np a t io n s p r a c t i t i o n e r s who may o th e rw is e be s in c e r e are s o m e \ntim e s forced to d elu d e th e ir c u s t o m e r s b e c a u s e th e ir c u s to m e r s\nshow s u c h a h e a r tf e lt dem and for it. D o c to r s who are led into\ngiving p l a c e b o s , f illi n g - s t a tio n a t t e n d a n t s who r e s ig n e d ly\nc h e c k and r e c h e c k tire p r e s s u r e s for a n x i o u s women m o to r is t s ,\nsh o e c l e r k s who s e ll a sh o e th a t fits but t e l l the cu s to m e r it i s\nth e s i z e s h e w a n ts to h e a r —t h e s e a r e c y n i c a l perform ers w hose\na u d i e n c e s will not a llow them to be s in c e r e . Similarly, we find\nth a t s y m p a th e tic p a t i e n t s in m ental w ards will s o m e tim e s feign\nb iz a r re sym ptom s so th a t s tu d e n t n u r s e s will not be s u b je c t e d\nto a d is a p p o in ti n g ly s a n e perform ance. 1 So a ls o , when infer\ni o r s e x ten d th e ir most la v is h r e c e p tio n for v i s i tin g s u p e rio r s ,\nth e s e l f i s h d e s i r e to win favour may not be the c h i e f m o tiv e;\nthe inferio r may be ta c tf u lly attem p tin g to put the su p e rio r at\ne a s e by s im u la tin g the kind of world the s u p e r io r i s thought to\nta k e for gran ted.\nI hav e s u g g e s te d two e x t r e m e s : an in d iv id u a l may be taken\nin by h i s own a c t or be c y n i c a l abo u t it. T h e s e e x tre m e s are\nso m e th in g a l i t t l e more th a n ju s t the e n d s of a continuum . E ach\np r o v id e s the in d iv id u a l with a p o s itio n which h a s i t s own par\ntic u la r s e c u r i t i e s and d e f e n c e s , s o th e re will be a te n d e n c y for\nth o s e who have tr a v e lle d c l o s e to o n e of t h e s e p o l e s to com\np le te the voyage. S tartin g with la c k of inward b e lie f in o n e ’s\nrole, th e in d iv id u a l may follow the natural movement d e s c r ib e d\nby P a r k :\nIt i s probably no mere h i s t o r i c a l a c c i d e n t t h a t the word p e r s o n , in i t s\nf i rs t m e a n in g , ts a m a s k .\nIt i s r a t h e r a r e c o g n i t i o n of th e f a c t t h a t\nd i s a b u s e d p r o f e s s i o n a l c a n be c y n i c a l l y h o s t i l e 10 t h e s e r v i c e r e l a t i o n h i s\nc l i e n t s e x p e c t him to e x t e n d to t h e m ; the c o n f id e n c e man is in a p o sitio n\nto hol d the whole 1 le g i t * world in t h i s co ntem pt.\n' S e e L'dxel, op. c i t ., p. 4. Marry S t a c k Sullivan h a s s u g g e s t e d t h a t th e t a c t\nof i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d p er fo r m er s c a n o p e r a t e in th e ocher d i r e c t i o n , r e s u l t i n g\nin a kind of n o b le s s c ^ o b lig e s a n i ty .\nbee h i s ‘ S o c i o - P s y c h i a t r i c\nA m e ric a n Jo u rn a l o f P s y c h ia tr y , X, pp. 987*988.\nM A study of ’ .social r e c o v e r i e s 1 in o n e of our large m en tal h o s p i t a l s so m e\ny e a r s a g o caught me t h a t p a t i e n t s were often r e l e a s e d from c a r e b e c a u s e\nthey had l earn ed noc to m a n i f e s t sym ptom s t o the e n v i r o n i n g p e r s o n s ; in\no th er words, had i n t e g r a t e d en ou g h of the p e r s o n a l e n v iro nm en t to r e a l i z e\nthe p r e j u d i c e o p p o s e d to th e i r d e l u s i o n s . It s e e m e d a l m o s t a s i f they grew\nw is e en o u g h t o be t o l e r a n t of th e tm b eciliry su rro u n d in g them, hav in g\nfin ally d i s c o v e r e d t h a t it was s t u p i d i t y and not m a lic e . T h e y c o u l d then\ns e c u r e s a t i s f a c t i o n from c o n t a c t with o t h e r s , while d i s c h a r g i n g a p ar t of\nth e i r c r a v i n g s by p s y c h o t i c m ean s .\ne v e r y o n e i s a l w a y s a nd e v e r y w h e r e , more or l e s s c o n s c i o u s l y , p l a y i n g a\nrole . . .\nI t i s in t h e s e r o l e s t h a t w e know e a c h o t h e r ; it i s in t h e s e\nr o l e s th a t w e k n ow o u r s e l v e s . 1\nIn a s e n s e , a n d in s o Jar a s t h i s m a s k r e p r e s e n t s the c o n c e p t i o n we\nh a v e formed of o u r s e l v e s —t h e r o l e we are s t r i v i n g t o live up t o —tli i s\nm a s k i s o u r truer s e l f , the s e l f we would l i k e to be. In t h e end, our\nco n c e p t i o n of our r o l e b e c o m e s s e c o n d n a tu r e an d a n in t e g r a l p a r t of our\nco m e i n t o t h e world a s i n d i v i d u a l s , a c h i e v e c h a r a c t e r ,\nand become p e r s o n s .2\nT h i s may be illu s c r a te d from t h e w riter’ s stu d y of an is l a n d\ncom m unity o f c r o f t e r s , th a t i s , s m a ll- h o ld in g farm ers. 3 F o r t h e\nl a s t four or five y e a r s th e i s l a n d ' s to u r is t ho te l h a s bee n o w ned\nan d o p e r a te d by a m arried c o u p le of c ro f te r o r ig in s . From th e\nbeginning , th e o w n e r s w ere forced to s e t a s i d e th e ir own c o n \nc e p t i o n s a s to how lif e ought to be led, d is p l a y in g in th e hotel\na full round of m i d d l e - c l a s s s e r v i c e s and a m e n i t i e s . L a t e l y ,\nhow eve r, it a p p e a r s th a t the m a n a g e rs h a v e b ec o m e l e s s c y n \nic a l a b o u t th e perform ance th a t they s t a g e ; they t h e m s e l v e s a r e\nbecom ing m iddle c l a s s an d more and more ena m o u red of th e\ns e l v e s th e ir c l i e n t s impuce to them. Another il l u s t r a t i o n may\nbe found in th e raw re c ru it who in it ia l ly fo llo w s army e t iq u e t te\nin o rd e r to a v oid p h y s ic a l punish m en t and who e v e n tu a lly co m es\nto follow th e r u l e s s o th a t h is o r g a n iz a tio n will not be sh a m e d\nand h i s o f f i c e r s a n d f e ll o w - s o ld i e r s will r e s p e c t him.\nA s s u g g e s t e d , th e c y c l e of d i s b e lie f - to - b e l ie f c a n be fo ll\nowed in the o th e r d ir e c tio n , s t a r t i n g with c o n v ic tio n or i n s e c u r e\na s p ir a tio n and e n d in g in c y n ic is m .\nP r o f e s s i o n s w hich the\np u b lic h o ld s in r e l i g i o u s aw e often allow th e ir r e c r u i t s to\nfollow th e c y c l e in t h i s d ir e c tio n , anti o fte n r e c r u i t s follow it in\nt h i s d ir e c tio n not b e c a u s e of a slo w r e a l i z a t i o n that th e y are\nd e lu d in g th e ir a u d i e n c e —for by ordinary s o c i a l s t a n d a r d s th e\nc l a i m s th e y m ake may be q u ite v a l id —but b e c a u s e they c a n u s e\nt h is c y n i c is m a s a m e a n s of i n s u l a ti n g th e ir in ner s e l v e s from\nc o n t a c t with th e a u d i e n c e . ■ And we may e v e n e x p e c t to find\nt y p ic a l c a r e e r s o f faith , w ith the in d iv id u a l s t a r t i n g out with\no n e kind of in v o lv e m e n t in the p erform an ce he i s r e q u ir e d to\ngiv e , then moving bac k and forth s e v e r a l tim e s b etw e en s i n c e r \nity an d c y n i c is m before c o m p le tin g all th e p h a s e s an d turningp o in ts of s e l f - b e l i e f for a p e r s o n of h is s ta tio n .\nWhile we c a n e x p e c t to find n a tu ra l movement bac k and\nforth b e tw e e n c y n i c is m a n d s in c e r ity , s t i l l we m ust n o t r u le out\nt h e k in d o f t r a n s i t i o n a l p o in ts th a t can b e s u s t a i n e d , on th e\nl R o b e r t E z ra P a r k , R a c e a n d C u ltu re ( G l e n c o e . | l l l . :\nT h e F r e e P r e s s , 1950),\n3 H i d . , p . 2 50.\n3 T h e s t u d y w a s f in a n c e d by t h e D e p a r tm e n t of S o c i a l Anthropology And t h e\nS o c i a l S c i e n c e s R e s e a r c h Com m ittee of the U n iv e r sity of Kdinburgh a n d\nre p o rt e d i o p a r t in Goffm an, o p . c it.\nstre n g th o f a l i t t l e s e lf - il lu s io n . We find th a t the in d iv id u a l\nmay a tte m p t to in d u c e th e a u d ie n c e to judge him and th e s i t \nu a tio n in a p a r ti c u la r way, and h e may s e e k t h i s judg e m en t a s\nan u ltim a te en d in i t s e l f , and yet he may not c o m p le te ly b e l i e v e\nth a t he d e s e r v e s th e v a lu a tio n of s e lf which he a s k s for or that\nth e im p r e s s io n of r e a lity which he f o s t e r s i s v a lid . Another\nm ixture of c y n i c is m an d b e l ie f is s u g g e s t e d in K ro e b er’s d i s \ncussion of sham anism :\nN e x t , t h e r e i s the o ld q u e s tio n of d e ceptio n« P ro b a b l y m o s t s h a m a n s\nor m e d i c i n e men, the world over , h e l p a l o n g with sl e ig h t - o f - h a n d in cu rin g\nan d e s p e c i a l l y in e x h i b i t i o n s o f p o w er. T h i s s l e ig h t - o f -h a n d is s o m e \nti m e s d e l i b e r a t e ; in many c a s e s a w a r e n e s s i s p e r h a p s no t d e e p e r chan\nthe f o r e c o n s c i o u s . T h e a t t i t u d e , w h e th e r th e r e h a s b een r e p r e s s i o n or\nn ot, s e e m s to b e a s to w ard a p i o u s frau d.\nF i e l d e t h n o g r a p h e r s seem\nq u i t e g e n e r a l l y c o n v i n c e d th at ev en s h a m a n s who know t h a t they add\nfraud n e v e r t h e l e s s a l s o b e l i e v e in th eir p o w e r s , an d e s p e c i a l l y in t h o s e\no f o t h e r s h a m a n s : they c o n s u l t them whet! th ey t h e m s e l v e s or theLr\nc h i l d r e n a r e il l . 1\nWe h a v e bee n u s in g the term ' p e r f o r m a n c e ' to refer to all\nt h e a c tiv i ty of an in d iv i d u a l which o c c u r s during a period\nmarked by h i s c o n t in u o u s p r e s e n c e before a p a r ti c u la r s e t of\no b s e r v e r s a n d w hich h a s so m e in flu e n c e on the o b s e r v e r s . It\nwill be c o n v e n ie n t to la b el a s ' f r o n t ’ th a t part of the in d iv id \nu a l ’s perfo rm an ce which re g u la rly f u n c ti o n s in a general and\nfixed fash io n to d e fin e th e s i t u a t i o n for t h o s e who o b s e r v e the\nF ro n t, th e n , i s th e e x p r e s s i v e e quipm ent of a\ns ta n d a r d kind i n t e n t io n a lly or unw ittin g ly em ployed by the\nind iv id u al during h is perform ance. F or p relim in ary p u r p o s e s , it\nv.ill be c o n v e n ie n t to d i s t i n g u i s h and la b e l what s e e m to be the\nsta n d aril p a r t s of front.\nF i r s t , th e re is th e ' s e t t i n g ’, in v o lv in g furniture, decor,\np h y s ic a l lay-out, and o th e r backgroun d ite m s w hich su p p ly th e\ns c e n e r y and s t a g e p r o p s for th e s p a t e of human a c tio n p la y ed\nout before, w ithin, or upon it.\nA s e ttin g t e n d s to s ta y put,\ng e o g r a p h ic a lly s p e a k in g , so th a t th o s e who would u s e a par\ntic u la r s e t t i n g a s p a rt of th e ir perform ance c a n n o t b eg in th e ir\na c t until they have brought t h e m s e lv e s to the ap p ro p ria te p l a c e\nand must te rm in a te th e ir p erform ance when th e y le a v e it. It i s\nonly in e x c e p t io n a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s that the s e t t i n g , in a s e n s e ,\nfo llo w s a lo n g with the p e r f o rm e r s ; we s e e th is in th e fu n eral\nc o rte g e, the c i v i c p a r a d e , and th e d ream -like p r o c e s s i o n s that"\nk in g s an d q u e e n s are made of. In th e main, t h e s e e x c e p t i o n s\nseem to offer so m e kind of ex tra p ro te c tio n for p erform ers who\n; A . I .. K ro c b e r , T h e feature o f C u ltu re ( C h i c a g o :\nP r e s s , l l)^2), p. 3 N .\nU n iv e r sity o f C h i c a g o\nare , or who h a v e m om entarily b ec o m e , highly s a c r e d .\nw o rth ie s are to be d is t in g u is h e d , of c o u r s e , from quite profane\nperform ers o f the p e d d le r c l a s s who move th e ir pl;ice of work\nb e tw e e n p e r f o rm a n c e s, o ften b eing forced to do so.\nIn th e\nm a tte r of h avin g on e fix ed p la c e for o n e ' s s e t t i n g , a ru ler may\nbe too s a c r e d , a p e d d le r too p rofa ne.\nIn th in k in g about th e s c e n i c a s p e c t s of front, we te n d to\nthink of the liv i n g room in a p a r t i c u l a r h o u s e and th e small\nnumber of p erform ers who ca n thoroughly id e n tify t h e m s e l v e s\nwith it. We h ave g iv e n in s u f f ic i e n t a t te n t io n to a s s e m b l a g e s of\nof s ig n - e q u ip m e n t w hich larg e n u m b e rs of perform ers c a n ca ll\nth e ir own for s h o rt p e r io d s of tim e.\nIt i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of\nWestern E u ro p e a n c o u n t r i e s , and no doubt a s o u r c e o f s t a b i l i t y\nf o r ^ , 1" th a t a la rg e num ber of lu x u r io u s s e t t i n g s a r e a v a i l a b l e\nfor hire to a n y o n e of th e right kind who can afford them.\ni ll u s tr a ti o n of t h is may be c i te d from a stu d y of the h ig h e r\nc iv il s e rv a n t in B r ita in :\nT h e q u e s t io n liow far the men who r i s e t o the top in the C i v i l S e r v ic e\nt a k e on t h e ' t o n e * or ' c o l o u r * of a c l a s s other than t h a t to w h i c h they\nb e l o n g by birth is d e l i c a t e a nd d if fic u lt. T h e only d e f i n i te inf ormation\nb e a r in g on th e q u e s t i o n i s th e f i g u r e s re l a t i n g to th e m em b ersh ip of the\ng r e a t London c l u b s . More than t h r e e - q u a r t e r s of our high a d m i n i s t r a t i v e\no f f i c i a l s b elo n g to one or more c l u b s of high s t a t u s an d c o n s i d e r a b l e\nLuxury, where the e n t r a n c e fee might be tw en ty g u i n e a s or more, a n d rhe\nan n ual s u b s c r i p t io n from t w elv e to tw en ty g u i n e a s . T h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s\na r e of t h e u p p e r c l a s s (not ev en of t h e upp er-m idd le) in th e i r p r e m i s e s ,\nth e i r equ ip m en t, t h e s t y l e of livin g p r a c t i s e d t h ere, their whole a t \nTho ug h many of the m em b er s would not be d e s c r i b e d a s\nw e a l t h y , onl y a w ealth y man would u n a i d e d pro vid e for h i m s e l f a nd h is\nf am ily s p a c e , food an d d rin k, s e r v i c e , and o ther a m e n i t i e s of life to the\ns a m e s t a n d a rd a s h e will find at t h e Uruon, the T r a v e l l e r s ’, or th e\nA n o th er e x a m p le c a n be found in th e re c e n t d evelopm ent of th e\nm e d ic a l p r o f e s s io n w here we find th a t it i s i n c r e a s i n g ly im\np o rta n t for a doctor to h a v e a c c e s s to the e l a b o r a t e s c i e n t i f i c\ns t a g e p rovided by la rg e h o s p i t a l s , so th a t few er an d few er\nd o c t o r s are a b le to feel th a t th e ir s e t t i n g i s a p l a c e th a t they\nc a n lock up at night. 2\nIf we ta k e th e term ' s e t t i n g ’ to refer to th e s c e n i c p a r t s ol\ne x p r e s s i v e eq uipm ent, -we may ta k e th e term ' p e r s o n a l f r o n t ’ to\nrefer to the oth e r ite m s of e x p r e s s i v e e q u ip m en t, th e ite m s th a t\nwe most in tim a te ly id e n tify with th e perform er him s elf and th at\nwe n a t u r a lly e x p e c t will follow t h e perform er w herever he g o e s .\nAs part of p e r s o n a l front we may i n c l u d e : in s ig n ia of o ffic e or\nr a n k ; c l o t h i n g ; s e x , age, and r a c ia l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ; s i z e and\nl o o k s ; p o s t u r e ; s p e e c h p a t t e r n s ; f a c ia l e x p r e s s i o n s ; bodily\n1 U . K . D a l e , T k e H igher C iv il S e r v ic e\nU n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1941), p. 50.\no f G reat ftrita in (O x fo r d : Oxford\n2 D a v id Solomon, ' C a r e e r C o n t i n g e n c i e s ol C h ic a g o P h y s i c i a n s ' (U npub\nl i s h e d P h . IX d i s s e r t a t i o n , D e p a r tm e n t ol S o cio lo gy , U n iv e r sity of C h i c a a o .\n1952). p. 74.\ng e s t u r e s ; an 1 the lik e . Some of t h e s e v e h i c le s for c o n v e y in g\ns i g n s , su c h a s r a c ia l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , are r e l a t i v e l y fixed and\nover a spa n of tim e Jo not vary for th e ind iv id u al from o n e\ns itu a tio n to another. On t h e orhcr hand, s o m e of t h e s e sig n\nv e h i c l e s are r e la tiv e ly m obile or tr a n s ito r y , su c h a s facial\ne x p - e s s io n , an 1 ca n vary .luring a perform ance from one moment\nto th e next. It i s so m e tim e s c o n v e n ie n t to d iv id e th e stimuli\nwhich make up p e r so n a l front into ' a p p e a r a n c e ’ and ’ m a n n e r ’,\na c c o rd in g to th e function perform ed by the inform ation that\nt h e s e stim uli convey. ' A p p e a r a n c e ’ may be ta k e n to refer to\nt h o s e stim uli which function at th e tim e to tell u s of th e\nperform er’s s o c ia l s t a t u s e s .\nT h e s e stimuli also te ll u s o f\nth e i n d i v i d u a l 's tem porary ritu a l s t a t e , th a t i s , w hether he i s\ne n g a g in g in formal s o c ia l a c tiv i ty , work, or informal re c re a tio n ,\nw h eth e r or not he is c e le b r a tin g a new p h a s e in the s e a s o n\nc y c le or in h is lif e -c y c le . ' M a n n e r ' may be ta k e n to refer to\nth o s e stim uli w hich fu n ction at the tim e to warn u s of th e inter\na c tio n ro le th e performer will e x p e c t to play in th e on-coming\ns it u a ti o n .\nT h u s a haughty a g g r e s s i v e manner may give th e\nim p r e s s io n th a t the perform er e x p e c t s to be the one who will\ni n i t i a t e th e verbal in te r a c tio n and d ir e c t i t s c o u r s e . A meek,\na p o lo g e tic manner may give th e im p re ssio n th a t the perform er\ne x p e c t s to follow the le a d of o th e r s , or at l e a s t th a t he can 1>e\ng o tte n to do so. Sim ilarly, if an ind iv id u al i s angry h is manner\nwill te ll u s upon whom he i s lik e ly to be in a p o s itio n to vent\nh i s anger.\nWe o fte n e x p e c t , of c o u r s e , a c o n firm ing c o n s i s t e n c y be\ntw e e n a p p e a r a n c e and m a n n er; we e x p e c t th a t th e d if f e r e n c e s\nin s o c i a l s t a t u s e s among th e i o t e r a c t a n t s will be e x p r e s s e d in\ns o m e way by c o ng ru e nt d if f e r e n c e s in th e in d i c a t i o n s that a r e\nm ade of e x p e c t e d in te r a c tio n role. T h i s ty pe of co h e re n c e of\nfront may be ill u s tr a te d by the follow ing d e s c r ip tio n o f th e\np r o c e s s io n of a m andarin through a C h i n e s e c i ty :\nCo m ing c l o s e l y behind . . . the l u x u r io u s c h a i r o f the man darin,\nc a r r ie d by e i g h t b e a r e r s , f i ll s the v a c a n t s p a c e in the s t r e e t . Me is\nmayor of the town, and for a l l p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s die s u p r e m e p o w e r in\nit. lie is an i d e a l- lo o k in g o f ficial, for he is large a n d m a s s i v e in a p p e a r \na n c e , w h i l s t he h a s th at ste rn a n d u nco m p risin g look th at is s u p p o s e d to\nbe n e c e s s a r y in any m a g i s t r a t e who wou ld hop e t o k eep h is s u b j e c t s in\no rder, lie lias a s t e m and forb idding a s p e c t , as though h e w ere on h is\nway t o the e x e c u t i o n ground t o h a v e som e crim in al d e c a p i t a t e d . T h i s i s\nt h e k in d of air t h a t the m an d arin s p u t on when th ey a p p e a r in p u b l i c . In\nt h e c o u r s e of many y e a r s ' e x p e r i e n c e . 1 h ave n e v e r o n ce s e e n a ny of\nthem , from the h i g h e s t to the l o w e s t , w ith a sm ile on h i s fa cc or a look\nof sy m p a th y for the p e o p l e w h i l s t he w a s b e in g c a r r ic d o f fic ia lly through\nthe s t r e e t s . 1\nb u t , of c o u r s e , a p p e a r a n c e and m anner may tend to c o n tra d ic t\ne a c h o th e r, a s when a perform er who a p p e a r s to be of h ig h e r\n1J . Macgowart, S id e lig h ts on C h in e s e L i fe ( P h i l a d e l p h i a : L ip pincoct, 1908),\ne s t a t e than h i s a u d i e n c e a c t s in a m anner th a t i s u n e x p e c te d ly\ne q u a lit a r ia n , or in tim a te , or a p o l o g e t i c , or when a perform er\nd r e s s e d in th e g arm e n ts o f a high p o s it io n p r e s e n t s h im s e lf to\nan in d iv id u al of ev e n higher s t a t u s .\nIn a d d itio n to th e e x p e c te d c o n s i s t e n c y b e tw e en a p p e a r \na n c e and manner, we e x p e c t, of c o u r s e , so m e c o h e r e n c e among\ns e ttin g , a p p e a r a n c e , and manner. 1 In a s e n s e , s u c h c o h e r e n c e\nr e p r e s e n t s an id e al type th a t p r o v id e s u s w ith a m e a n s of s tim \nu la tin g our i n t e r e s t in and a t te n t io n to e x c e p t i o n s . In th is th e\nstu d e n t i s a s s i s t e d by th e jo u r n a l is t, for e x c e p t io n s to e x p e c \nted c o n s i s t e n c y am ong s e ttin g , a p p e a r a n c e , .and manner p ro v id e\nthe p iq u a n c y and glamour of many c a r e e r s and th e s a l e a b l e\na p p e a l of many m a g a z in e a r t i c l e s . 2\nIn o rd e r to ex p lo re more fully the r e l a t i o n s am ong the s e v e r \nal p a r t s of s o c ia l front, it will be c o n v e n ie n t to c o n s id e r here a\ns i g n i f i c a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the inform ation c o n v e y e d by front,\nnam ely, i t s a b s t r a c t n e s s and g e n e r a lity .\nH o w ev er s p e c i a l i z e d and u niq ue a r o u tin e i s , i t s s o c ia l\nfront, with c e r ta in e x c e p t io n s , will te n d to claim f a c t s th a t can\nbe e q u a lly claim ed and a s s e r t e d of o th e r, som ew hat d ifferent\nr o u tin e s . ; F o r exa m ple , many s e r v i c e o c c u p a t i o n s offer th e ir\nc l i e n t s a p erfo rm an ce that i s illu m in a te d with dram a tic ex\np r e s s i o n s of c l e a n l i n e s s , m odernity, c o m p e te n c e , in te g r ity , e tc .\nWhile in f a c t t h e s e a b s t r a c t s t a n d a r d s h a v e a different s ig n i f i \nc a n c e in d iffe re n t o c c u p a t io n a l p e rfo rm a n c e s, the o b s e rv e r i s\nen c o u r a g e d to s t r e s s the a b s t r a c t s im ila r it ie s . F o r the o b s e rv e r\nt h is i s a w onderful, chough s o m e tim e s d i s a s t r o u s , c o n v e n i e n c e .\nI n s te a d o f h a v in g to m a in ta in a d iffe re n t p a tte r n of e x p e c ta tio n\nan d r e s p o n s i v e tr e a tm e n t for e a c h s li g h tly d iffe re n t perform er\nand p erform ance , he c a n p la c e the s i t u a ti o n in to a broad c a t \negory aro und which it i s e a s y for him to m o b iliz e h is p a s t ex\np e r ie n c e and s te r e o - ty p ic a l think ing. O b s e r v e r s then n e e d only\nbe f a m ilia r with a sm a ll and h e n c e m a n a g e a b le v oca bula ry of\nf r o n ts and know how to resp o n d to them in order to o rie n t them\ns e l v e s in a wide v a r ie ty of s i t u a t i o n s . T h u s in L ond on th e\ncu rren t te n d e n c y for chim ney s w e e p s 3 an d perfume c l e r k s to\nw ear w hite l a b c o a t s t e n d s to provide th e c l ie n t with an u nd er\ns ta n d i n g th a t th e d e l i c a t e t a s k s perform ed by t h e s e p e r s o n s\n1 C l. Kenneth B u r k e 's c o m m e n t s on t h e ' s c e n e - a c t - a g e n t r a t i o ’, A Grammar\no f M o tiv es (N ew York: P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 1945) pp. 6-9.\n^ F o r ex am p le, th e N e w Y o rke r P r o f i l e on R o g e r S t e v e n s (the r e a l e s t a t e\na g e n t who e n g i n e e r e d the s a l e of the E m p ire S t a t e B u ildin g ) com m en ts\non the s t a r t l i n g fact t h a t S t e v e n s h a s a sm a ll h o u s e , a m eag re o f f i c e ,\na nd n o l e t t e r h e a d s t a t i o n e r y .\nS ee E. J . K a h n , J r . , ' C l o s i n g s and\nO p e n i n g s ' , T h e N e w Y o rke r, F e b r u a ry 13 an d 20, 1954.\n3 S e c Mervyn J o n e s , 'W h i t e a s a S w e e p ' , T h e N e w S ta te s m a n a n d N a tio n ,\nD ece m b e r 6, 1952.\nwill be perform ed in what h a s becom e a s ta n d a r d iz e d , c l i n i c a l ,\nc o n f id e n tia l manner.\nT h e r e a r e g ro u n d s for b e lie v in g th a t the te n d en c y for a\nl a r g e number of d if fe re n t a c t s to be p r e s e n te d from b eh in d a\nsm all number of f ro n ts i s a n a tu ra l dev e lo p m e n t in s o c ia l o r \ng a n iz a tio n .\nK adcliffe-H row n h a s s u g g e s t e d t h i s in h is claim\nth a t a d e s c r i p t i v e k in s h ip s y s te m w hich g i v e s e a c h p e rso n a\nu n iq u e p l a c e may work for very small c o m m u n itie s, but, a s the\nnum ber o f p e r s o n s b e c o m e s la rg e , clan s e g m e n ta tio n b ec o m e s\nn e c e s s a r y a s a m e a n s of providing a l e s s c o m p lic a te d system\nof i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s and tr e a tm e n ts . 1 We s e e t h i s te n d e n c y i l l u s \ntr a te d in f a c t o r i e s , b a r r a c k s, and other l a r g e s o c ia l e s t a b l i s h \nm e n ts.\nT h o s e who o r g a n iz e t h e s e e s t a b l i s h m e n t s find it im\np o s s i b l e to p ro v id e a s p e c ia l c a f e te ria , s p e c i a l m o d e s of p a y \nment, s p e c i a l v a c a tio n rig h ts , and s p e c i a l s a n ita r y f a c i l i t i e s\nfor evc-ry lin e and s t a f f s t a t u s c a te g o ry in th e o r g a n iz a tio n ,\nand at the sa m e tim e they feel th a t p e r s o n s o f d i s s i m i l a r s t a t u s\nought not to be in d is c r im in a te ly thrown to g e th e r or c l a s s i f i e d\nto g e th e r. As a com prom ise, th e full ran g e of d iv e rs ity is cut\nat a few crucial p o in ts , and all t h o s e w ithin a given brac ket\nare allo w ed or o b lig e d to m a in ta in the sam e s o c ia l front in\nce r ta in s it u a t i o n s .\nIn a d d itio n to th e fact t h a t d iffe ren t r o u tin e s may em ploy\nthe s a m e front, it i s to be noted th at a g iv e n s o c ia l front\nte n d s to bec om e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d in te rm s of t h e a b s t r a c t\ns t e r e o t y p e d e x p e c t a t i o n s to which it g iv e s r i s e , and te n d s to\nt a k e on a m eaning and s t a b i l i t y ap art from the s p e c i f i c t a s k s\nwhich h a p p e n at the tim e to be performed in i t s nam e. T h e front\nb e c o m e s a ' c o l l e c t i v e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ’ and a fa c t in i t s own\nWhen an a c t o r t a k e s on an e s t a b l i s h e d s o c ia l role, u s u a lly\nhe fin d s th a t a p a r tic u la r front h a s a lre ad y been e s t a b l i s h e d for\nit. Whether h is a c q u i s i t i o n of th e role w a s prim arily m otivated\nby a d e s ir e to perform th e given t a s k or by a d e s ir e to m aintain\nthe co rre sp o n d in g front, th e a c to r will find that he must do both.\nF u rth e r, if t h e in d iv id u a l t a k e s on a ta sk th a t i s not only\nnew to him but a l s o u n e s t a b l i s h e d in th e s o c i e t y . - o r if he\na t te m p ts to c h a n g e the light in which h is ta s k is vie w e d , he i s\nlik e lv to find th a t th e re are a lre a d y s e v e r a l w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d\nfro n ts am ong which he must c h o o s e .\nT h u s , when a ta s k i s\ng ive n a new front we seldom find that the front it is g iv e n is\ni t s e l f new.\nSince f ro n ts tend ro be s e l e c t e d , not c r e a te d , we may e x p e c t\ntr o u b le to a r i s e when t h o s e who perform a g iv e n ta s k are forced\n1 A. U. Ra dcliffe-ftro wn,\nO c e a n ia , 1, 440.\nS o c ia l O rg an izatio n\nof A u s tr a l i a n T r i b e s ’,\nto s e l e c t a s u i t a b l e front for t h e m s e l v e s from am ong s e v e r a l\nq u ite d i s s i m i l a r o n e s . T h u s , in m ilitary o r g a n iz a ti o n s , t a s k s\na re a l w a y s d e v e lo p in g w hich (it i s felt) re q u ire too much a uthor\nity an d s k ill to be c a r rie d out behind th e front m a in ta in e d by\no n e g ra d e of p e r s o n n e l an d too l i t t l e a u th o rity an.) s k i ’l to be\nca r rie d o u t behind th e front m a in ta in e d by th e ne-'r ;ra.l<* in\nthe h ie ra rc h y . S in c e th e re are r e la tiv e ly la r g e ju r m s b e tw e e n\ng r a d e s , th e r a s k w ill co m e to ' c a r r y too much . a r k 1 or to\ncarry too l it tle .\nAn i n t e r e s t i n g i l l u s t r a t i o n of th e dilem m a of s e l e c t i n g an\na p p r o p r ia te front from s e v e r a l not q uite f ittin g o i'e s may be\nfound to d a y in A m erican m e d ic a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s with r e s p e c t to\nth e t a s k o f a d m in is t e r in g a n e s t h e s i a . 1\nIn s o m : h o s p i t a l s\na n e s t h e s i a i s s ti ll a d m in is te r e d by n u r s e s b e h in d th e front th a t\nn u r s e s a r e a llo w e d to h a v e in h o s p i t a l s r e g a r d l e s s of th e t a s k s\nth e y p e rfo rm —a front in v o lv in g c e re m o n ia l su b o r d in a tio n and a\nr e l a t i v e l y low r a t e of pay. In order to e s t a b l i s h a n e s t h e s i o l o g y\na s a s p e c i a l i t y for g r a d u a te m e d ic a l d o c t o r s , i n t e r e s t e d\np r a c t i t i o n e r s h a v e had to a d v o c a t e stro n g ly th e id e a that\na d m in is t e r in g a n e s t h e s i a i s a s u f f i c ie n tly c om plex an d v i ta l\nt a s k to ju s t if y i n g g iv in g to th o s e who perform it the c e rem onia l\nand f in a n c ia l rew ard g iv e n to d o c t o r s . T h e d if f e r e n c e b e tw e e n\nth e front m a in ta in e d by a n u r s e a n d th e front m a in ta in e d by a\nd octo r i s g r e a t ; many t h i n g s th a t are a c c e p t a b l e for n u r s e s\na r e infra dignitatem for d o c to rs .\nSome m e d ica l p e o p l e h a v e\nfelt th a t a n u r s e 'u n d e r - r a n k e d ' fo r th e t a s k of a d m in is te r in g\na n e s t h e s i a and th a t d o c t o r s ' o v e r - r a n k e d ; ’ were th e re an\ne s t a b l i s h e d s t a t u s midw ay b e tw e e n n u r s e and doctor, an e a s i e r\nso lu tio n to th e p roblem co uld p e r h a p s be found. 2 S im ila d y ,\nhad t h e C a n a d i a n Army h ad a rank h alfw ay betw een lie u te n a n t\nand c a p t a i n , two and a h a l f p i p s i n s t e a d of two or th re e , then\nD ental Corp’s c a p t a i n s , many of them of a tow e th n ic origin,\nc ou ld h a v e b e e n g iv e n a rank th a t would p e r h a p s hav e been\nmore s u i t a b l e in the e y e s of t h e Army than the c a p t a i n c i e s\nthey w ere a c t u a l l y giv en.\nI do n o t m ean h ere to s t r e s s t h e p o in t of view of a formal\no r g a n i z a t i o n o r a s o c i e t y ; th e in d iv id u a l, a s so m e o n e who\np o s s e s s e s a lim ite d r a n g e o f s ig n - e q u ip m e n t, m ust a l s o m ake\nu n happy c h o i c e s . T h u s , >in the c r o ftin g com munity s tu d i e d by\nJ S e e t h e thorough t r e a tm e n t of t h i s pr o b le m io Dan C . L o r t i e , ‘ D o c t o r s\nWithout P a t i e n t * : T h e A n e s t h e s i o l o g i s t , a N ew M edical S p e c i a l t y\np u b l i s h e d M a s t e r ’s t h e s i s , D e p a r t m e n t o f S o c i o l o g y , U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o ,\nS e e a l s o Mark Murphv*s tliree -p art P r o f i l e o f Dr. R o v e n s t i n e ,\n1 A n e s t h e s i o l o g i s t The New Y o rke r. O c t o b e r 25, N o v e m b e r 1, a n d Novem \nb er 8, 1947.\n? l r s h o u l d be a d d e d t h a t in s o m e h o s p i t a l s t h e in tern and t h e m e d i c a l s t u d e n t\np erfo rm t a s k s th at are b e n e a t h a d o c t o r a n d a b o v e a n u r s e . P re s u m a b l y\nsu c h t a s k s d o n o t r e q u ire a l arg e amount o f e x p e r ie n c e an d p r a c t i c a l\ntrainin g» for w hile t h is i n t e r m e d ia t e s t a t u s o f d o c t o r -i n - t ra i n i n g » i s a\np e r m a n e n t pare of h o s p i t a l s , a l l t h o s e who h o ld it do so tem p o rarily .\nth e writer, 'h o s t s o fte n marked the v is i t of a friend by offering\nhim a dram o f s p i r i t s , a g l a s s of wine, so m e (home-made) brew,\no r a cup of te a . T h e h ig h e r the rank or temporary ce rem o n ia l\ns t a t u s of th e v is ito r, the more lik e ly he w as to r e c e iv e an offer\nin g n ea r t h e s p i r i t s end o f th e continuum. Now o n e problem\na s s o c i a t e d with t h i s range o f s ig n -eq u ip m en t w a s th a t som e\nc r o f te r s c o u ld not afford to k e e p a b o ttle of s p i r i t s a v a ila b le ,\nso th a t w ine tended to b e th e most indulg ent g e s tu r e th e y c ould\nemploy. But p e r h a p s a more common d ifficu lty w as th e f a c t th a t\nc e r ta in v i s i t o r s , g ive n th e ir perm anent and temporary s t a t u s a t\nth e tim e, o u tra n k e d one pota b le and under-ran ked th e n ex t on e\nin line . T h e r e w a s often a d a n g e r th a t th e v i s i t o r would f e e l\nj u s t a l i t t l e affronted or, on the oth e r hand, th a t th e h o s t ’s\nc o s t l y a n d lim ite d sig n equipm ent would b e m is u s e d . In our\nmiddle c l a s s e s a sim ila r s it u a ti o n a r i s e s when a h o s t e s s h a s to\nd ec id e w h eth e r or not to u s e the good s il v e r , o r w hich w ould b e\nthe more a p p r o p r ia te to wear, her b e s t afterno on d r e s s or her\np l a i n e s t ev e n in g gown.\n[ h a v e s u g g e s t e d th a t s o c ia l front c a n be d iv id e d into\ntr a d itio n a l p a r ts , suc h a s s e ttin g , a p p e a r a n c e , an d manner, an d\nth a t ( s i n c e different r o u tin e s may be p r e s e n te d from behind the\nsa m e front) we may not find a p e rfe c t fit b e tw e en the s p e c i f i c\nc h a r a c t e r of a perform ance and the gene ral s o c i a l i z e d g u is e in\nw hich it a p p e a r s to us. T h e s e two f a c ts , ta k e n to g e th er, le ad\nu s to a p p r e c ia te th a t ite m s in the s o c ia l front of a p a r tic u la r\nrou tin e are not only found in the s o c i a l fronts of a whole range\no f r o u tin e s but a l s o th a t th e whole range of r o u tin e s in w hich\none item of sign equipm ent i s found will differ from th e ra n g e of\nr o u tin e s in which an o th er item in the s a m e s o c i a l fro nt will be\nfound. T h u s , a la w y e r may talk to a c l ie n t in a s o c ia l s e ttin g\nth a t he e m ploys only for th is pu rp o se (or for a stu d y ), but th e\nc l o t h e s he w e a r s on su c h o c c a s i o n s , 'and which are s u i t a b l e for\nsuc h o c c a s i o n s , he w ill a l s o employ, with equal su ita b ility , .at\nd inne r with c o l l e a g u e s and at the th e a tr e with h is wife. Simil\narly, t h e p r in ts th a t hang on h i s wall and the c a r p e t on h is floor\nmay be found in d o m e s tic s o c i a l e s ta b l is h m e n ts . Of c o u r s e , in\nh ighly cerem o nial o c c a s i o n s , se ttin g , manner, a n d a p p e a r a n c e\nmay all be r e la tiv e ly unique and s p e c if ic , u s e d only for per\nform a nce s of a s in g l e ty p e of routine, but su c h e x c l u s i v e u s e of\nsign equipm ent i s the e x c e p tio n rath er than the rule.\nWhile in the p r e s e n c e of o th e rs , the in d iv id u al ty p ic a lly\ni n f u s e s h is a c tiv i ty with s i g n s which d ra m a tic a lly h ig hlight an d\nportray confirm atory f a c ts th a t might o th e rw is e rem ain unap p a re n t or o b s c u r e .\nF o r if th e in d iv id u a l’s a c tiv ity i s to\nbecom e s ig n i f i c a n t to o th e r s , 'he must m o b il iz e h i s a c tiv i ty so\nth a t it w ill e x p r e s s during the interaction w hat h e w i s h e s to\nIn f a c t, t h e perform er may b e r e q u ir e d n o t only to\ne x p r e s s h i s c l a im e d c a p a c i t i e s d uring t h e in te r a c t io n but a l s o\nto do so d u ring a s p l i t s e c o n d in t h e in te r a c t io n .\nT h u s, if a\nb a s e b a ll um pire i s to g iv e th e im p r e s s io n t h a t he i s su r e o f h is\nju d g e m en t, he m ust forgo the moment o f thoug ht w hich m ight\nm ake him su re of h i s ju d g e m e n t; h e must give an i n s t a n t a n e o u s\nd e c i s i o n so th a t th e a u d i e n c e will b e s u r e th a t h e i s s u r e o f\nh i s jud g e m en t. 1\nIt may be n o te d th a t in th e c a s e o f s o m e s t a t u s e s dram a\ntiz a t io n p r e s e n t s no problem , s in c e som e of th e a c t s w hich are\nin s t r u m e n ta lly e s s e n t i a l for th e c o m p letio n o f th e c o r e ta s k of\nth e s t a t u s are a t th e sam e tim e w onderfully a d a p te d , from the\np o in t of view o f c o m m u n ic atio n , a s m e a n s o f v ividly c o n v e y in g\nth é q u a l i t i e s and a t t r i b u t e s c la im e d by t h e perform er.\nr o l e s o f p r i z e f i g h t e r s , s u r g e o n s , v i o l i n i s t s , a n d p o lic e m e n are\nc a s e s in p oint.\nT h e s e a c t i v i t i e s a llo w for so much d r a m a tic\ns e l f - e x p r e s s i o n th a t e x e m p la ry p r a c t i o n e r s —w h eth e r re a l or\nf i c t i o n a l —becom e fam o us and are g iven a s p e c i a l p la c e in the\nc o m m ercially o rg a n iz e d p h a n t a s i e s o f th e natio n .\nIn many c a s e s , h ow ever, d r a m a tiz a tio n o f o n e 's work d o e s\nc o n s t i t u t e a problem .\nAn il l u s t r a t i o n o f t h i s may be c ite d from\na r e c e n t stu d y by E d ith L e n t z , w here th e m e d ica l n u rs in g s t a f f\nin a h o s p ita l i s shown to have a problem th a t th e s u r g ic a l\nn u rsin g s t a f f d o e s no t h a v e :\nT h e t h i n g s which a n u r s e d oes for p o s t - o p e r a t i v e p a t i e n t s on th e\nsu r g i c a l floor a r e freq u e n tly of r e c o ^ n iz a b l e im p o rta n c e , even to p a t i e n t s\nwho a r e s t r a n g e r s t o h o s p i t a l a c t i v i t i e s .\nFo r e x a m p le , th e p a r i e n t\ns e e s h i s n u r s e c h a n g i n g b a n d a g e s , s w in g i n g o rt h o p e d i c f ra m e s into\npla c e , and can r e a lise that th e s e are purposeful a c tiv itie s.\nE ven if\ns h e c a n n o t be a t h i s s i d e , he c a n r e s p e c t h e r p u r p o s e f u l a c t i v i t i e s .\nM e d ical n u r s i n g i s a l s o hig hly s k i l l e d work . . . .\nThe p h y s ic ia n 's\nd i a g n o s i s m u st r e s t upon ca r e f u l o b s e r v a t i o n of sy m p t o n s o v e r tim e\nw here t h e s u r g e o n 's a r e in la r g e r p a r t d e p e n d e n t on v i s i b l e t h i n g s .\nT h e l a c k of v i s i b i l i t y c r e a t e s p r o b l e m s on the m e d i c a l .\nwill s e c h i s n u r s e s t o p a t the n e x t bed a n d c h a t for a moment o r\ntwo with t h e p a t i e n t t h e r e .\nHe d o e s n ’t k now chae s h e i s o b s e r v i n g\nt h e s h a l l o w n e s s of the b r e a th in g an d c o lo r an d t o n e of the sk i n .\nt h i n k s s h e i s j u s t v i s i t i n g . So, a l a s , d o e s h i s family who may t h ereu po n\nd e c i d e t h a t t h e s e n u r s e s a r e n ' t very i m p r e s s i v e .\nIf th e n u r s e s p e n d s\nm ore time «u t h e n e x t bed chan a t h i s own, t h e p a t i e n t may feel s l i g h t e d .\nT he n u r s e s a r e “ w a s t i n g r i m e 0 u n l e s s they a r e d a r t i n g ab ou t\nd oin g so m e v i s i b l e t h i n g s u c h a s a d m i n i s t e r i n g h y p o d e r m i c s . 2\nS im ilarly, we find c h a t.th e p ro p rie to r o f a s e r v i c e e s t a b l is h m e n t\nmay find it d iffic u lt to d r a m a tiz e w hat i s a c tu a lly b e in g done\n* S ee B a b e P i n e l l t , a s told t o J o e King. Mr Ump ( P h i l a d e l p h i a : W es tm in s ter\nP r e s s , 1953), p . 75.\n2 E d ith L e n c 2 " A C o m p arison of M edical an d S u rg ical F l o o r s * 1 (Mim eo:\nNew York S ta r e School of I n d u s t r i a l a nd L a b o u r R e l a t i o n s , C o r n e ll Uni\nv e r s i t y , 1954), p p . 2-3.\nfor c l i e n t s b e c a u s e t h e c l i e n t s ca n not " s e e ” t h e overh e ad\nc o s t s of th e s e r v i c e rendered them.\nT h u s trustw orthy under\nta k e r s m ust ch a rg e a g re a t d e a l for th e ir high ly v is i b le p ro d u ct—\na coffin th a t h a s been transform ed into a c a s k e t —b e c a u s e\nmany of th e other c o s t s of c o n duc ting a funeral, a r e not o n e s\nth a t ca n be re a d ily d r a m a tiz e d . 1\nM erchan ts, too, often find\nth a t they must cha rge hig h p r i c e s for th in g s that look intrin\ns i c a l l y e x p e n s iv e in order to c o m p e n s a te the e s ta b l is h m e n t\nfor e x p e n s iv e t h in g s lik e in s u r a n c e , s la c k p erio d s, e tc ., that\nnever a p p e a r before th e c u s to m e rs ’ e y e s.\nT h e problem of d ram a tiz in g o n e ' s work i n v o lv e s more than\nmerely making i n v is ib le c o s t s v is ib le .\nT h e work th a t must be\ndone by th o s e who fill c e r ta in s t a t u s e s i s often s o poorly\nd e s ig n e d a s an e x p r e s s io n o f a d e s ire d meaning, th a t if th e\nincum bent would d ram a tiz e th e c h a r a c t e r of h is role, 'h e must\ndivert an a p p r e c ia b le am ount o f h is energy to do so.\nt h i s a c tiv i ty d iv e rted to communication will o ften re q u ire\ndifferent a t t r i b u t e s from th e o n e s which are being d ram atized.\nT h u s to furnish a h o u s e so that it will e x p r e s s sim ple, qu iet\ndignity, th e h o u s e h o ld e r may h a v e to r a c e to a u c tio n s a l e s ,\nh a g g l e with a n tiq u e d e a le rs , an d doggedly c a n v a s s a ll th e\nlo c al s h o p s for proper w allp ap e r an d cu rta in m a te ria ls.\ng iv e a rad io talk that will sound genuin ely informal, spon\nt a n e o u s , a n d r ela x ed , th e s p e a k e r may hav e to d es ig n h is\ns c r ip t with p a i n s ta k in g care, t e s t i n g o n e p h r a s e after another,\nin order to follow th e c o n te n t, lang uage, rhythm, and p a c e of\neveryday talk. 2 Similarly, a Vogue model, by her clo th in g ,\ns ta n c e , and f ac ial e x p r e s s io n , i s a b le e x p r e s s iv e ly to portray\na c u l tiv a te d u n d e rsta n d in g of the book s h e p o s e s in her h a n d ;\nbut th o s e who troub le to e x p r e s s th e m s e lv e s s o ap p rop riately\nwill h a v e very l i t t l e tim e left o v e r 'f o r reading.\nAnd so in\nd iv id u a ls often find t h e m s e lv e s with the dilemma of e x p r e s s io n\nversus a c tio n .\nT h o s e who hav e th e time and ta len t to perform\na t a s k well may not, b e c a u s e of th is , h av e the tim e or ta le n t\nto make it apparenc that they are perform ing well.\ns a i d th a t so m e o r g a n iz a ti o n s r e s o lv e t h is dilemma for t h e s e\nm em bers by d e le g a tin g th e dram a tic function to a s p e c i a l i s t\nwho will s p e n d h is tim e e x p r e s s in g th e m eaning o f the ta s k\nand spend no tim e a c tu a lly doing it.\nIf we a l te r our frame of referen c e for a moment and turn\nfrom a p a r tic u la r perform ance to th e in d iv id u a ls who p r e s e n t it,\n' M a t e r i a l on the burial b u s i n e s s use d ' h r o n i h o u t t m s repo rt i s t ak en from\na forthcoming d i s s e r t a t i o n on the f u n e t a l d irecto r by R o b e rt H a b e n s te in .\nI h av e a l s o drawn on Mr Hafcenstein's se m in ar rep o rt d e s c r i b i n g the\nu n d e r t a k e r ’s work a s th e s t a g i n g of a perfo rm ance.\n2 John Hilton, " C a l c u l a t e d S p on caniety,” O xford B o o k o f E n g lish T a lk\nfOx ford : C laren do n P r e s s , 1953), p p . 399-404.\nwe c a n c o n s i d e r an in t e r e s t i n g fac t ab o u t th e round of d iffe ren t\nr o u tin e s which a n y group or c l a s s o f in d iv i d u a l s h e l p s to\nperform. When we e x a m in e a group or c l a s s , we find th a t the\nm em bers o f it tend to in v e s t th e ir e g o s primarily in c e r ta in\nr o u tin e s , g ivin g l e s s s t r e s s to th e o th e r o n e s w hich th e y p e r\nT h u s a p r o f e s s io n a l man may b e w illin g to t a k e a very\nm o d e st ro le in th e s t r e e t , in a shop, or in h i s home, but, in\nth e s o c ia l s p h e r e which e n c o m p a s s e s h i s d is p l a y o f p r o f e s s \nio n a l c o m p e te n c y , he w ill be much c o n c e rn e d to m ake an\ne f f e c tiv e sh ow in g.\nIn m o b iliz in g h i s b eh a v io u r to m ake a\nshow ing, he w ill be c o n c e r n e d not so much with th e full round\nof t h e d if fe r e n t r o u t i n e s he perform s but only w ith th e o n e\nfrom which h i s o c c u p a t io n a l r e p u ta tio n d e r iv e s .\nIt i s upon\nt h i s i s s u e th a t so m e w rite r s h a v e c h o s e n to d is t in g u is h g ro u p s\nwith a r i s t o c r a t i c • h a b i t s ( w h a te v e r their s o c i a l s t a t u s ) from\nth o se of m idd le-class character.\nT h e a r i s t o c r a t i c h ab it, •it\nh a s b een s a id , i s one th a t m o b il iz e s all t h e minor a c t i v i t i e s of\nl i f e w hich fall o u t s i d e th e s e r io u s s p e c i a l i t i e s of o th e r c l a s s e s\na n d i n j e c t s in to t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s an e x p r e s s io n of c h a r a c t e r ,\npow er, and high rank.\nBy w h a t Im portant a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s i s the y o u n g no blem an i n s t r u c t e d\nt o s u p p o r t th e d i g n i t y o f h i s rank , a n d t o r e n d e r h i m s e l f worthy of t h a t\ns u p e ri o r i t y o v e r h i s fellow-c iti z e n s , to w h ich the v ir tu e of h i s a n c e s t o r s\nh a d r a i s e d them ?\nI s i t by k n ow ledg e, by in d u s t r y , by p a t i e n c e , by\ns e l f - d e n i a l , or by virtu e o f any k i n d ?\nAs a l l h i s words, a s a l l h i s\nm o tio n s are a t t e n d e d to, he l e a r n s an h a b i t u a l reg ard to every circu m \ns t a n c e o f ordinary b e h a v io u r , a nd s t u d i e s to perform all t h o s e s m a ll\nd u t i e s w ith t h e m o s t e x a c t p r o p ri e t y .\nA s h e is c o n s c i o u s o l how\nmuch h e i s o b s e r v e d , an d how much m ank ind arc d i s p o s e d t o favour ali\nh i s i n c l i n a t i o n s , he a c t s , upon t h e m o st i n d iff e r e n t o c c a s i o n s , with\nthat, fre edom a n d e l e v a t i o n w hich t h e th o u g h t of t h i s n a t u r a l l y i n s p i r e s .\nH is air, h i s manner, h is d eportm ent, all m ark th at e l e g a n t , and g r a c e f u l\ns e n s e of h i s own su p e rio rity , w h i c h t h o s e who a r e bom to i nferio r\ns t a t i o n s c a n hard ly e v e r a r riv e a t .\nT h e s e are t h e a r t s by w hich he\np r o p o s e s to m ake mankind more e a s i l y sub m it t o h i s au th o rity , a n d to\ngo vern t h e i r i n c l i n a t i o n s a c c o r d i n g to h i s own p l e a s u r e ; an d in t h i s\nh e i s se ldo m d i s a p p o i n t e d .\nT h e s e a r t s , s u p p o r t e d by rank a nd p re\ne m i n e n c e , a r e , upon ord in ary o c c a s i o n s , s u f f i c i e n t to govern the world. 1\nIf s u c h v irtu o si a c tu a lly e x i s t , th e y would p rovid e a s u i t a b l e\ngroup in w hich to s tu d y t h e t e c h n i q u e s by which a c t i v i t y i s\ntra n sfo rm e d into a show.\nIt w a s s u g g e s t e d e a r l i e r th a t a p erform ance of a rou tin e\np r e s e n t s through i t s front som e ra th e r a b s t r a c t c l a i m s upon th e\na u d i e n c e , c l a im s th a t a r e lik e ly to be p r e s e n te d to them during\nth e p erfo rm an ce o f other r o u tin e s .\nT h i s c o n s t i t u t e s on e way\nin w hich a p erfo rm an ce i s , in a s e n s e , ' s o c i a l i s e d , ’ m oulded\na n d m od ified to fic in to t h e u n d e r s ta n d in g an d e x p e c t a t i o n s\nl Adam Smith,\n1853), p . 75.\nT h e o ry o f M oral S e n tim e n ts ( L o n d o n : Henry Bohn,\no f t h e s o c ie ty in which it is prt-senred.\nV!'e c o n s id e r here\nan o th er im portant a s p e c t o f t h i s s o c ia liz a tio n p r o c e s s —the\nte n d e n c y for perform ers to offer th e ir o b s e r v e r s an im p re ssion\nth a t i s i d e a l i z e d in s e v e r a l different w ays.\nT h e notion th a t a perform ance p r e s e n t s an id e a l i z e d view\no f th e s itu a tio n i s , o f c o u r s e , q u ite common. C o o l e y 's view\nmay be ta k e n a s an i l l u s tr a ti o n :\nU we n e v e r cried to seem a little b e tte r than we ar e, how co uld\nwe improve or ' t r a i n o u r s e l v e s from the o u t s i d e i n w a r d ? '\nsiituc i m p u lse to sh ow the world a better or i d e a l i z e d a s p e c t o f o u r s e l v e s\nfin ds an o r g a n iz e d e x p r e s s i o n in the v a r i o u s p r o f e s s i o n s and c l a s s e s ,\ncacli of w hich h a s to som e e x t e n t a can t or pose» which i t s members\nlissom e u n c o n s c i o u s l y , for the m o st part, but w h ich h a s the effe ct\no f ,t c o n s p i r a c y to work upon t h e c r e d u lity of (he r e s t of t h e world.\nT h e r e i s a c a n t not onl y of theology and of p hilanth ro py , bu t a l s o of\nlaw, m e d i c i n e , t e a c h i n g , e ven of s c i e n c c —p e r h a p s e s p e c i a l l y o f s c i e n c e ,\nju st now sin c e th e more u p a r tic u la r kind o f m erit i s r eco g n izcd a n d\nadmired, the more it I s likely to be a s s u m e d by t h e u n w o r t h y . 1\nT h u s , when t h e individual p r e s e n t s h im self before o th e rs,\nliis p erform ance will te n d to in c o rp o rate and exemplify th e\no ffic ia lly a c c r e d i te d v a l u e s ot th e s o c ie t y , more so , in fact,\nlimn d o e s h i s behavio ur a s a whole.\nTo th e d e g r e e that a perform an ce h ig h lig h ts th e common\no ffic ia l v a l u e s o f th e s o c ie t y in which it o c c u r s , >we may look\nupon it, in th e manner of Durkheim and 1<adcl iffe-Brown, a s a\nce rem o n y —a s an e x p r e s s i v e reju v e n atio n and reaffirm ation of\nt h e moral v a l u e s of th e community.\nFurtherm ore, in so f a r\na s the e x p r e s s iv e b ia s o f p e rfo rm a n c e s co m e s to be a c c e p t e d\na s r e a lity , then th a t which i s a c c e p te d at th e moment a s re a lity\nwill hav e some o f th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a c e le b ra tio n .\nsta y in o n e ’s room aw ay from the p la c e where t h e party i s\ngiven, o r aw ay from where th e p r a c titio n e r a t t e n d s to h i s c l ie n t ,\ni s to sta y aw ay from where r e a lity i s being perform ed.\nworld, in truth, i s a wedding.\nO ne of th e r ic h e s t s o u r c e s of d a ta on th e p r e s e n ta tio n\nof id e a li z e d p e rfo rm a n c e s i s th e lite r a tu r e on s o c ia l m obility.\n!Dn most s o c i e t i e s there s e e m s to be a major or general sy ste m\nof s tr a t if ic a tio n , and in m ost s tr a t if ie d s o c i e t i e s th e re i s an\nid e a liz a tio n of th e higher s tr a t a and some as p ira tio n on th e\npart of t h o s e in low p l a c e s to move to higher o n e s . (We m ust\nbe careful to a p p r e c ia te that t h i s in v o lv e s not merely a d e s ir e\nfor a p r e stig e fu l p la c e but a l s o a d e s ir e for a p la c e c l o s e to\nth e s a c r e d c e n tr e of t h e common v a l u e s of the so c ie ty .)\nCommonly we find that upward mobility in v o lv e s th e p r e s e n t\natio n of proper p erform ances and that effo rts to move upward\nand e ffo rts to keep from moving downward a re e x p r e s s e d in\nte rm s of s a c r i f i c e s made for the m a in te n a n c e of front. O n c e\n1 C h a r l e s II. C o o ley , Human .\_a lu re tiad th e S n e ia l Order (New York- S crib\nn e r ’s , 1922), pp. 352-353.\nt h e p ro p e r s ig n -eq u ip m en t h a s bee n o b ta in e d and fam iliarity\ng a in e d in t h e m an ag e m en t of it, then t h i s equipm ent c a n be\nu s e d to e m b e llis h and illu m in e o n e ’s daily p e rfo rm a n c e s w ith\na fa v o u r a b le s o c ia l s ty le .\nP e r h a p s th e m ost im p o rta n t p i e c e o f s ig n equipm ent\na s s o c i a t e d w ith s o c ia l c l a s s c o n s i s t s o f th e s t a t u s sy m b o ls\nthrough w hich m a te r ia l w e a lth i s e x p r e s s e d .\nA m erican s o c ie t y\ni s s im ila r to o t h e r s in t h i s r eg a rd but s e e m s to have been\nsin g l e d out a s a n e x tre m e e x a m p le o f w e a lth -o rie n te d c l a s s\ns t r u c t u r e —p e r h a p s b e c a u s e in A m erica th e l i c e n c e to em ploy\nsy m b o ls o f w ea lth an d fin a n c ia l c a p a c ity to do so a r e so\nw idely d is trib u te d .\nI n d ia n s o c i e t y , on th e other hand, ’h a s\ns o m e tim e s b e e n c i t e d n o t o n ly a s o n e in w hich m obility\no c c u r s in te rm s o f c a s t e groups, not in d iv id u a ls , but a l s o a s\no n e in w hich p e rf o rm a n c e s te n d to e s t a b l i s h favourable c l a i m s\nre g a rd in g n o n-m aterial v a l u e s .\nA r e c e n t stu d e n t o f India,\nfor exa m ple , h a s s u g g e s t e d t h e follo w ing:\nT h e c a s t e 9ystem i s far from a r i g id s y s t e m in which t h e ' p o s i t i o n\no f e a c h co m p on en t i s fixed for a i i tim e.\nMovement h a s a l w a y s been\np o s s i b l e , an d e s p e c i a l l y s o in the middle r e g io n s o f t h e hier archy,\nA l o w c a s t e w a s a b l e , in a g e n e r a tio n o r two, to r i s e to a hi gher\nby a d o p t i n g v e g e t a r i a n i s m a nd t e e t o t a l ) sm, a n d by S a n s k r i t i z i n g i t s\nr i t u a l a n d p a n th e o n .\nIn s h o r t , i t to ok o v er, a s far a s p o s s i b l e , the\ncu sco m sj r i t e s , a n d b e l i e f s of the B rah m in s, a n d the ado ptio n o f the\nB r a h m i m c w ay o f l ife by a lo w c a s t e se e m s to h av e b een fre quent,\nthough t h e o r e t i c a l l y forb id den.............\nT h e t e n d e n c y o f t h e l o w e r c a s t e s to im ita te t h e h igher h a s been\na p ow erfu l facto r i n - t h e s p r e a d o f S a n s k r i t i c r i tu a l a nd c u s t o m s , an d\nin t h e a c h i e v e m e n t of a c e r t a i n am ount o f c u ltu r a l uniformity, no t on ly\nth ro ug h ou t t h e c a s t e s c a l e but o v er the en tir e l e n g th and b read th of\nI n d ia . 1\nIn f a c t, of c o u r s e , «there a re many Hindu c i r c l e s w h o se m em bers\na re much c o n c e r n e d with in j e c t i n g an e x p r e s s io n of w ealth,\nluxury, an d c l a s s s t a t u s in to t h e p erfo rm ance of their daily\nround a n d who think too l i t t l e o f a e s c e t i c purity to bother\na f f e c tin g it.\nC o rrespo ndingly, there h a v e a l w a y s been in\nflu en tial g r o u p s in\nA m erica w h o se m em bers h a v e felt th a t\nsome a s p e c t o f every p erfo rm an ce o u g h t to play down the\ne x p r e s s io n o f s h e e r w ealth in o rd er to f o ste r th e im p re ssio n\nth a t s ta n d a r d s reg a rd in g birth, c u ltu r e , or moral e a r n e s t n e s s\na r e t h e o n e s th a t p r e v a il.\nP e r h a p s b e c a u s e of th e o r ie n t a tio n upward found in major\ns o c i e t i e s to d a y , we te n d to a s s u m e th a t th e e x p r e s s i v e s t r e s s e s\nin a p erfo rm an ce n e c e s s a r i l y claim for th e performer a h ig he r\nc l a s s s t a t u s than might o th e r w is e b e a c c o r d e d him.\nexam ple, • we a r e not s u r p r i s e d to le arn the follow ing d e t a i l s\nof p a s t d o m e s tic • p e r f o rm a n c e s in S c o tla n d :\n1M . N . S r i n i v a s , R e lig io n an d S o c ie ty Among the C o o r g s of South India\n( O xfo rd: Oxford U n iv e r s ity P r e s s , 1952), p. 30.\nO n e t h in g i s fairly c e r t a i n : t h e a v e r a g e la ir d an d h i s family l i v e d\nfar more fru gally in t h e ordinary way t h a n th ey di d when they w ere\nT h e y would r i s e to a grear o c c a s i o n a n d s e r v e\nd i s h e s r e m i n i s c e n t o f th e b a n q u e t s o f t h e m e d ie v a l n o b i l i t y ; but, lik e\nt h o s e s a m e n o b l e s , b etw een the f e s t i v i t i e s th ey would ‘ k e e p s e c r e t\nh o u s e , ' a s the s a y i n g u s e d t o be, a n d liv e on the p l a i n e s t o f fare .\nT h e s e c r e t w a s well gua rded.\nE ven E d w ard Bure, with a il h i s know\nl e d g e o f rhe H i g h l a n d e r s , found it v er y d if fic u lt to d e s c r i b e th e ir\neveryday m eals.\nAll h e cou ld s a y d e f i n i t e l y w a s that w h en ev e r they\ne n t e r t a i n e d an E n g lis h m an t h e y pro vid ed far too much f o od ; “ a n d , " h e\nrem a rk e d , " i t h a s often b een s a i d they w ill r a n s a c k a l l t h e i r t e n a n t s\nr a t h e r than we s h o u l d th ink m ean ly of t h e i r h o u s e k e e p i n g ; but 1 h a v e\nh e a r d i t from many whom t h e y h a v e e m p l o y e d ............. t h a t , alth o u g h\nth ey h a v e been a t t e n d e d a t d in ner by five or s ix s e r v a n t s , y e t , with\nall t h a t s t a t e , they h a v e often d i n e d upon o a t m e a l varied s e v era l\nw a y s , p i c k l e d herring , or o th e r s u c h c h e a p an d i n d ifferen t d i e t ." 1\nIn fact, how ever, many c l a s s e s of p e r s o n s have had many\nd ifferent r e a s o n s for e x e r c is i n g s y s t e m a tic m odesty and for\nu nderp la y in g any e x p r e s s i o n s of w ea lth , sp ir itu a l stre n g th , or\nT h e igno rant, s h i f t l e s s , h a p p y-go-lucky manner\nwhich N e g r o e s in the Southern S t a t e s so m e tim e s felt o blig e d\nto a f f e c t d uring in te r a c tio n with w h i t e s i l l u s t r a t e s how a\nperform ance ca n play up ideal v a l u e s which a c c o r d to the\nperform er a lower p o sitio n than he co v e rtly a c c e p t s for him\ns e l f . 2 I h a v e been told by S h e tla n d e r s th a t theic g ra n d f a th e rs