THE PRESENTATION OF SELF

1
IN
EVERYDAY LIFE
ERVING GOFFMAN
University of Edinburgh
Social Sciences Research Centre
Price : Ten Shillings
THE PRESENTATION OF SELF
IN
EVERYDAY LIFE
ERVING GOFFMAN
University of Edinburgh
Social Sciences Research Centre
$9 George Square, Edinburgh S
Monograph No. 2
1956
o
Masks are arrested expressi ons and admi rabl e echoes of
feel i ng, at once fai thful , di screet, and superl ati ve. L i vi ng
thi ngs in contact with the ai r must acqui re a cuti cl e, and it i s
not urged agai nst cuti cl es that they are not hearts; yet some
phi l osophers seem to be angry with i mages for not bei ng thi ngs,
and with words for not bei ng feel i ngs. Words and i mages are
l i ke shel l s, no l ess i ntegral parts of nature than are the sub
stances they cover, but better addressed to the eye and more
open to observati on. I would not say that substance exi sts for
the sake of appearance, or f aces for the sake of masks, or the
passi ons for the sake of poetry and vi rtue. Nothi ng ari ses in
nature for the sake of anythi ng el se; al l these phases and
products are i nvol ved equal l y i n the round of exi stence.............
George Santayana 1
1Soli l oqui es in England and Later S o l i l o q u i e s (New Y ork: Scri bners,
1922), pp. 131-132.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The report presented here was devel oped in connecti on with
a study of i nteracti on undertaken for the Department of Social
Anthropology and the Social Sci ences Research Committee of
the Uni versi ty of Edinburgh and a study of soci al strati fi cati on
supported by a Ford Foundati on grant di rected by Prof essor
E. A. Shi l s at the Uni versi ty of Chi cago. I am grateful to these
sources of gui dance and support. I would l i ke to express
thanks to my teachers C. W. M.Hart, W. L. Warner, and E. C.
Hughes. [ want, too, to thank El i zabeth Bott, J ames L i ttl ej ohn,
and Edward Banfi el d, who hel ped me at the begi nni ng of the
study, and fel l ow-students of occupati ons at the Uni versi ty of
Chi cago who hel ped me l ater. Without the col l aborati on of my
wife, Angel i ca S. Goffman, thi s report would not have been
wri tten.
PREFACE
1 mean thi s report to serve as a sort of handbook detai l i ng
one soci ol ogi cal perspecti ve from which soci al l i fe can be
studi ed, especi al l y the kind of soci al l i fe thar i s organi sed
wi thi n the physi cal confi nes of a bui l di ng or plant. A set of
f eatures will be descri bed which together form a framework that
can be appl i ed to any concrete soci al establ i shment, be it
domesti c, i ndustri al , or commercial.
The perspecti ve employed in thi s report i s that of the theat
rical performance ; the pri nci pl es deri ved are dramaturgical
ones. I shal l consi der the way in which the i ndi vi dual in ordin
ary work si tuati ons presents hi msel f and hi s acti vi ty to others,
the ways in which he gui des and control s the i mpressi on they
form of him, and the ki nds of thi ngs he may and may not do
while sustai ni ng hi s performance before them. I n usi ng thi s
model I will attempt not to make l i ght of i ts obvi ous i nadequa
ci es. The stage presents thi ngs that are make-bel i eve ; presum
abl y life presents thi ngs that are real and someti mes not well
rehearsed. More important, perhaps, on the stage one pl ayer
resents hi msel f in the gui se of a cha^.cter to characters pro
j ected by other pl ayers; the audi ence consti tutes a thi rd party
to the i nteracti onone that i s essenti al and yet, if the stage
performance were real , one that would not be there. I n real life,
the three parti es are compressed into two; the part one i ndi
vi dual pl ays i s tai l ored to the parts pl ayed by the others pre
sent, and yet these others al so consti tute the audi ence. Still
other i nadequaci es in thi s model will be consi dered later.
The i l l ustrati ve materi al s used in thi s study are of mixed
status: some are taken from respectabl e researches where qual
ified general i sati ons are given concerni ng rel i abl y recorded
regul ari ti es; some are taken from informal memoirs written by
col ourful peopl e; many fall in between. The j usti fi cati on for
thi s approach (as I take to be the j usti fi cati on for Simmei s
al so) i s that the i l l ustrati ons together fit into a coherent frame
work that ti es together bi ts of experi ence the reader has al ready
had and provi des the student with a guide worth testi ng in case-
studi esof i nsti tuti onal soci al life.
The framework i s presented in l ogi cal steps. The intro
duction i s necessari l v abstract and may be skipped.
T A B L E OF CONTEKTS
PA GE
A cknowl edgements
Pref ace
'NTRODUCTI ON ............................................................................... 1
CHAP.
i PERFORMA NCES ............................................................ 10
II TEAMS ............................................................................... 47
i l l REGI ONS AND REGI ON BEHAVI OUR ... 66
iV DI SCREPA NT ROL ES ......................................... 87
V COMMUNI CATI ON OUT OF CHA RA CTER ... 107
VI THE ARTS OF I MPRESSI ON MANAGEMENT ... 132
VI I CONCL USI ON ............................................................ 152
INTRODUCTION
When an i ndi vi dual enters the presence of others, they
commonly seek to acqui re informati on about him or to bring i nto
pl ay i nformati on about him al ready possessed. They will be
i nterested in hi s general soci o-economi c status, hi s concepti on
of sel f, hi s atti tude toward them, hi s competence, hi s trust
worthi ness, etc. Although some of thi s i nformati on seems to be
sought al most as an end in i tsel f , there are usual l y qui te prac
ti cal reasons for acqui ri ng it. I nformation about the i ndi vi dual
hel ps to defi ne the si tuati on, enabl i ng others to know i n ad
vance what he will expect of them and what they may expect of
him. I nformed in these ways, the others will know how best to
act in order to cal l forth a desi red response from him.
For those present, many sources of informati on become
accessi bl e and many carri ers (or ' si gn- vehi cl es) become avai l
abl e for conveyi ng thi s informati on. I f unacquai nted with the
i ndi vi dual , observers can gl ean cl ues from hi s conduct and
appearance whi ch al l ow them to appl y thei r previ ous experi ence
with i ndi vi dual s roughly si mi l ar to the one before them or, more
important, to appl y untested stereotypes to him. They can al so
assume from past experi ence that only i ndi vi dual s of a parti c
ul ar kind are l i kel y to be found in a gi ven soci al setti ng. They
can rel y on what the i ndi vi dual says about hi msel f or on doc
umentary evi dence he provi des as to who and what he i s. If
tti ey know, or know of, the i ndi vi dual by vi rtue of experi ence
prior to the i nteracti on, they can rel y on assumpti ons as to the
persi stence and general i ty of psychol ogi cal trai ts as a means
of predi cti ng hi s present and future behavi our.
However, duri ng the peri od in which the i ndi vi dual i s in the
i mmedi ate presence of the others, few events may occur which
di rectl y provi de the others with the concl usi ve i nfonnati on they
will need i f they are to di rect wi sel y thei r own acti vi ty. Many
cruci al f acts l i e beyond the time and pl ace of i nteracti on or l i e
conceal ed within it. For- exampl e, the 'true or real atti
tudes, bel i efs, and emoti ons of the i ndi vi dual can be ascert
ai ned onl y i ndi rectl y, through hi s avowal s or through what
1
appears to be invol untary expressi ve behaviour. Similarly,
i f the i ndi vi dual offers the others a product or servi ce, they will
often find that during the i nteracti on there will be no time and
pl ace immedi atel y avai l abl e for eati ng the puddi ng that the
proof can be found in. They will be forced to accept some
events as conventi onal or natural si gns of somethi ng not di rect
l y avai l abl e to the senses. I n I chhei ser s terms1, the i ndi
vidual will have to act so that he i ntenti onal l y or uni ntenti on
al l y expresses hi msel f, and the others will in turn have to be
impressed in some way by him.
We find, then, that when the indi vi dual i s in the i mmedi ate
presence of others, hi s acti vi ty will have a promi ssory char
acter. The others are l i kel y to find that they must accept the
i ndi vi dual on fai th, offeri ng him a just return whi l e he i s pre
sent before them i n exchange for somethi ng whose true val ue
will not be establ i shed until after he has left thei r presence.
(Of course, the others al so l i ve by i nference i n thei r deal i ngs
with the physi cal world, but it i s onl y in the world of soci al
i nteracti on that the obj ects about which they make i nferences
will purposel y f aci l i tate and hinder thi s i nferenti al process.)
The securi ty that they j usti fi abl y feel in making i nferences
about the i ndi vi dual will vary, of course, dependi ng on such
factors as the amount of previ ous informati on they possess
about him, but no amount of such past evi dence can enti rel y
obvi ate the necessi ty of acti ng on the basi s of i nferences.
L et us now turn from the others to the poi nt of view of the
i ndi vi dual who presents hi msel f before them. He may wi sh them
to thi nk highly of him, or to think that he thi nks hi ghly of them,
or to percei ve how in fact he feel s toward them, or to obtai n no
cl ear-cut i mpressi on; he may wish to ensure suffi ci ent harmony
so that the i nteracti on can be sustai ned, or to defraud, get rid
of, confuse, mi sl ead, antagoni ze, or i nsul t them. Regardl ess of
the parti cul ar obj ecti ve which the indi vi dual has in mind and of
hi s moti ve for havi ng thi s obj ecti ve, it will be in hi s i nterests
to control the conduct of the others, especi al l y thei r responsi ve
treatment of him. 2 Thi s control i s achi eved l argel y by i nflu
enci ng the defi ni ti on of the si tuati on which the others come to
formul ate, and he can i nfl uence thi s defi ni ti on by expressi ng
hi msel f in such a way as to gi ve them the kind of i mpressi on
'Gustav I chei ser, Mi sunderstandi ngs in Human Rel ati ons', Suppl ement
to The American Journal o f Sociology, LV, (September, 1949) pp. 6-7.
ai !ere 1owe much to an unpubl i shed paper by Tom Burns of the Uni versi ty of
Edinburgh, where the argument i s presented rhat in al l i nteracti on a basi c
underl yi ng theme i s the desi re of each parti ci pant to gui de and control the
response made by the others present.
2
that will l ead them to act vol untari l y i n accordance with hi s
own pl an. Thus, when an i ndi vi dual appears in the presence of
others, there will usual l y be some reason for him to mobi l i ze
hi s acti vi ty so that i t will convey an i mpressi on to others which
i t i s in hi s i nterests to convey.
I have sai d that when an i ndi vi dual appears before others
hi s acti ons will i nfl uence the defi ni ti on of the si tuati on which
they come to have. Someti mes the i ndi vi dual will act in a
thoroughly cal cul ati ng manner, expressi ng hi msel f in a given
way sol el y in order to give the kind of i mpressi on to others that
i s l i kel y to evoke from them a speci fi c response he i s concern
ed to obtai n. Someti mes the i ndi vi dual will be cal cul ati ng in
hi s acti vi ty but be rel ati vel y unaware that thi s i s the case.
Someti mes he will i ntenti onal l y and consci ousl y express him
sel f in a parti cul ar way, but chi efl y because the tradi ti on of hi s
group or soci al status requi re thi s kind of expressi on and not
because of any parti cul ar response (other than vague accept
ance or approval) that i s l i kel y to be evoked from those im
pressed by the expressi on. Someti mes the tradi ti ons of an
i ndi vi dual s rol e will l ead him to gi ve a wel l -desi gned i mpress
ion of a parti cul ar kind and yet he may be nei ther consci ousl y
nor unconsci ousl y di sposed to create such an i mpressi on. The
others, in thei r turn, may be sui tabl y i mpressed by the i ndi vi d
ual s efforts to convey somethi ng, or may scepti cal l y examine
aspects of hi s acti vi ty of whose si gni fi cance he i s not aware,
or may mi sunderstand the si tuati on and come to concl usi ons
that are warranted nei ther by the i ndi vi dual s i ntent nor by the
facts. In any case, in so far as the others act as i f the i ndi vi d
ual had conveyed a parti cul ar i mpressi on, we may take a funct
ional or pragmati c view and say that the i ndi vi dual has effect
i vel y proj ected a given defi ni ti on of the si tuati on and 'ef f ect
i vel y fostered the understandi ng that a gi ven state of affai rs
obtai ns.
When we al low that the i ndi vi dual proj ects a defi ni ti on of
the si tuati on when he appears before others, we must al so see
chat the others, however passi ve their rol e may seem to be, will
themsel ves effecti vel y proj ect a defi ni ti on of the si tuati on by
vi rtue of thei r response to the i ndi vi dual and by vi rtue of any
l i nes of acti on they i ni ti ate to him. Ordi nari l y we find that the
defi ni ti ons of the si tuati on proj ected by the several di fferent
parti ci pants are suffi ci entl y attuned to one another so that open
contradi cti on will not occur. I do not mean that there will be
the kind of consensus that ari ses when each i ndi vi dual present
candi dl y expresses what he real l y feel s and honestl y agrees
3
with the expressed feel i ngs of the others present. Thi s kind of
harmony i s an opti mi sti c i deal and in any case not necessary
for the smooth working of soci ety. Rather, each parti ci pant i s
expected to suppress hi s i mmedi ate heartfel t feel i ngs, convey
i ng a view of the si tuati on which he f eel s the others will be
abl e to find at l east temporari l y acceptabl e. The mai ntenance
of thi s surface of agreement, thi s veneer of consensus, i s
faci l i tated by each parti ci pant conceal i ng hi s own wants behi nd
statements which assert val ues to which everyone present i s
l i kel y to gi ve l i p-servi ce. Further, there i s usual l y a ki nd of
di vi si on of defi ni ti onal labour. Each parti ci pant i s al l owed to
establ i sh the tentati ve offi ci al rul i ng regardi ng matters which
are vi tal to him bat not i mmedi atel y i mportant to others, e.g.,
the rati onal i zati ons and j usti fi cati ons by which he accounts for
hi s past acti vi ty; i n exchange for thi s courtesy he remai ns
si l ent or non-committal on matters important to others but not
i mmedi atel y i mportant to him. We have then a kind of i nter
acti onal modus vivendi. Together the parti ci pants contri bute to
a si ngl e overal l defi ni ti on of the si tuati on which i nvol ves not
so much a real agreement as to what exi sts but rather a real
agreement as to whose cl ai ms concerni ng what i ssues will be
temporarily honoured. Real agreement will al so exi st concem-
the desi rabi l i ty of avoi di ng an open confl i ct of defi ni ti ons of
the si tuati on. 1 L et us refer to thi s l evel of agreement as a
'worki ng consensus. I t i s to be understood that the working
consensus establ i shed in one i nteracti on setti ng will be qui te
di fferent in content from the working consensus establ i shed in a
di fferent type of setti ng. Thus, between two fri ends at l unch, a
reci procal show of affecti on, respect, and concern for the other
i s mai ntai ned. I n servi ce occupati ons, on the other hand, the
speci al i st often mai ntai ns an i mage of di si nterested i nvol ve-
ment in the problem of the cl i ent, whi l e the cl i ent responds with
a show of respect for the competence and i ntegri ty of the spec
i al i st. Regardl ess of such di fferences i n content, however, the
general form of these working arrangements i s the same.
I n noti ng the tendency for a parti ci pant to accept the defi n
i ti onal cl ai ms made by the others present, we can appreci ate
the cruci al i mportance of the -information that the i ndi vi dual
initially possesses or acqui res concerni ng hi s fell ow parti ci
1An i nteracti on can be purposel y set up as a ti me and pl ace for voi ci ng
di fferences i n opi ni on, but in such cases parti ci pants must be careful to
agree not to di sagree on the proper tone of voi cc, vocabul ary, and degree of
seri ousness in whi ch al l arguments are to be phrased, and upon the mutual
respect whi ch di sagreei ng parti ci pants must careful l y conti nue to express
toward one another. Thi s debaters' or academi c defi ni ti on of the si tuati on
may al so be suddenl y and j udi ci ousl y i nvoked as a way of transl ati ng a
seri ous confl i ct of vi ews i nto one that can be handl ed wi thi n a framework
acceptabl e to al l present.
4
pants, for i t i s on the basi s of thi s i ni ti al informati on that the
i ndi vi dual starts to defi ne the si tuati on and starts to build up
l i nes of responsi ve acti on. The i ndi vi dual s i ni ti al proj ecti on
commi ts him to what he i s proposi ng to be and requi res him to
drop al l pretences of bei ng other thi ngs. As the i nteracti on
among the parti ci pants progresses, addi ti ons and modi fi cati ons
i n thi s i ni ti al i nformati onal state will of course occur, -but i t i s
essenti al that these l ater devel opments be rel ated withouc con
tradi cti on to, and even bui l t up from, the i ni ti al posi ti ons taken
by the several parti ci pants. I t would seem that an i ndi vi dual
can more easi l y make a choi ce as to what l i ne of treatment to
demand from and extend to the others present at the begi nni ng
of an encounter than he can al ter the l i ne of treatment that i s
bei ng pursued once the i nteracti on i s underway.
I n everyday l i fe, of course, there i s a cl ear understandi ng
that fi rst i mpressi ons are i mportant. Thus, the work adj ustment
of those in servi ce occupati ons will often hi nge upon a capaci ty
to sei ze and hold the i ni ti ati ve in the servi ce rel ati on, a cap
aci ty that will requi re subtl e aggressi veness on the part of the
server when he i s of l ower soci o-economi c status than hi s
cl i ent. W. F. Whyte suggests the wai tress as an exampl e:
The fi rsc poi nt that stands out i s that the wai tress who bears up
under pressure does not si mpl y respond ro her customers. She acts wi th
some ski l l to control thei r behavi our. ] The fi rst questi on to ask when
we l ook at the customer rel ati onshi p i s, Does the wai tress get the jump
on the customer, or does the customer get the jump on the wai tress?'1
The ski l l ed wai tress real i zes the cruci al nature of thi s questi on . . . .
The ski l l ed wai tress tackl es the customer wi th confi dence and
wi thout hesi tati on. For exampl e, she may find that a new customer has
seated hi msel f before she coul d cl ear off the di rty di shes and change rhe
cl oth. He i s now l eani ng on the tabl e studyi ng the menu. She greets
hi m, says, May I change the cover, pl ease and, wi thout wai ti ng for
an answer, takes hi s menu away from him so that he moves back from the
tabl e, and she goes about her work. The rel ati onshi p,i s handl ed pol i tel y
but fi rmly, and there i s never any questi on as to who i s in charge. 1
When the i nteracti on that i s i ni ti ated by " f i rst i mpressi ons
i s i tsel f merel y the i ni ti al i nteracti on in an extended seri es of
i nteracti ons i nvol vi ng the same parti ci pants, we speak of
''getti ng off on the right f oot and feel that it i s cruci al that we
do so. Thus, one l earns that some teachers take the following
vi ew:
You can't ever l er them get the upper hand on you or you're through.
So I start out tough. The fi rst day I get a new cl ass in, I l et them
know whos boss . . . . Y ou've got to start oil tough, then you can ease
up as you go al ong. I f you start out easy-goi ng, when you try to get
tough, theyll j ust l ook at you and l a u g h . 2
1W. F. Whyte, 11When Workers and Customers Meet, Chap. VI I , Industry
ami S o c i e t y , ed.W.F . Whyte (New Y ork: McGraw-Hil l, 1946), pp. 132-133-
?T eacher i ntervi ew quoted by Howard S. Becker, "Soci al Cl ass Vari ati ons
in rhe Teacher-Pupi l Rel ati onshi p," Journal o f Ed u ca t io n a l So cio lo g y,
XXV, 459.
5
Similarly, attendants ih mental i nsti tuti ons may feel that i f the
new pati ent i s sharpl y put i n hi s pl ace the fi rst day on the ward
and made to see who i s boss, much future di ffi cul ty will be
prevented. 1
Gi ven the fact that the i ndi vi dual effecti vel y proj ects a
defi ni ti on of the si tuati on when he enters the presence of
others, we can assume that events may occur within the i nter
acti on which contradi ct, di scredi t, or otherwi se throw doubt
upon thi s proj ecti on. When these di srupti ve events occur, the
i nteracti on i tsel f may come to a confused and embarrassed hal t.
Some of the assumpti ons upon which the responses of the par
ti ci pants had been predi cated become untenabl e, and the par
ti ci pants find themsel ves l odged in an i nteracti on for which the
si tuati on has been wrongly defi ned and i s now no l onger de
fined. At such moments the i ndi vi dual whose presentati on has
been di scredi ted may feel ashamed whi l e the others present may
feel hosti l e, and all the parti ci pants may come to feel ill at
ease, nonpl ussed, our of countenance, embarrassed, experi enc
i ng the kind of anomi e that i s generated when the minute social
system of face-to-face i nteracti on breaks down.
I n stressi ng the fact that the i ni ti al defi ni ti on of the si t
uati on proj ected by an indi vi dual tends to provi de a pl an for the
co-operati ve acti vi ty that fol l owsin stressi ng thi s acti on poi nt
of vi ewwe must not overlook the cruci al fact that any pro
j ected defi ni ti on of the si tuati on al so has a di sti ncti ve moral
character. I t i s thi s moral character of proj ecti ons that will
chi efl y concern us in thi s report. Soci ety i s organi zed on the
pri nci pl e that any i ndi vi dual who possesses certai n soci al
characteri sti cs has a moral right to expect that others will
val ue and treat him in a correspondi ngl y appropri ate way.
Connected with thi s pri nci pl e i s a second, namely that an indi
vi dual who i mpl i ci tl y.or expl i ci tl y si gni fi es that he has certai n
soci al characteri sti cs ought to have thi s cl aim honoured by
others and ought in fact to be what he cl ai ms he is. I n con
sequence, when an indi vi dual proj ects a defi ni ti on of the si t
uati on and thereby makes an impl i ci t or expl i ci t cl aim to be a
person of a parti cul ar kind, he automati cal l y exerts a moral
demand upon the others, obl i gi ng them to val ue and treat him in
the manner that persons of hi s kind have a right to expect. He
al so i mpl i ci tl y forgoes al l cl ai ms to be thi ngs he does not
appear to be2 and hence forgoes the treatment that would be
1Harol d Taxel , 'Authori ty Structure in a Mental Hospi tal Ward, Unpubl i shed
Master s thesi s, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1953-
2Thi a rol e of the wi tness i n l i mi ti ng what i t i s the i ndi vi dual can be has
been stressed by Exi stenti al i sts, who see ic as a basi c threat ro i ndi vi dual
freedom. See J ean-Paul Sartre; L etre e t le neant (Pari s: Gal l i mard, 1948),
p. 319 ff.
6
appropri ate for such i ndi vi dual s TKv. others find, then, chi t the
i ndi vi dual has informed them as to whac i s and as to what ^hey
ought to see as the ' i s .
We cannot judge the i mportance of defi ni ti onal di srupti ons
by the fre<|'iency with which they occur, for apparentl y they
n-rmld occur more frequentl y were noc constant precauti ons
taken. We find that preventi ve practi ces are constantl y em
pl oyed to u.void these embarrassments and that correcti ve prac
ti ces are constantl y empl oyed to compensate for di scredi ti ng
occurrences that have not been successful l y avoi ded. When the
i ndi vi dual empl oys these strategi es and tacti cs to protect hi s
own proj ecti ons, we may refer to them as 'def ensi ve prac
ti ces ; when a parti ci pant empl oys them to save the defi ni ti on
of the si tuati on proj ected by another, we speak of 'protecti ve
practi ces or 'tac t. Together, defensi ve and protecti ve prac
ti ces compri se the techni ques employed to safeguard the im
pressi on fostered by an i ndi vi dual during hi s presence before
others. I t shoul d be added that whi l e we are perhaps ready to
see that no fostered i mpressi on would survi ve if defensi ve
practi ces were not empl oyed, we are perhaps l ess ready to see
that few i mpressi ons coul d survi ve i f those who recei ved the
i mpressi on did not exert tact in thei r recepti on of it.
I n addi ti on to the fact that precauti ons are taken to prevent
di srupti on of proj ected defi ni ti ons, we may al so note that an
i ntense i nterest in these di srupti ons comes to pl ay a si gni fi
cant role in the soci al l i fe of the group. Practi cal j okes and
soci al games are pl ayed in which embarrassments which are to
be taken unseri ousl y are purposel y engi neered. 1 Phantasi es
are created in which devastati ng exposures occur. Anecdotes
from the pastreal , embroi dered, or f i cti ti ousare tol d and re
tol d, detai l i ng di srupti ons which occurred, al most occurred, or
occurred and were admirably resol ved. There seems to be no
grouping which does not have a ready suppl y of these games,
reveri es, and cauti onary tal es, to be used as a source of hum
our, a catharsi s for anxi eti es, and a sancti on for i nduci ng i ndi
vi dual s to be modest in thei r cl ai ms and reasonabl e in thei r
proj ected expectati ons. The i ndivi dual may tel l hi msel f through
dreams of getti ng i nto i mpossi bl e posi ti ons. Fami l i es tel l of
the ti me a guest got hi s dates mixed and arri ved when nei ther
the house nor anyone in it was ready for him. J ournal i sts tel l
of ti mes when an al l -too-meani ngful mi spri nt occurred, and the
papers assumpti on of obj ecti vi ty or decorum was humorously
di scredi ted. Publ i c Servants tel l of ti mes a cl i ent ri di cul ousl y
1Ervi ng Goffmi n, 'Communi cati on Conduct in an I sl and Communi ty (Un
publ i shed Ph.D. di ssertati on, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of
Chi cago, 1953), pp. 319-327.
7
mis-understood form i nstructi ons, gi ving answers which impl ied
;m unanti ci pated and bi zarre defi ni ti on of the si tuati on. 1 Sea
men, whose home away from home i s ri gorousl y he-man, tel l
stori es of coming back home and i nadvertentl y aski ng mother to
" pass the f-cking butter . 2 Di pl omats tell of the time a near
si ghted Queen asked a republ i can ambassador about the heal th
of hi s King. 3
To summari ze, then, I assume that when an indi vi dual
appears before others he will have many moti ves for trying to
control the i mpressi on they recei ve of the si tuati on. Thi s
report i s concerned with some of the common techni ques that
i nteractants employ to sustai n such i mpressi ons and with some
of the common conti ngenci es associ ated with the employment of
these techni ques. The speci fi c content of any acti vi ty present
ed by the i ndi vi dual parti ci pant, or the role it pl .\ys in the
i nterdependent acti vi ti es of an on-going soci al system, will not
be at i ssue; I shal l be concerned onl y with the parti ci pant s
dramaturgical probl ems of presenti ng the acti vi ty before others.
The i ssues deal t with by stage-craft and stage-management are
someti mes tri vi al but they are qui te general ; they seem to
occur everywhere in soci al life, provi di ng a cl ear-cut di mension
for formal soci ol ogi cal anal ysi s.
I t will be conveni ent to end thi s i ntroduction with some
defi ni ti ons that are i mpl ied in whac has gone before an.) re
qui red for what i s to follow. For the purpose of thi s report,
i nteracti on (that .is, face-to-face i nteracti on) may be roughly
J ctined as the reci procal i nfl uence of i ndi vi dual s upon one
anothers acti ons when in one anothers immediate physi cal
presence. An i nteracti on may be defi ned as all the i nteracti on
which occurs throughout any one occasi on when a given set of
i ndi vi dual s are in one another s conti nuous presence; the term
'an encounter would do as well . A performance may be
defi ned as all the acti vi ty of a given parti ci pant on a given
occasi on which serves to i nfl uence in any way any of the other
parti ci pants. Taki ng a parti cul ar parti ci pant and hi s perform
ance as a basi c point of reference, we may refer ro those who
contri bute the other performances as the audi ence, observers,
or co-parti ci pants. The pre-establ i shed pattern of acti on which
i s unfolded during a performance and which may be presented or
1Peter li l au, ' Dynami cs of Bureaucracy ' (Ph.D. di ssertati on. Department of
Soci ol ogy, Col umbi a Uni versi ty, forthcoming, Uni versi ty of Chi cago Ptcss),
pp. 127-129.
2^nl ter M. beatti e, J r., 'T he Merchant Seaman' (Unpubl i shed M.A.
Report, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Cliic.iRo, 1950), |>. 35.
3 Sir l-'redcrick Ponsonby, R e c o l l e c t i o n s o f Three R e i e n s (New Y ork:
Dutton, 1952), p. 46.
8
pl ayed through on other occasi ons may be cal l ed a 'part or
routi ne. 1 T hese si tuati onal terms can easi l y be rel ated to
conventi onal structural ones. When an indi vi dual or performer
pl ays the same part to the same audi ence on di fferent occas
i ons, -a soci al rel ati onshi p i s l i kel y to ari se. Defining soci al
rol e as the enactment of ri ghts and duti es attached to a given
status, 'We can say that a soci al role will i nvol ve one or more
parts and that each of these di fferent parts may be presented by
the performer on a seri es of occasi ons to the same ki nds of
audi ence or to an audi ence of the same persons.
1For comments on the i mportance of di sti ngui shi ng between a routi ne of
i nteracti on and any parti cul ar i nstance when thi s routi ne i s pl ayed through,
see J ohn von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, The Theory o f Games ana
Economic Behaviour (2nd ed. ; P.-i nceton: Pri nceton Uni versi ty Press,
1947), p. 49.
CHA PT E R I
PERFORMANCES
Belief in the Part One is Playing
When an i ndivi dual pl ays a part he i mpl i ci tl y requests hi s
observers to take seri ousl y the i mpressi on that i s fostered
before them. They are asked to bel i eve that the character they
see actual l y possesses the attri butes he appears to possess,
that the task he performs will have the consequences that are
i mpl i ci tl y cl ai med for i t, and that, in general , matters are what
they appear to be. In l i ne with thi s, there i s the popul ar view
that the i ndivi dual offers hi s performance and puts on hi s show
' for the benefi t of other people.' I t will be conveni ent to begin
a consi derati on of performances by turning the questi on around
and l ooking at the i ndi vi dual s own bel i ef in the i mpressi on of
real i ty that he attempts to engender in those among whom he
fi nds himself.
At one extreme, we find that the performer can be fully
taken in by hi s own act; he can be si ncerel y convi nced that the
i mpressi on of real i ty which he s t a g e s i s the real real i ty. When
hi s audi ence i s al so convi nced in thi s way about the show he
puts onand thi s seems to be the typi cal case then for the
moment, anyway, only the soci ol ogi st or the soci al l y di s
gruntl ed will have any doubts about the 'real ness of what i s
presented.
At the other extreme, we find that the performer may not be
taken in at all by hi s own routine. Thi s possi bi l i ty i s under
standabl e, si nce no one i s in qui te as good an observati onal
posi ti on to see through the act as the person who puts it on.
Coupl ed with thi s, the performer may be moved to .guide the
convi cti on of hi s audi ence only as a means to other ends,
havi ng no ul ti mate concern in the concepti on that they have of
him or of the si tuati on. When the indi vi dual has no bel i ef in
hi s own act and no ul ti mate concern with the bel i efs of hi s
audi ence, we may call him cyni cal , reservi ng the term si ncere
for i ndi vi dual s who bel i eve in the i mpressi on fostered by thei r
own performance. I t should be understood that the cyni c, with
al l hi s professi onal di si nvol vement, may obtai n unprofessi onal
pl easures from his masquerade, experi enci ng a kind of gleeful
spi ri tual aggressi on from the fact that he can toy at will with
something hi s audi ence must take seri ousl y.1
Perhaps the real crime of the confi dence man i s not that he takes money
from hi s vi cti ms buc chat he robs al l of us of the bel i ef chat mi ddl e-cl ass
manners and appearance can be sustai ned onl y by mi ddl e-cl ass peopl e. A
10
It i s not assumed, of course, that al l cyni cal performers are
i nterested in del udi ng thei r audi ences for purposes of what i s
cal l ed 'sel f - i nterest' or pri vate gai n. A cyni cal i ndivi dual may
del ude hi s audi ence for what he consi ders to be thei r own good,
or for the good of the community, etc. For i l l ustrati ons of thi s
we need not appeal to sadl y enl i ghtened showmen such as
Marcus Aurel i us or Hsun Tzu. We know that in servi ce occu
pati ons practi ti oners who may otherwi se be si ncere are some
ti mes forced to del ude thei r customers because thei r customers
show such a heartfel t demand for it. Doctors who are led into
giving pl acebos, fi l l i ng-stati on attendants who resi gnedl y
check and recheck ti re pressures for anxi ous women motori sts,
shoe cl erks who sel l a shoe that fits but tel l the customer i t i s
the si ze she wants to hearthese are cyni cal performers whose
audi ences will not al low them to be si ncere. Similarly, we find
that sympatheti c pati ents in mental wards will someti mes feign
bi zarre symptoms so that student nurses will not be subj ected
to a di sappoi nti ngl y sane performance. 1 So al so, when i nfer
i ors extend thei r most l avi sh recepti on for vi si ti ng superi ors,
the sel fi sh desi re to win favour may not be the chi ef moti ve;
the inferi or may be tactful l y attempti ng to put the superi or at
ease by si mul ati ng the kind of world the superi or i s thought to
take for granted.
I have suggested two extremes: an i ndi vi dual may be taken
in by hi s own act or be cyni cal about i t. These extremes are
somethi ng a l i ttl e more than j ust the ends of a continuum. Each
provi des the i ndi vi dual with a posi ti on which has i ts own par
ti cul ar securi ti es and defences, so there will be a tendency for
those who have travel l ed cl ose to one of these pol es to com
pl ete the voyage. Starti ng with l ack of inward bel i ef in ones
role, the indi vi dual may follow the natural movement descri bed
by Park:
It i s probabl y no mere hi stori cal acci dent that the word person, in i ts
fi rst meani ng, ts a mask. It i s rather a recogni ti on of the fact that
di sabused professi onal can be cyni cal l y hosti l e 10 the servi ce rel ati on hi s
cl i ents expect him to extend to them; the confi dence man i s in a posi ti on
to hol d the whole 1l egi t * world in thi s contempt.
'See L'dxel, op. c i t . , p. 4. Marry Stack Sul l i van has suggested that the tact
of i nsti tuti onal i zed performers can operate in the ocher di recti on, resul ti ng
in a kind of nobles sc^oblige sani ty. bee hi s Soci o-Psychi atri c
Research American Journal o f Psych i a t r y, X, pp. 987*988.
MA study of .social recoveri es 1in one of our l arge mental hospi tal s some
years ago caught me that pati ents were often rel eased from care because
they had l earned noc to mani fest symptoms to the envi roni ng persons; in
other words, had i ntegrated enough of the personal envi ronment to real i ze
the prej udi ce opposed to thei r del usi ons. It seemed al most as i f they grew
wi se enough to be tol erant of the tmbeci l i ry surroundi ng them, havi ng
fi nal l y di scovered that it was stupi di ty and not mal i ce. They coul d then
secure sati sfacti on from contact with others, whil e di schargi ng a part of
thei r cravi ngs by psychoti c means.
11
everyone i s al ways and everywhere, more or l ess consci ousl y, pl ayi ng a
rol e . . . I t i s in these rol es that we know each other; it i s in these
rol es that we know oursel ves. 1
I n a sense, and in so J ar as thi s mask represents the concepti on we
have formed of oursel vesthe rol e we are stri vi ng to l i ve up totl i i s
mask i s our truer sel f , the sel f we woul d l i ke to be. In the end, our
concepti on of our rol e becomes second nature and an i ntegral part of our
personal i ty. come i nto the world as i ndi vi dual s, achi eve character,
and become persons.2
T hi s may be i l l uscrated from the wri ter s study of an i sl and
community of crofters, that i s, smal l -hol di ng farmers. 3 For the
l ast four or five years the i sl and's touri st hotel has been owned
and operated by a married coupl e of crofter ori gi ns. From the
begi nning, the owners were forced to set asi de thei r own con
cepti ons as to how l i fe ought to be led, di spl ayi ng in the hotel
a full round of mi ddl e-cl ass servi ces and ameni ti es. L atel y,
however, i t appears that the managers have become l ess cyn
i cal about the performance that they stage; they themsel ves are
becoming middl e cl ass and more and more enamoured of the
sel ves thei r cl i ents impuce to them. Another i l l ustrati on may
be found in the raw recrui t who i ni ti al l y fol l ows army eti quette
in order to avoi d physi cal puni shment and who eventual l y comes
to follow the rul es so that hi s organi zati on will not be shamed
and hi s offi cers and fel l ow-sol di ers will respect him.
As suggested, the cycl e of di sbel i ef-to-bel i ef can be fol l
owed in the other di recti on, starti ng with convi cti on or i nsecure
aspi rati on and endi ng in cyni ci sm. Professi ons which the
publ i c hol ds in rel i gi ous awe often al low thei r recrui ts to
follow the cycl e in thi s di recti on, anti often recrui ts follow it in
thi s di recti on not because of a sl ow real i zati on that they are
del udi ng thei r audi encefor by ordinary soci al standards the
cl ai ms they make may be qui te val i dbut because they can use
thi s cyni ci sm as a means of i nsul ati ng thei r inner sel ves from
contact with the audi ence. And we may even expect to find
typi cal careers of fai th, with the i ndi vi dual starti ng out with
one kind of i nvol vement in the performance he i s requi red to
gi ve, then moving back and forth several ti mes between si ncer
i ty and cyni ci sm before compl eti ng al l the phases and turning-
poi nts of sel f-bel i ef for a person of hi s stati on.
While we can expect to find natural movement back and
forth between cyni ci sm and si nceri ty, sti l l we must not rul e out
the ki nd of transi ti onal poi nts that can be sustai ned, on the
l Robert Ezra Park, R a c e and Culture (Gl encoe.|l l l .: The Free Press, 1950),
p. 249.
3 H i d . , p. 250.
3The study was fi nanced by the Department of Soci al Anthropology And the
Soci al Sci ences Research Commi ttee of the Uni versi ty of Kdi nburgh and
reported i o part i n Goffman, op. c i t .
12
strength of a l i ttl e sel f-i l l usi on. We find that the i ndi vi dual
may attempt to i nduce the audi ence to j udge him and the si t
uati on in a parti cul ar way, and he may seek thi s j udgement as
an ul ti mate end in i tsel f , and yet he may not compl etel y bel i eve
that he deserves the val uati on of sel f which he asks for or that
the i mpressi on of real i ty which he fosters i s val i d. Another
mixture of cyni ci sm and bel i ef i s suggested in K roeber s di s
cussi on of shamani sm:
Next, there i s the ol d questi on of decepti on Probabl y most shamans
or medi ci ne men, the world over, hel p al ong with sl ei ght-of-hand in curi ng
and especi al l y i n exhi bi ti ons of power. Thi s sl ei ght-of-hand i s some
ti mes del i berate; in many cases awareness i s perhaps not deeper chan
the foreconsci ous. The atti tude, whether there has been repressi on or
not, seems to be as toward a pi ous fraud. Fi el d ethnographers seem
qui te general l y convi nced that even shamans who know that they add
fraud neverthel ess al so bel i eve in thei r powers, and especi al l y in those
of other shamans: they consul t them whet! they themsel ves or theLr
chi l dren are i l l . 1
Front
We have been usi ng the term 'performance' to refer to al l
the acti vi ty of an i ndi vi dual which occurs during a period
marked by hi s conti nuous presence before a parti cul ar set of
observers and which has some i nfl uence on the observers. It
will be conveni ent to l abel as 'f ront that part of the i ndi vi d
ual s performance which regul arl y functi ons in a general and
fixed fashi on to defi ne the si tuati on for those who observe the
performance. Front, then, i s the expressi ve equi pment of a
standard kind i ntenti onal l y or unwitti ngl y employed by the
indi vi dual during hi s performance. For preli minary purposes, it
v.ill be conveni ent to di sti ngui sh and l abel what seem to be the
stand aril parts of front.
Fi rst, there i s the 'setti ng, i nvol vi ng furniture, decor,
physi cal lay-out, and other background i tems which suppl y the
scenery and stage props for the spate of human acti on pl ayed
out before, within, or upon it. A setti ng tends to stay put,
geographi cal l y speaki ng, so that those who would use a par
ti cul ar setti ng as part of thei r performance cannot begi n thei r
act until they have brought themsel ves to the appropri ate pl ace
and must termi nate thei r performance when they l eave i t. I t i s
only in excepti onal ci rcumstances that the setti ng, in a sense,
fol l ows al ong with the performers; we see thi s in the funeral
cortege, the ci vi c parade, and the dream-l ike processi ons that"
ki ngs and queens are made of. In the main, these excepti ons
seem to offer some kind of extra protecti on for performers who
; A.I .. Krocber, The feature o f Culture (Chi cago: Uni versi ty of Chi cago
Press, l l)^2), p. 3 N .
13
are, or who have momentarily become, highly sacred. I hese
worthi es are to be di sti ngui shed, of course, from quite profane
performers of the peddl er cl ass who move thei r pl;ice of work
between performances, often bei ng forced to do so. In the
matter of havi ng one fi xed pl ace for one's setti ng, a ruler may
be too sacred, a peddl er too profane.
I n thi nki ng about the sceni c aspects of front, we tend to
think of the l i vi ng room in a parti cul ar house and the small
number of performers who can thoroughly i denti fy themsel ves
with it. We have given i nsuffi ci ent attenti on to assembl ages of
of si gn-equi pment which l arge numbers of performers can call
thei r own for short peri ods of time. It i s characteri sti c of
Western European countri es, and no doubt a source of stabi l i ty
f or^,1" that a l arge number of l uxuri ous setti ngs are avai l abl e
for hire to anyone of the right kind who can afford them. One
i l l ustrati on of thi s may be ci ted from a study of the hi gher
ci vi l servant in Bri tai n:
The questi on liow far the men who ri se to the top in the Ci vi l Servi ce
take on the 'tone* or 'col our* of a cl ass other than that to whi ch they
bel ong by bi rth i s del i cate and di ffi cul t. The onl y defi ni te i nformation
beari ng on the questi on i s the fi gures rel ati ng to the membershi p of the
great London cl ubs. More than three-quarters of our high admi ni strati ve
of fi ci al s bel ong to one or more cl ubs of hi gh status and consi derabl e
Luxury, where the entrance fee might be twenty gui neas or more, and rhe
annual subscri pti on from twel ve to twenty gui neas. These i nsti tuti ons
are of the upper cl ass (not even of the upper-mi ddl e) in thei r premi ses,
thei r equi pment, the styl e of l i vi ng practi sed there, their whole at
mosphere. Though many of the members would not be descri bed as
weal thy, onl y a weal thy man would unai ded provi de for hi msel f and hi s
family space, food and dri nk, servi ce, and other ameni ti es of li fe to the
same standard as he wil l find at the Uruon, the T ravel l ers, or the
Reform. 1
Another exampl e can be found in the recent development of the
medi cal professi on where we find that it i s i ncreasi ngl y im
portant for a doctor to have access to the el aborate sci enti fi c
stage provided by l arge hospi tal s, so that fewer and fewer
doctors are abl e to feel that thei r setti ng i s a pl ace that they
can lock up at night. 2
If we take the term 'setti ng to refer to the sceni c parts ol
expressi ve equi pment, -we may take the term 'personal front to
refer to the other i tems of expressi ve equi pment, the i tems that
we most i nti matel y i denti fy with the performer hi msel f and that
we natural l y expect will follow the performer wherever he goes.
As part of personal front we may i ncl ude: i nsi gni a of offi ce or
rank; cl othi ng; sex, age, and raci al characteri sti cs; si ze and
l ooks; posture; speech patterns; faci al expressi ons; bodily
1U.K . Dal e, Tke Higher C i v i l S ervice o f Great ftritain (Oxford: Oxford
Uni versi ty Press, 1941), p. 50.
2Davi d Solomon, 'Career Conti ngenci es ol Chi cago Physi ci ans' (Unpub
l i shed Ph. IX di ssertati on, Department ol Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi caao.
1952). p. 74.
14
gestures; an 1the l i ke. Some of these vehi cl es for conveyi ng
si gns, such as raci al characteri sti cs, are rel ati vel y fixed and
over a span of time J o not vary for the indi vi dual from one
si tuati on to another. On the orhcr hand, some of these si gn
vehi cl es are rel ati vel y mobile or transi tory, such as facial
exp-essi on, an 1can vary .luring a performance from one moment
to the next. I t i s someti mes conveni ent to di vi de the sti muli
which make up personal front into 'appearance and manner ,
accordi ng to the function performed by the information that
these sti muli convey. ' Appearance may be taken to refer to
those sti muli which function at the time to tell us of the
performers soci al statuses. These stimuli al so tel l us of
the i ndi vi dual 's temporary ri tual state, that i s, whether he i s
engagi ng in formal soci al acti vi ty, work, or informal recreati on,
whether or not he i s cel ebrati ng a new phase in the season
cycl e or in hi s l i fe-cycl e. 'Manner' may be taken to refer to
those sti muli which functi on at the time to warn us of the inter
acti on role the performer will expect to play in the on-coming
si tuati on. Thus a haughty aggressi ve manner may give the
i mpressi on that the performer expects to be the one who will
i ni ti ate the verbal i nteracti on and di rect i ts course. A meek,
apol ogeti c manner may give the i mpressi on that the performer
expects to follow the l ead of others, or at l east that he can 1>e
gotten to do so. Similarly, if an indi vi dual i s angry hi s manner
will tel l us upon whom he i s l i kel y to be in a posi ti on to vent
hi s anger.
We often expect, of course, a confirming consi stency be
tween appearance and manner; we expect that the di fferences
in soci al statuses among the i oteractants will be expressed in
some way by congruent di fferences in the i ndi cati ons that are
made of expected i nteracti on role. Thi s type of coherence of
front may be i l l ustrated by the following descri pti on of the
processi on of a mandarin through a Chi nese ci ty:
Comi ng cl osel y behi nd . . . the l uxuri ous chai r of the mandari n,
carri ed by ei ght bearers, fi l l s the vacant space in the street. Me i s
mayor of the town, and for al l practi cal purposes die supreme power in
it. li e i s an i deal -l ooki ng offi ci al , for he i s l arge and massi ve in appear
ance, whi l st he has that stern and uncompri si ng look that is supposed to
be necessary in any magi strate who woul d hope to keep hi s subj ects in
order, li e lias a stem and forbi ddi ng aspect, as though he were on hi s
way to the executi on ground to have some cri minal decapi tated. Thi s i s
the ki nd of ai r that the mandari ns put on when they appear in publ i c. In
the course of many years' experi ence. 1 have never once seen any of
them, from the hi ghest to the l owest, wi th a smi l e on hi s facc or a l ook
of sympathy for the peopl e whi l st he was bei ng carri cd offi ci al l y through
the streets. 1
but, of course, appearance and manner may tend to contradi ct
each other, as when a performer who appears to be of hi gher
1J . Macgowart, S i d e l i g h t s on Chinese L i f e (Phi l adel phi a: Lippi ncoct, 1908),
p. 187.
15
estate than hi s audi ence acts in a manner that i s unexpectedl y
equal i tari an, or i nti mate, or apol ogeti c, or when a performer
dressed in the garments of a high posi ti on presents hi msel f to
an indi vi dual of even higher status.
I n addi ti on to the expected consi stency between appear
ance and manner, we expect, of course, some coherence among
setti ng, appearance, and manner. 1 I n a sense, such coherence
represents an i deal type that provi des us with a means of sti m
ul ati ng our i nterest in and attenti on to excepti ons. In thi s the
student i s assi sted by the j ournal i st, for excepti ons to expec
ted consi stency among setti ng, appearance, .and manner provi de
the pi quancy and glamour of many careers and the sal eabl e
appeal of many magazi ne arti cl es. 2
In order to expl ore more fully the rel ati ons among the sever
al parts of soci al front, it will be conveni ent to consi der here a
si gni fi cant characteri sti c of the information conveyed by front,
namely, i ts abstractness and general i ty.
However speci al i zed and unique a routi ne i s, i ts soci al
front, with certai n excepti ons, will tend to cl aim facts that can
be equal l y cl ai med and asserted of other, somewhat different
routi nes. ; For example, many servi ce occupati ons offer thei r
cl i ents a performance that i s i l l umi nated with dramati c ex
pressi ons of cl eanl i ness, moderni ty, competence, i ntegri ty, etc.
While in fact these abstract standards have a different si gni fi
cance in di fferent occupati onal performances, the observer i s
encouraged to stress the abstract si mi l ari ti es. For the observer
thi s i s a wonderful, chough someti mes di sastrous, conveni ence.
I nstead of havi ng to mai ntai n a di fferent pattern of expectati on
and responsi ve treatment for each sl i ghtl y di fferent performer
and performance, he can pl ace the si tuati on i nto a broad cat
egory around which it i s easy for him to mobi l i ze hi s past ex
peri ence and stereo-typi cal thinki ng. Observers then need only
be fami l i ar with a smal l and hence manageabl e vocabulary of
fronts and know how to respond to them in order to ori ent them
sel ves in a wide vari ety of si tuati ons. Thus in L ondon the
current tendency for chi mney sweeps3 and perfume cl erks to
wear white l ab coats tends to provide the cl i ent with an under
standi ng that the del i cate tasks performed by these persons
1Cl . Kenneth Burke's comments on the ' scene-act-agent rati o, A Grammar
o f Motives (New York: Prenti ce-Hal l , 1945) pp. 6-9.
^For exampl e, the New Yorker Profi l e on Roger Stevens (the real estate
agent who engi neered the sal e of the Empi re State Bui l di ng) comments
on the startl i ng fact that Stevens has a small house, a meagre offi ce,
and no l etterhead stati onery. See E. J .K ahn, J r., 'Cl osi ngs and
Openi ngs', The New Yorker, February 13 and 20, 1954.
3Sec Mervyn J ones, 'Whi te as a Sweep', The New Statesman and Nation,
December 6, 1952.
16
will be performed in what has become a standardi zed, cl i ni cal ,
confi denti al manner.
There are grounds for bel i evi ng that the tendency for a
l arge number of di fferent acts to be presented from behi nd a
small number of fronts i s a natural devel opment in soci al or
gani zati on. Kadcliffe-Hrown has suggested thi s in hi s claim
that a descri pti ve ki nshi p system which gi ves each person a
uni que pl ace may work for very small communi ti es, but, as the
number of persons becomes l arge, clan segmentati on becomes
necessary as a means of providing a l ess compl i cated system
of i denti fi cati ons and treatments. 1 We see thi s tendency i l l us
trated in factori es, barracks, and other l arge soci al establ i sh
ments. Those who organi ze these establ i shments find it im
possi bl e to provi de a speci al cafeteri a, speci al modes of pay
ment, speci al vacati on ri ghts, and speci al sani tary f aci l i ti es
for evc-ry l i ne and staff status category in the organi zati on,
and at the same ti me they feel that persons of di ssi mi l ar status
ought not to be i ndi scri mi natel y thrown together or cl assi f i ed
together. As a compromise, the full range of di versi ty i s cut
at a few crucial poi nts, and al l those within a given bracket
are al l owed or obl i ged to mai ntai n the same soci al front in
certai n si tuati ons.
In addi ti on to the fact that di fferent routi nes may employ
the same front, it i s to be noted that a gi ven soci al front
tends to become i nsti tuti onal i zed in terms of the abstract
stereotyped expectati ons to which it gi ves ri se, and tends to
take on a meaning and stabi l i ty apart from the speci fi c tasks
which happen at the time to be performed in i ts name. The front
becomes a 'col l ecti ve representati on and a fact in i ts own
right.
When an actor takes on an establ i shed soci al role, usual l y
he fi nds that a parti cul ar front has al ready been establ i shed for
it. Whether hi s acqui si ti on of the role was primaril y moti vated
by a desi re to perform the given task or by a desi re to maintain
the correspondi ng front, the actor will find that he must do both.
Further, if the i ndi vi dual takes on a task that i s not only
new to him but al so unestabl i shed in the soci ety.- or if he
attempts to change the light in which hi s task i s vi ewed, he i s
l i kel v to find that there are al ready several wel l -establ i shed
fronts among which he must choose. Thus, when a task i s
given a new front we seldom find that the front it i s gi ven i s
i tsel f new.
Since fronts tend ro be sel ected, not created, we may expect
troubl e to ari se when those who perform a gi ven task are forced
1A. U. Radcl i ffe-ftro wn, The Soci al Organi zati on of Austral i an T ri bes,
Oceania, 1, 440.
17
to sel ect a sui tabl e front for themsel ves from among several
qui te di ssi mi l ar ones. Thus, in mil itary organi zati ons, tasks
are al ways devel opi ng which (i t i s felt) requi re too much author
ity and ski l l to be carri ed out behi nd the front mai ntai ned by
one grade of personnel and too l i ttl e authori ty an.) ski l to be
carri ed out behind the front mai ntai ned by the ne-'r ;ra.l<* in
the hi erarchy. Si nce there are rel ati vel y l arge j urms between
grades, the rask will come to 'carry too much . ar k 1 or to
carry too l i ttl e.
An i nteresti ng i l l ustrati on of the dilemma of sel ecti ng an
appropri ate front from several not quite fi tti ng oi 'es may be
found today in American medi cal organi zati ons with respect to
the task of admi ni steri ng anesthesi a.1 In som: hospi tal s
anesthesi a i s sti l l admi ni stered by nurses behi nd the front that
nurses are al l owed to have in hospi tal s regardl ess of the tasks
they performa front i nvol vi ng ceremoni al subordi nati on and a
rel ati vel y low rate of pay. In order to establ i sh anesthesi ol ogy
as a speci al i ty for graduate medi cal doctors, i nterested
practi ti oners have had to advocate strongl y the i dea that
admi ni steri ng anesthesi a i s a suffi ci entl y complex and vi tal
task to j usti fyi ng gi vi ng to those who perform it the ceremonial
and fi nanci al reward gi ven to doctors. The di fference between
the front mai ntai ned by a nurse and the front mai ntai ned by a
doctor i s great; many thi ngs that are acceptabl e for nurses
are infra dignitatem for doctors. Some medi cal peopl e have
fel t that a nurse 'under-ranked' for the task of admi ni steri ng
anesthesi a and that doctors 'over-ranked; were there an
establ i shed status midway between nurse and doctor, an easi er
sol uti on to the problem coul d perhaps be found. 2 Si mi l ady,
had the Canadi an Army had a rank hal fway between l i eutenant
and captai n, two and a hal f pi ps i nstead of two or three, then
Dental Corps captai ns, many of them of a tow ethni c origin,
coul d have been gi ven a rank that would perhaps have been
more sui tabl e in the eyes of the Army than the captai nci es
they were actual l y given.
I do not mean here to stress the poi nt of view of a formal
organi zati on or a soci ety; the i ndi vi dual , as someone who
possesses a l i mi ted range of si gn-equi pment, must al so make
unhappy choi ces. Thus, >in the crofti ng community studi ed by
J See the thorough treatment of thi s probl em io Dan C. L orti e, Doctors
Without Pati ent* : The A nesthesi ol ogi st, a New Medi cal Speci al ty Un
publ i shed Masters thesi s, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago,
1950. See al so Mark Murphv*s tl i ree-part Profi l e of Dr. Rovensti ne,
1A nesthesi ol ogi stThe New Yorker. October 25, November 1, and Novem
ber 8, 1947.
?l r shoul d be added that i n some hospi tal s the i ntern and the medi cal student
perform tasks that are beneath a doctor and above a nurse. Presumabl y
such tasks do not requi re a l arge amount of experi ence and practi cal
trai ning for whi l e thi s i ntermedi ate status of doctor-i n-trai ni ng i s a
permanent pare of hospi tal s, al l those who hol d it do so temporari l y.
18
the writer, 'hosts often marked the vi si t of a friend by offering
him a dram of spi ri ts, a gl ass of wine, some (home-made) brew,
o r a cup of tea. The hi gher the rank or temporary ceremoni al
status of the vi si tor, the more l i kel y he was to recei ve an offer
i ng near the spi ri ts end of the continuum. Now one problem
associ ated with thi s range of si gn-equi pment was that some
crofters coul d not afford to keep a bottl e of spi ri ts avai l abl e,
so that wine tended to be the most indulgent gesture they coul d
employ. But perhaps a more common di ffi cul ty was the fact that
certai n vi si tors, given thei r permanent and temporary status at
the time, outranked one potabl e and under-ranked the next one
in l ine. There was often a danger that the vi si tor would feel
j ust a l i ttl e affronted or, on the other hand, that the hosts
costl y and l i mi ted si gn equipment would be mi sused. I n our
middle cl asses a si mi l ar si tuati on ari ses when a hostess has to
deci de whether or not to use the good si l ver, or which would be
the more appropri ate to wear, her best afternoon dress or her
pl ai nest eveni ng gown.
[ have suggested that soci al front can be di vi ded into
tradi ti onal parts, such as setti ng, appearance, and manner, and
that (si nce different routi nes may be presented from behi nd the
same front) we may not find a perfect fit between the speci fi c
character of a performance and the general soci al i zed gui se in
which it appears to us. These two facts, taken together, l ead
us to appreci ate that i tems in the soci al front of a parti cul ar
routi ne are not only found in the soci al fronts of a whole range
of routi nes but al so that the whole range of routi nes in which
one item of sign equi pment i s found will differ from the range of
routi nes in which another item in the same soci al front will be
found. Thus, a l awyer may talk to a cl i ent in a soci al setti ng
that he employs only for thi s purpose (or for a study), but the
cl othes he wears on such occasi ons, 'and which are sui tabl e for
such occasi ons, he will al so employ, with equal sui tabi l i ty, .at
dinner with col l eagues and at the theatre with hi s wife. Simil
arly, the pri nts that hang on hi s wall and the carpet on hi s floor
may be found in domesti c soci al establ i shments. Of course, in
hi ghly ceremonial occasi ons, setti ng, manner, and appearance
may al l be rel ati vel y unique and speci fi c, used only for per
formances of a si ngl e type of routine, but such excl usi ve use of
sign equi pment i s the excepti on rather than the rule.
Dramatic Realization
While in the presence of others, the indi vi dual typi cal l y
i nfuses hi s acti vi ty with si gns which dramati cal l y hi ghli ght and
portray confirmatory facts that might otherwi se remain un-
apparent or obscure. For if the i ndi vi dual s acti vi ty i s to
19
become si gni fi cant to others, 'he must mobi l i ze hi s acti vi ty so
that it will express during the interaction what he wi shes to
convey. I n fact, the performer may be requi red not only to
express hi s cl ai med capaci ti es during the i nteracti on but al so
to do so during a spl i t second i n the i nteracti on. Thus, i f a
basebal l umpire i s to gi ve the i mpressi on that he i s sure of hi s
j udgement, he must forgo the moment of thought which might
make him sure of hi s j udgement; he must give an i nstantaneous
deci si on so that the audi ence will be sure that he i s sure of
hi s judgement. 1
I t may be noted that in the case of some statuses drama
ti zati on presents no problem, si nce some of the acts which are
i nstrumental l y essenti al for the compl eti on of the core task of
the status are at the same time wonderful ly adapted, from the
poi nt of view of communi cati on, as means of vi vidl y conveyi ng
th qual i ti es and attri butes cl ai med by the performer. The
rol es of pri zefi ghters, surgeons, vi ol i ni sts, and pol i cemen are
cases in point. These acti vi ti es al l ow for so much dramati c
sel f-expressi on that exempl ary practi onerswhether real or
fi cti onal become famous and are given a speci al pl ace in the
commerci al l y organi zed phantasi es of the nati on.
I n many cases, however, dramati zati on of one's work does
consti tute a problem. An i l l ustrati on of thi s may be ci ted from
a recent study by Edi th L entz, where the medi cal nursi ng staff
in a hospi tal i s shown to have a problem that the surgi cal
nursi ng staff does not have:
The thi ngs which a nurse does for post-operati ve pati ents on the
surgi cal floor are frequentl y of reco^ni zabl e i mportance, even to pati ents
who are strangers to hospi tal acti vi ti es. For exampl e, the pari ent
sees hi s nurse changi ng bandages, swi ngi ng orthopedi c frames i nto
pl ace, and can real i se that these are purposeful acti vi ti es. Even if
she cannot be at hi s si de, he can respect her purposeful acti vi ti es.
Medi cal nursi ng i s al so hi ghl y ski l l ed work . . . . The physi ci an's
di agnosi s must rest upon careful observati on of symptons over time
where the surgeon's are in l arger part dependent on vi si bl e thi ngs.
The l ack of vi si bi l i ty creates probl ems on the medi cal . A pati ent
will sec hi s nurse stop at the next bed and chat for a moment or
two with the pati ent there. He doesnt know chae she i s observi ng
the shal l owness of the breathi ng and col or and tone of the ski n. He
thi nks she i s j ust vi si ti ng. So, al as, does hi s family who may thereupon
deci de that these nurses aren't very i mpressi ve. If the nurse spends
more time u the next bed chan at hi s own, the pati ent may feel sl i ghted .
. . The nurses are wasti ng ri me0 unl ess they are darti ng about
doi ng some vi si bl e thi ng such as admi ni steri ng hypodermi cs.2
Similarly, we find chat.the propri etor of a servi ce establ i shment
may find i t di ffi cul t to dramati ze what i s actual l y bei ng done
*See Babe Pi nel l t, as tol d to J oe King. Mr Ump (Phi l adel phi a: Westmi nster
Press, 1953), p. 75.
2 Edith Lenc2 " A Compari son of Medi cal and Surgi cal Fl oors* 1 (Mimeo:
New York Stare School of I ndustri al and L abour Rel ati ons, Cornel l Uni
versi ty, 1954), pp. 2-3.
for cl i ents because the cl i ents cannot " s ee the overhead
costs of the servi ce rendered them. Thus trustworthy under
takers must charge a great deal for thei r highly vi si bl e product
a coffin that has been transformed into a casketbecause
many of the other costs of conducting a funeral, are not ones
that can be readi l y dramati zed.1 Merchants, too, often find
that they must charge high pri ces for thi ngs that look intrin
si cal l y expensi ve in order to compensate the establ i shment
for expensi ve thi ngs l i ke i nsurance, sl ack peri ods, etc., that
never appear before the customers eyes.
The problem of dramati zi ng one's work i nvol ves more than
merely making i nvi si bl e costs vi si bl e. The work that must be
done by those who fill certai n statuses i s often so poorly
desi gned as an expressi on of a desi red meaning, that if the
incumbent would dramati ze the character of hi s role, 'he must
divert an appreci abl e amount of hi s energy to do so. And
thi s acti vi ty di verted to communicati on will often requi re
different attri butes from the ones which are bei ng dramatized.
Thus to furnish a house so that it will express simple, quiet
dignity, the househol der may have to race to aucti on sal es,
haggl e with anti que deal ers, and doggedl y ca n v a s s all the
l ocal shops for proper wal l paper and curtai n materi al s. To
gi ve a radi o talk that will sound genui nel y informal, spon
taneous, and rel axed, the speaker may have to desi gn hi s
scri pt with pai nstaki ng care, testi ng one phrase after another,
in order to follow the content, language, rhythm, and pace of
everyday talk. 2 Similarly, a Vogue model, by her cl othi ng,
stance, and faci al expressi on, i s abl e expressi vel y to portray
a cul ti vated understandi ng of the book she poses in her hand;
but those who trouble to express themsel ves so appropriately
will have very l i ttl e time left over'for reading. And so in
di vi dual s often find themsel ves with the dilemma of expressi on
versus acti on. Those who have the time and tal ent to perform
a task well may not, because of thi s, have the time or tal ent
to make i t apparenc that they are performing well . I t may be
sai d that some organi zati ons resol ve thi s dilemma for these
members by del egati ng the dramati c functi on to a speci al i st
who will spend hi s time expressi ng the meaning of the task
and spend no ti me actual l y doing it.
I f we al ter our frame of reference for a moment and turn
from a parti cul ar performance to the i ndi vi dual s who present it,
'Materi al on the burial busi ness used 'hroni hout tms report i s taken from
a forthcoming di ssertati on on the funetal di rector by Robert Habenstei n.
I have al so drawn on Mr Hafcenstei n's seminar report descri bi ng the
undertakers work as the stagi ng of a performance.
2 J ohn Hil ton, "Cal cul ated Sponcani ety, Oxford Book o f English Talk
fOxford: Cl arendon Press, 1953), pp. 399-404.
21
we can consi der an i nteresti ng fact about the round of di fferent
routi nes which any group or cl ass of i ndi vi dual s hel ps to
perform. When we exami ne a group or cl ass, we find that the
members of i t tend to i nvest thei r egos primarily in certai n
routi nes, givi ng l ess stress to the other ones which they per
form. Thus a professi onal man may be wi l l i ng to take a very
modest rol e in the street, in a shop, or in hi s home, but, in
the soci al sphere which encompasses hi s di spl ay of profess
i onal competency, he will be much concerned to make an
effecti ve showing. In mobi l i zi ng hi s behavi our to make a
showing, he will be concerned not so much with the full round
of the di fferent routi nes he performs but only with the one
from which hi s occupati onal reputati on deri ves. It i s upon
thi s i ssue that some wri ters have chosen to di sti ngui sh groups
with ari stocrati c habi ts (whatever their soci al status) from
those of mi ddl e-cl ass character. The ari stocrati c habi t, it
has been sai d, i s one that mobi l i zes al l the minor acti vi ti es of
l i fe which fall outsi de the seri ous speci al i ti es of other cl asses
and i nj ects i nto these acti vi ti es an expressi on of character,
power, and high rank.
By what I mportant accompl i shments i s the young nobl eman i nstructed
to support the di gni ty of hi s rank, and to render hi msel f worthy of that
superi ori ty over hi s fel l ow-ci ti zens, to whi ch the vi rtue of hi s ancestors
had rai sed them ? I s i t by knowl edge, by i ndustry, by pati ence, by
sel f-deni al , or by vi rtue of any ki nd? As al l hi s words, as al l hi s
moti ons are attended to, he l earns an habi tual regard to every ci rcum
stance of ordi nary behavi our, and studi es to perform al l those smal l
duti es wi th the most exact propri ety. As he is consci ous ol how
much he i s observed, and how much manki nd arc di sposed to favour al i
hi s i ncl i nati ons, he acts, upon the most i ndi fferent occasi ons, with
that, freedom and el evati on whi ch the thought of thi s natural l y i nspi res.
Hi s ai r, hi s manner, hi s deportment, al l mark that el egant, and graceful
sense of hi s own superi ori ty, whi ch those who are bom to i nferi or
stati ons can hardl y ever arri ve at. These are the arts by whi ch he
proposes to make manki nd more easi l y submi t to hi s authori ty, and to
govern thei r i ncl i nati ons accordi ng to hi s own pl easure; and in thi s
he i s sel dom di sappoi nted. These arts, supported by rank and pre
emi nence, are, upon ordi nary occasi ons, suffi ci ent to govern the world. 1
If such vi rtuosi actual l y exi st, they would provide a sui tabl e
group in which to study the techni ques by which acti vi ty i s
transformed into a show.
Idealization
I t was suggested earl i er that a performance of a routi ne
presents through i ts front some rather abstract cl ai ms upon the
audi ence, cl ai ms that are l i kel y to be presented to them during
the performance of other routi nes. Thi s consti tutes one way
in which a performance i s, in a sense, 'soci al i sed, moulded
and modified to fic i nto the understandi ng and expectati ons
l Adam Smith, The Theory o f Moral Sentiments (L ondon: Henry Bohn,
1853), p. 75.
22
of the soci ety in which it i s prt-senred. V!'e consi der here
another i mportant aspect of thi s soci al i zati on processthe
tendency for performers to offer thei r observers an i mpression
that i s i deal i zed in several different ways.
The notion that a performance presents an i deal i zed view
of the si tuati on i s, of course, qui te common. Cool ey's view
may be taken as an i l l ustrati on:
U we never cried to seem a l i ttl e better than we are, how coul d
we improve or 'trai n oursel ves from the outsi de i nward?' And the
siituc i mpul se to show the world a better or i deal i zed aspect of oursel ves
fi nds an organi zed expressi on in the vari ous professi ons and cl asses,
cacl i of whi ch has to some extent a cant or pose whi ch i ts members
li ssome unconsci ousl y, for the most part, but whi ch has the effect
of ,t conspi racy to work upon the credul i ty of (he rest of the world.
There i s a cant not onl y of theol ogy and of phi l anthropy, but al so of
law, medi ci ne, teachi ng, even of sci enccperhaps especi al l y of sci ence,
j ust now si nce the more u parti cul ar kind of meri t i s recogni zcd and
admired, the more it I s l i kel y to be assumed by the unworthy.1
Thus, when the indivi dual presents himself before others,
li is performance will tend to i ncorporate and exemplify the
offi ci al l y accredi ted val ues ot the soci ety, more so, in fact,
limn does hi s behaviour as a whole.
To the degree that a performance hi ghl i ghts the common
offi ci al val ues of the soci ety in which it occurs, >we may look
upon i t, in the manner of Durkheim and 1<adcl iffe-Brown, as a
ceremonyas an expressi ve rej uvenati on and reaffirmation of
the moral val ues of the community. Furthermore, in so far
as the expressi ve bi as of performances comes to be accepted
as real i ty, then that which i s accepted at the moment as real i ty
will have some of the characteri sti cs of a cel ebrati on. To
stay in ones room away from the pl ace where the party i s
given, or away from where the practi ti oner attends to hi s cl i ent,
i s to stay away from where real i ty i s being performed. The
world, in truth, i s a wedding.
One of the ri chest sources of data on the presentati on
of i deal i zed performances i s the l i terature on soci al mobility.
!Dn most soci eti es there seems to be a major or general system
of strati fi cati on, and in most strati fi ed soci eti es there i s an
i deal i zati on of the higher strata and some aspi rati on on the
part of those in low pl aces to move to higher ones. (We must
be careful to appreci ate that thi s i nvol ves not merely a desi re
for a presti geful pl ace but al so a desi re for a pl ace cl ose to
the sacred centre of the common val ues of the soci ety.)
Commonly we find that upward mobility i nvol ves the present
ation of proper performances and that efforts to move upward
and efforts to keep from moving downward are expressed in
terms of sacri fi ces made for the mai ntenance of front. Once
1Charl es II. Cool ey, Human .\alure tiad the Sneial Order (New York- Scri b
ners, 1922), pp. 352-353.
23
the proper si gn-equi pment has been obtai ned and fami liarity
gai ned in the management of i t, then thi s equi pment can be
used to embel l i sh and i l l umi ne ones dai ly performances with
a favourabl e soci al styl e.
Perhaps the most i mportant pi ece of si gn equi pment
associ ated with soci al cl ass consi sts of the status symbol s
through which materi al weal th i s expressed. American soci ety
i s si mi l ar to others in thi s regard but seems to have been
si ngl ed out as an extreme exampl e of weal th-ori ented cl ass
structureperhaps because in America the l i cence to employ
symbol s of wealth and fi nanci al capaci ty to do so are so
widel y di stri buted. I ndi an soci ety, on the other hand, has
someti mes been ci ted not onl y as one in which mobil ity
occurs in terms of caste groups, not i ndi vi dual s, but al so as
one in which performances tend to establ i sh favourable cl ai ms
regardi ng non-material val ues. A recent student of I ndia,
for example, has suggested the following:
The caste 9ystem i s far from a ri gi d system in which the'posi ti on
of each component i s fi xed for ai i ti me. Movement has al ways been
possi bl e, and especi al l y so in the mi ddl e regi ons of the hi erarchy,
A l ow caste was abl e, i n a generati on or two, to ri se to a hi gher
by adopti ng vegetari ani sm and teetotal ) sm, and by Sanskri ti zi ng i ts
ri tual and pantheon. I n short, i t took over, as far as possi bl e, the
cuscomsj ri tes, and bel i efs of the Brahmi ns, and the adopti on of the
Brahmi mc way of l i fe by a l ow caste seems to have been frequent,
though theoreti cal l y forbi dden.............
The tendency of the l ower castes to i mi tate the hi gher has been
a powerful factor i n- the spread of Sanskri ti c ri tual and customs, and
i n the achi evement of a certai n amount of cul tural uniformity, not onl y
throughout the caste scal e but over the enti re l ength and breadth of
I ndi a. 1
In fact, of course, there are many Hindu ci rcl es whose members
are much concerned with i nj ecti ng an expressi on of wealth,
luxury, and cl ass status i nto the performance of their dai l y
round and who think too l i ttl e of aesceti c purity to bother
affecti ng i t. Correspondingl y, there have al ways been in
fluenti al groups in America whose members have felt that
some aspect of every performance ought to play down the
expressi on of sheer wealth in order to foster the impressi on
that standards regardi ng birth, cul ture, or moral earnestness
are the ones that prevai l .
Perhaps because of the ori entati on upward found in major
soci eti es today, we tend to assume that the expressi ve stresses
in a performance necessari l y cl ai m for the performer a higher
cl ass status than might otherwi se be accorded him. For
example, we are not surpri sed to l earn the following detai l s
of past domesti c performances in Scotl and:
1M.N.Sri ni vas, Rel i gi on and Soci ety Among the Coorgs of South I ndi a
(Oxford: Oxford Uni versi ty Press, 1952), p. 30.
24
One thi ng i s fai rl y certai n: the average l ai rd and hi s family l i ved
far more frugal l y in the ordi nary way than they di d when they were
entertai ni ng vi si tors. They would ri se to a grear occasi on and serve
di shes remi ni scent of the banquets of the medi eval nobi l i ty; but, l i ke
those same nobl es, between the f esti vi ti es they woul d keep secret
house,' as the sayi ng used to be, and l i ve on the pl ai nest of fare.
The secret was wel l guarded. Even Edward Bure, with ai l hi s know
l edge of rhe Hi ghl anders, found it very di ffi cul t to descri be thei r
everyday meal s. All he coul d say defi ni tel y was that whenever they
entertai ned an Engl i shman they provi ded far too much food; and," he
remarked, " i t has often been sai d they wi l l ransack al l thei r tenants
rather than we shoul d thi nk meanl y of thei r housekeepi ng; but 1 have
heard i t from many whom they have empl oyed.............that, al though
they have been attended at di nner by fi ve or si x servants, yet, with
al l that state, they have often di ned upon oatmeal vari ed several
ways, pi ckl ed herri ng, or other such cheap and i ndi fferent di et." 1
In fact, however, many cl asses of persons have had many
different reasons for exerci si ng systemati c modesty and for
underpl ayi ng any expressi ons of wealth, spi ri tual strength, or
sel f-respect. The ignorant, shi ftl ess, happy-go-lucky manner
which Negroes in the Southern States someti mes felt obliged
to affect during i nteracti on with whi tes i l l ustrates how a
performance can play up ideal val ues which accord to the
performer a lower posi ti on than he covertl y accepts for him
sel f .2 I have been told by Shetl anders that theic grandfathers
used to refrain from improving the appearance of the cottage
lesc the l ai rd take such i mprovements as a si gn that i ncreased
rents coul d be extracted from them. A thi rd example may
be quoted from a recent study of the junk busi ness, in which
data are provi ded on the kind of i mpressi on that practi ti oners
feel i t i s opportune for them to foster.
. . . . the j unk peddl er i s vi tal l y i nterested in keepi ng information
as to the true fi nanci al val ue of j unk' from the general publ i c. He
wi shes to perpetuate the myth that j unk i s val uel ess and that the
i ndi vi dual s who deal in i t are down and out and shoul d be pi ti ed.3
In a sense such i mpressi ons are i deal i zed, too, for i f the
performer i s to be successful he must offer the ki nd of scene
that real i zes the observers extreme stereotypes of hapl ess
poverty. *
Marjorie Pl ant, The Domestic L i f e o f Scotland in the Eighteenth Century
(Edi nburgh: Edinburgh Uni versi ty Press, 1952), pp. 96-97.
2 A modem versi on of thi s masquerade i s descri bed by Charl es J ohnson,
Patterns o f Negro Segregation (New Y ork: Harper Btos., 1943), p. 273:
'Where there i s actual competi ti on above the unski l l ed l evel s for
j obs usual l y thought of as 1whi te j obs' some Negroes wi l l of thei r own
choi ce accept symbol s of l ower status whi l e performing work of hi gher
rank. Thus a sni ppi ng cl erk wil l wear overal l s and accept the pay and
ti tl e of a porter; a cl erk will take the ti tl e and pay of a messenger;
a nurse wi l l permi t hersel f to be cal l ed a domesti c; and a chi ropodi st
wi l l enter the homes of whi te persons by the back door.
3 1. B. Ral ph, 'T he J unk Busi ness and the J unk Peddl er' (Unpubl i shed M.A.
Report, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1950), p. 26.
As i l l ustrati ons of such routi nes there are perhaps none with so much
soci ol ogi cal charm as the performance mai ntai ned by street beggars.
I n Western Soci ety, however, si nce Mayhews ti me, the scenes that beggars
25
I f an i ndi vi dual i s to give expressi on to i deal standards
during hi s performance, then he will have to forgo or conceal
acti on which i s i nconsi stent with these standards. When thi s
i nappropri ate conduct i s i tsel f sati sfyi ng in some way, as i s
often the case, then one commonly fi nds i r i ndul ged in secretl y,
so that, in a sense, the performer i s abl e to forgo hi s cake and
eat i t too. For exampl e, in our own soci ety we find that ei ght-
year-ol d chi l dren cl ai m l ack of i nterest in the tel evi si on
programmes that are di rected to five- and si x-year-ol ds, but
Someti mes surrepti ti ousl y watch them. 1 We al so find that
mi ddl e-cl ass housewi ves someti mes empl oyin a secret and
surrepti ti ous waycheap substi tutes for coffee, i ce cream, or
butter; in thi s way they can save money, or effort, or time,
and sti l l mai ntai n an i mpressi on that the food they serve i s of
high qual i ty. 2 The same women may l eave The Saturday
Evening Post on thei r l i ni ng room end-tabl e but keep a copy
of True Romance ("I t's somethi ng the cl eani ng woman must
have l eft around) conceal ed in thei r bedroom. 3 I t has been
suggested that the same sort of behaviour, which we may refer
to as secret consumpti on, can be found among the Hindus.
They conform to ai i thei r customs, whi l e they are seen, but they
are not so scrupul ous when in thei r reti rement. 4
I have been credi bl y i nformed that some Brahams in smal l compani es,
have gone very secretl y to the houses of Sudras whom they coul d depend
on, to partake of meat and strong l i quors, whi ch they i ndul ged in wi thout
scrupl e. s
stage seem to have decl i ned in dramati c meri t. Today we hear l ess of
the cl ean fami ly dodge' i n whi ch a fami ly appears in tattered but in
credi bl y cl ean cl othes, the f aces of the chi l dren gl i steni ng from a l ayer
of soap that has been pol i shed wi th a soft ci och. We no l onger see the
performances i n whi ch a hal f-naked man chokes over a dirty crust of
bread that he i s apparentl y too weak to swal l ow, or the scene i n which
a tattered man chases a sparrow from a pi ece of bread, wi pes the morsel
sl owl y on hi s coat-sl eeve, and, apparendy obl i vi ous co the audi ence
that i s now around him, attempts to eat i t. Rare, too, has become the
*ashamed beggar1 who meekl y i mpl ores wi th hi s eyes what hi s del i cate
sensi bi l i ti es apparentl y prevent hi m from sayi ng. I nci dental l y, the
scenes presented by beggars have been vari ousl y cal l ed, i n Engl i sh,
gri fts, dodges, l ays, rackets, l urks, pi tches, and capersprovi di ng us
wi th rerms wel l sui ted to descri be performances that have greater
l egal i ty and l ess art. For detai l s on beggars see Henry Mayhew, London
Labour and the London Poor (4 vol s.; L ondon: Griffin, Bohn), I (1861),
pp. 415-417, and I V (1862), pp. 404-438.
*Unpuhl i shed research reports of Soci al Research, I nc., Chi cago. I am
grateful to Soci al Research, I nc., for permi ssi on to use these and other
of thei r data i n thi s report.
2 Unpubl i shed research reports of Soci al Research, I nc.
^Reported by Professor W. L . Warner of the Uni versi ty of Chi cago, in
semi nar, 1951.
V b,b* j - A-Duboi s, Character, Manners, and Customs o f the People o f
India (2 vol s.; Phi l adel phi a': M'Carey & Son, 1818), I , p. 235.
5 Ibid,, p. 237.
26
The secret use of i ntoxi cati ng dri nk i s sti l l l ess uncommon than
that of i nterdi cted food, because it i s l ess di ffi cul t to conceal . Yet
i t i s a thing unheard of to meet a Brahmin drunk in publ i c.1
I t may be added that recentl y the Ki nsey reports have added
new i mpetus to the study and anal ysi s of secret consumption. 1
I t i s i mportant to note chat when an i ndi vi dual offers a
performance he typi cal l y conceal s somethi ng more than in
appropri ate pl easures and economi es. Some of these matters
for conceal ment may be suggested here.
Fi rst, we someti mes find that in addi ti on to secret
pl easures and economi es, the performer may be engaged in a
profi tabl e form of acti vi ty that i s conceal ed from hi s audi ence
and that i s incompati bl e with the view of hi s acti vi ty which
he hopes they will obtain. The model here i s to be found
with hi l ari ous cl ari ty in the ci gar-store-booki e-j oi nr, but some
thi ng of the spi ri t of these establ i shments can be found in
many pl aces. A surpri si ng number of workers seem to j usti fy
thei r j obs to themsel ves by the tool s that can be stol en, or
the food-suppl i es that can be resol d, or the travel l i ng that
can be enj oyed on company time, or the propoganda that can
be di stri buted, or the contacts that can be made and properly
infl uenced, etc. 3 In al l such cases, pl ace of work and
offi ci al acti vi ty come to be a kind of shel l which conceal s
the spi ri ted li fe of the performer.
Secondl y, we find that errors and mi stakes are often
corrected before the performance takes pl ace and, at the same
ti me, tel l -tal e si gns that errors have been made and corrected
are themsel ves conceal ed. In thi s way an i mpressi on of
i nfal l i bi l i ty, so important in many presentati ons, may be
mai ntai ned. There i s a famous remark that doctors bury
thei r mi stakes. Another example i s found in a recent di s
sertati on on soci al i nteracti on in three government offi ces,
which suggests that offi cers di sl i ked di ctati ng reports to
a stenographer because they li ked to go back over their reports
1Duboi s, op. c i t . , p. 238.
2 As Adam Smith suggested, op. c i t . , p. 88, vi rtues as wel l as vi ces may
be conceal ed:
'V ai n men often gi ve themsel ves ai rs of a fashi onabl e profl i gacy, which,
in thei r hearts, they do not approve of, and of whi ch, perhaps, they are
real l y not gui l ty. They desi re to be prai sed for what they themsel ves
do not think prai seworthy, and are ashamed of unfashi onabl e vi rtues,
whi ch they someti mes practi se in secret, and for whi ch they have secretl y
some degree of real venerati on.'
3Two recent students of the soci al servi ce worker suggest the term
'outsi de racket' to refer to secret sources of income avai l abl e to the
Chi cago Publ i c Case Worker. See Earl Bogdanoff and Arnold Gl ass,
The Sociology o f the Public Case Worker in an Urban Area, unpubl i shed
Master's Report, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1953-
27
and correcc the fl aws before a stenographer, l et al one a
superi or, saw the reports. 1
Thi rdl y, in those i nteracti ons where the i ndi vi dual pre
sents a product to others, he will tend to show them only
the end-product, and they will be l ed i dco j udging him on the
basi s of somethi ng that has been fi ni shed, pol i shed, and
packaged. In some cases, i f very l i ttl e effort was actual l y
requi red to compl ete the obj ect, thi s fact will be conceal ed.
In other cases, i t will be the long, tedi ous hours of l onely
l abour that will be hidden. For example, the urbane styl e
af fected in some schol arl y books can be i nstructi vel y compared
with the feveri sh drudgery the author may have endured in
order to compl ete the i ndex on ti me and the squabbl es he
may have had with hi s publ i sher in order to i ncrease the
si ze of the fi rst l etter of hi s l ast name as it appears on the
cover of hi s book.
A fourth di screpancy between appearances and overall
real i ty may be ci ted. We find that there are many performances
which coul d not have been given had not casks been done
which were physi cal l y uncl ean, semi -i l l egal , cruel , and de
grading in ocher ways; but these di sturbi ng faces are seldom
expressed during a performance. In Hughes cerms, we tend
to conceal from our audi ence al l evi dence of 'di rty work,
whether we do thi s work in pri vate or al l ocate co a servanc,
co the i mpersonal market, co a l egitimace speci al i st, or co
an i l l egi ti mate one.
Cl osel y connected with the notion of dircy work i s a
fifth di screpancy becween appearance and actual accivicy.
We find chat i f die accivicy of an i ndi vi dual i s co embody
several i deal scandards, then in order to make a good showing
i t i s l i kel y that some of these scandards will be sustai ned in
publ i c by che privace sacri fi ce of some of che ochers. Ofcen,
of course, che performer will sacri fi ce those standards whose
l oss can be conceal ed and will make chi s sacri fi ce in order
co main'cain those standards whose i nadequate appl icaci on
coul d not be conceal ed. Thus, if a servi ce i s judged on
che basi s of speed and qual i ty, qualicy i s l i kel y co fall before
speed because poor qual i ty can be conceal ed but not sl ow
servi ce. Similarly, i f accendants in a mental ward are to
maintain order and ac the same time noc hit paciencs, and if
thi s combinacion of scandards i s diffi culc co maincain, chen
the unruly pacienc may be 'necked' wich a wet cowel and
choked into submi ssi on in a way chac l eaves no vi si bl e evi
dence of miscreacmenc. Absence of miscreacmenc can be
l Bl au, op. c i t . , p. 184.
28
faked, not order. 1 Here i t would be i ncorrect to be too
cyni cal . Often we find that if the pri nci pal i deal ai ms of
an organi zati on are to be achi eved, then it will be necessary
at ti mes to bypass momentarily other i deal s of the organi zati on,
while mai ntai ni ng the i mpressi on that these other i deal s
are sti l l iti force. In such cases, a sacri fi ce i s made not
for the most vi si bl e i deal but rather for the most l egi ti matel y
important one. 2
Fi nal l y, we find performers often foster the i mpressi on
that they had i deal moti ves for acqui ri ng the role in which
they are performing, that they have i deal qual i fi cati ons for
the role, and that it was not necessary for them to suffer
any i ndi gni ti es, i nsul ts, and humi l i ati ons, or make any taci tl y-
understood 'deal s,' in order to acqui re the role. (While thi s
general impressi on of sacred comparabil ity between the man
and hi s job i s perhaps most commonly fostered by members
of the higher professi ons, a si mi l ar el ement i s found in many
other fostered i mpressi ons.) Reinforcing these i deal i mpress
i ons we find a ki nd of 'rhetori c of trai ni ng,' whereby l abour
unions, uni versi ti es, trade associ ati ons, and other l i censi ng
bodi es requi re practi ti oners to absorb a mysti cal range and
peri od of trai ni ng, in part to maintain a monopoly, but in
part to foster the i mpressi on that the l i cenced practi ti oner
i s someone set apart from other men. 3 And so we find that
1Robert I I .Wi l l oughby, The Attendant in the State Mental Hospital (un
publ i shed Master's Thesi s, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago,
1953), p. 44. Willoughby adds, pp. 45-46:
'T hose rul es, regul ati ons, and orders whi ch are most easi l y enforced
are those whi ch l eave tangi bl e evi dence of havi ng been ei ther obeyed
or di sobeyed, such as rul es pertai ni ng to the cl eani ng of the ward, l ocki ng
doors, the use of i ntoxi cati ng l i quors whil e on duty, the use of restrai nts,
etc.
2An i l l ustrati on i s provi ded in a recent paper on the Navy: Charl es Hunt
Page, 'Bureaucracys Other F ace, S o c i a l f o r c e s , XXV, p. 90:
'T hi s characteri sti c (group-i mposed secrecy) i s nor enti rel y attri butabl e,
by any means, to the fear of the members that unsavoury el ements wi l l
be brought to l i ght. While thi s fear al ways pl ays some role i n keepi ng
off the record the i nsi de pi cture of any bureaucracy, it i s to one of the
features of rhe i nformal structure i tsel f that more importance must be
assi gned. For the informal structure _serves the very si gni fi cant rol e
of provi di ng a channel o f circumvention of the formally prescri bed rul es
and methods of procedure. No organi zati on feel s that it can afford
to publ i ci ze those methods (by whi ch certai n probl ems are sol ved, it
i s i mportant to note) whi ch arc anti theti cal to the offi ci al l y sancti oned
and, in thi s case, strongl y sancti fi ed methods dear to the tradi ti ons of
the group.
3 Anthony ftei nl ei n, Pharmacy as a Profes sion in Wisconsin (unpubl i shed
Master's Thesi s, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1943),
reports, p. 89, that pharmaci sts feel the fouryear uni versi ty course requi red
for l i cense i s 'good for the professi on' but that some admit that a few
months of trai ni ng i s al l that i s real l y needed. The Ameri can army duri ng
World War 11 i nnocentl y treated trades such as pharmacy and_ watch-
repai ri ng in a purel y i nstrumental way and trai ned effi ci ent practi ti oners
in fi ve or si x weeks to the horror of establ i shed members of these trades.
29
clergymen gi ve the i mpressi on that they entered the church
because of a cal l of fel t vocati on, in America tending to
conceal thei r i nterest in moving up soci al l y, in Bri tai n tending
to conceal thei r i nterest in not moving too far down. And
again, cl ergymen tend to gi ve the i mpressi on that they have
chosen thei r current congregati on because of what they can
offer i t spi ri tual l y and not, as may in fact be the case, because
the el ders offered a good house or full payment of moving
expenses. Similarly, medical school s in America tend to
recrui t their students partl y on the basi s of ethni c ori gi ns,
and certai nl y pati ents, consi der thi s factor in choosi ng thei r
doctors; but in the actual i nteracti on between doctor and
pati ent the i mpressi on i s al l owed to devel op that the doctor
i s. a doctor because of speci al apti tudes as well as speci al
trai ning. Similarly, executi ves often proj ect an ai r of com
petency and general grasp of the si tuati on, blinding themsel ves
and others to the fact that they hold thei r j obs partl y because
they look l i ke executi ves, not because they can work l ike
executi ves. 1 Performers may even attempt to gi ve the im
pressi on that thei r present poi se and proficiency are somethi ng
they have al ways had and that they have never had to fumble
thei r way through a l earni ng period.
I nteresti ngl y enough, when the si gni fi cance of unofficial
qual i fi cati ons becomes a scandal or pol i ti cal i ssue, then a
few i ndi vi dual s who are obtrusi vel y l acki ng in the informal
qual i fi cati ons may be admitted with fanfare and given a highly
vi si bl e rol e as evi dence of fair pl ay. An i mpressi on of
l egi ti macy i s thus created. 2
I have suggested that a performer tends to conceal or
underplay those acti vi ti es, facts, and moti ves which are in
compati bl e with an i deal i zed versi on of hi msel f and hi s
products. In addi ti on, a performer often engenders in hi s
audi ence the bel i ef that he i s rel ated to them in a more i deal
way than i s al ways the case. Two general i l l ustrati ons
may be ci ted.
See, for exampl e, Perri n Stryker, 'How Executi ves Get J obs, Fortune,
August, 1953, p. 182:
Few executi ves real i ze how cri ti cal l y i mportant thei r physi cal appearance
may be to an empl oyer. Pl acement expert Ann 11off observes that em
pl oyers now seem to be l ooki ng for an i deal Hol l ywood type. One
company rej ected a candi date because he had 'teeth that were too square
and others have been di squal i fi ed because thei r ears stuck out, or they
drank and smoked too heavi l y duri ng an i ntervi ew. Raci al and rel i gi ous
requi rements al so are often frankl y sti pul ated by empl oyers.1
2 See, for exampl e, William Kornhauser, The Negro Union Offi ci al : A study
of Sponsorshi p and Control , Ameri can Journal o f Sociology, LV11,
pp. 443-452, and Scott Greer, 'Si tuated Pressures and Functi onal Rol e
of Ethni c L abor L eaders, S ocial Forces, XXXU, pp.41-45.
30
Fi rst, i ndi vi dual s often foster the i mpressi on chat the
routi ne they are presentl y performing i s thei r only routi ne or
ac l east thei r most essenti al one. As previ ousl y suggested,
the audi ence, in thei r turn, often assume that the character
proj ected before them i s all there i s to the i ndi vi dual who
acts out the proj ecti on for them. As suggested in the well-
known quotation from William J ames:
. . . . we may practi cal l y say that he has as many di fferent soci al
sel ves as there are di sti nct groups of persons about whose opinion
he cares. He general l y shows a di fferent si de of hi msel f to each
of these di fferent groups. Many a youth who i s demure enough before
hi s parents and teachers, swears and swaggers l i ke a pi rate among
hi s 'tough' young fri ends. We do not show oursel ves to our chi l dren
as to our cl ub compani ons, to out customers as to the l abourers we
employ, to our own masters and empl oyers as to our i nti mate fri ends. 1
As both effect and enabl i ng cause of thi s kind of commitment to
the part one i s currentl y performing, we find that audi ence seg
regati on occurs; by audi ence segregati on the indi vi dual en
sures that those before whom he pl ays one of hi s parts will not
be the same i ndi vi dual s before whom he pl ays a different
part in another setti ng. Audi ence segregati on as a devi ce
for protecti ng fostered i mpressi ons will be consi dered later.
Here I would l i ke only to note that even i f performers attempted
to break down thi s segregati on, and the i l l usi on that i s
fostered by it, audi ences would often prevent such acti on.
The audi ence can see a great savi ng of time and emotional
energy in the right to treat the performer at occupati onal
faee-val ue, as i f the performer were al l and onl y what hi s
uniform cl ai med him to be. 2 Urb^n life would become un
bearabl y sti cky for some i f every contact between two
i ndi vi dual s entai l ed a shari ng of personal tri al s, worries,
and secrets. T hus if a man wants to be served a restful
dinner, he may seek the servi ce of a wai tress rather than a
wife.
Secondl y, performers tend to foster the impressi on that
their current performance of their routi ne and cheir rel ati onshi p
to their current audi ence have somethi ng speci al and unique
about them. The routi ne character of the performance i s
obscured (the performer hi msel f i s typi cal l y unaware of j ust
how routi ni zed hi s performance real l y i s) and the spontaneous
aspects of the si tuati on are stressed. The medi cal performer
provi des an obvi ous example. As one wri ter suggests:
. . . . he must si mul ate a memory. The pati ent, consci ous of the
uni que i mportance of the events occurri ng withi n him, remembers
1William J ames, The Philosophy o f William James (Modern Library ed.;
New York : Random House, n. d.), pp. 128-129-
21am grateful to Warren Peterson for thi s and other suggesti ons.
31
everythi ng and, in bi s del i ght in tel l i ng the doctor about i t, suffers
from 'compl ete recal l . The pati ent cant bel i eve that the doctor
doesnt remember too, and hi s pri de i s deepl y wounded if the l atrer
al l ows him to percei ve that he doesnt carry in the forefront of hi s
mind preci sel y what ki nd of tabl ets he prescri bed on hi s l ast vi si t,
how many of them to be taken and when. 1
Similarly, as a recent study of Chi cago doctors suggests, a
general practi ti oner presents a speci al i st to a pati ent as the
best choi ce on techni cal grounds, but in fact the speci al i st
may have been chosen partl y because of col l egi al ti es with
the referri ng doctor, or because of a spl i t-fee arrangement, or
because of some other cl earl y defi ned quid pro quo between the
two medical men. 2 I n our commerci al l i fe thi s characteri sti c
of performances has been expl oi ted and maligned under the
rubric 'personal i zed servi ce; in other areas of li fe we make
j okes about 'the bed-si de manner or 'the gl ad hand. (We
often negl ect to mention chat as performers in the rol e of cl i ent
we tactful l y uphold thi s personal i zi ng effect by attempti ng to
gi ve the i mpressi on that we have not 'shopped for the servi ce
and would not consi der obtai ni ng it el sewhere.) Perhaps i t
i s our gui l t that has di rected our attenti on to these areas of
crass pseudo-gemeinschaft, for there i s hardly a performance,
in whatever area of l i fe, which does not rely on the personal
touch to exaggerate the uni queness of the transacti ons between
performer and audi ence. For example, we feel a sl i ght di s-
appoi ntment when we hear a cl ose friend, whose spontaneous
gestures of warmth we fel t were our own preserve, tal k
i nti matel y with another of hi s fri ends (especi al l y one whom
we do not know). 3
^. E i M . J oad, 'On Doctors,' The New Statesman and Nation, March 7,
1953, pp. 255-256.
2 Solomon, op. c i l . , p. 146.
3 An expl i ci t statement of thi s i s gi ven in an earl y American gui de to
manners, The Canons o f Good B re e d i n g : or the Handbook o f the Man o f
Fashion (Phi l adel phi a : L ee and Bl anchard, 1839), p. 87:
'I f you have pai d a compl i ment to one man, or have used toward hi m any
expressi on of parti cul ar ci vi l i ty, you shoul d not show the same conduct
to any other person i n hi s presence. For exampl e, if a gentl eman comes
to your house and you tel l him with warmth and i nterest that you 'are
gl ad to see hi m, he will be pl eased wi th the attenti on, and will probabl y
thank you; but if he hears you say the same thi ng to twenty other peopl e,
he wi l l not only percei ve that your courtesy was worth nothi ng, bur he
will feel some resentment at havi ng been i mposed on.'
32
Maintenance of Expressive Control
I t has been suggested that the performer can rely upon
hi s audi ence to accept minor cues as a sign of something
important about hi s performance. Thi s conveni ent fact has an
i nconveni ent impl i cati on. By vi rtue of the same si gn-accepci ng
tendency, the audi ence may mi sunderstand the meaning that a
cue was desi gned to convey, or may read an embarrassi ng
meaning into gestures or events that were acci dental , in
advertent, i nci dental or not meant by the performer co carry
any meaning whatsoever.
I n response to these communicati on conti ngenci es, per
formers commonly attempt to exert a kind of synecdochi c
responsi bi l i ty, making sure that as many as possi bl e of the
minor events in the performance, however i nstrumental l y in
consequenti al these events may be, will occur in such a way
as to convey ei ther no i mpressi on or an i mpressi on that i s
compati bl e and consi stent with the overal l defini tion of the
si tuati on that i s bei ng fostered. When the audi ence i s known
to be secretl y scepti cal of the real i ty that i s being i mpressed
upon them, we have been ready to appreci ate their tendency
to pounce on tri fl i ng fl aws as a sign that the whole show i s
f al se; but as students of soci al li fe we have been l ess ready
to appreci ate that even sympatheti c audi ences can be moment
ari l y di sturbed, shocked, and weakened in thei r fai th by the
di scovery of a pi cayune di screpancy in the i mpressi ons
presented to them. Some of these minor acci dents and 'unmeant
gestures' happen to be so aptl y desi gned to give an impressi on
that contradi cts the one fostered by the performer that the
audi ence cannot help but be startl ed from a proper degree of
invol vement in the i nteracti on, even though the audi ence may
real i ze that in the l ast anal ysi s the di scordant event i s real l y
meani ngl ess and ought to be compl etel y overlooked. The
cruci al point i s not that the fl eeti ng defini tion of the si tuati on
caused by an unmeant gesture i s i tsel f so blameworthy but
rather merely that it i s different from the defini tion officially
proj ected. Thi s di fference forces an acutel y embarrassi ng
wedge between the offi ci al proj ecti on and real i ty, for it i s part
of the official proj ecti on that it i s the only possi bl e one under
the ci rcumstances. Perhaps, then, we should not anal yze
performances in terms of mechani cal standards, by which a
l arge gain can offset a small l oss, or a l arge weight a smal l er
one. Arti sti c imagery would be more accurate, for it prepares
us for the fact that a si ngl e note off key can di srupt che tone
of an enti re performance.
33
In our soci ety, some unmeant gestures ock'ur in such ;i
wide variety of performances and convey i mpressi ons that are
in general so incompati bl e with the ones being fostered that
these inopportune events have acqui red col l ecti ve symbol ic
status. Three rough groupi ngs of these events may be
mentioned. Fi rst, a performer may acci dental l y convey i n
capaci ty, impropriety, or di srespect by momentarily l osi ng
muscul ar control of himself. He may trip, stumbl e, fall ; he
may bel ch, yawn, make a sl i p of the tongue, scratch himself,
or.be fl atul ent; he may acci dental l y impi nge upon the body
of another parti ci pant. Secondly, the performer may net in
such a way as to give the i mpressi on that he i s too much or
too l i ttl e concerned with the i nteracti on. l i e may stutter,
forget hi s l i nes, appear nervous, or guilty, or sel fconsci ous;
he may give way to i nappropri ate outbursts of l aughter, anger,
or other ki nds of affect which momentarily i ncapaci tate him
as an i nteract ant ; he may show too much seri ous involvement
and i nterest, or too l i ttl e. Di i ri l y, the performer may al low
hi s presentati on to suffer from i nadequate dramaturgical
ili recti on. The setti ng may not have been put in order, or may
have become readi ed for the wrong performance, or may become
deranged during the performance; unforeseen conti ngenci es
may cause improper timing of die performers arrival or
departure or may cause embarrassi ng l ul l s to occur during the
i nteracti on. 1
Performances differ, of course, in the degree of item by
item expressi ve care required of them. In the case of some
cul tures foreign to us, we are ready to see a high degree of
expressi ve coherence. Granet, for example, 'suggests thi s of
filial performances in Chi na:
Thei r fi ne toi l et i s i n i tsel f a homage. Tlicir good J eponmcnt will
be accounted an offering of respect. In the presence of parents, gravi ty
i s requi si te : one must therefore be careful not to bel ch, to sneeze, to
cough, to yawn, to bl ow one's nose nor to spi t. It.very expectorati on
would run rlie ri sk of soi l i ng rhe parernal sancti ty. It would be a crime
to show the l i ni ng of one's garments, l o show the father that one i s
treati ng him as a chi ef, one ought al ways to stand in hi s presence, the
ryes right, the body upri ght upon the two l egs, never dari ng to l ean
1One way of handl i ng i nadvertent di srupti ons is for the i ntcractants to
l augh at them as a si ^n thar rhe expressi ve i mpl i cati ons of the di srupti ons
have been understood but not taken seri ousl y. Assumi ng thi s, Ucr^son's
essay on l aughter can be raken as a descri pti on of the ways in whi ch we
expect the performer ro adhere to human capaci ti es for movement, of the
tendency for the audi ence to impure these capaci ti es to the performer
from the start of the i nf racti on, and of the ways in whi ch thi s effecti ve
proj ecti on i s di srupted when the performer moves in a non-human fashi on.
Si mi larl y, Freuds essay on wit and the psychopathol ogy of everyday li fe
can be taken, at one l evel , as a descri pti on of the ways in whi ch we
expect performers ro have achi eved certai n standards of tact, modesty,
and vi rtue, and as a descri pti on of ways in which these effecti ve pro*
j ecti ons can be di scredi ted by sl i ps that are hi l ari ous to the layman hut
symptomati c to anal ysts.
34
upon any obj ect, nor to bend, nor to stand on one foot. I t i s tlgus that
with the low ami humbl e voi ce which becomes a fol lower, one comes
ni ght and morning to pay homage. After whi ch, one wai ts for orders. 1
Vte are al so to see that In scenes invol vi ng high personages
in symbol i cal l y important acti ons, 'consi stency, too, will be
demanded. Sir Frederi ck Ponsonby, l ate Equerry at the
Bri ti sh Court, -writes:
'Vhen 1 attended a 'Court' 1 was al ways struck by the i ncongruous
musi c the band pl ayed, and determi ned to do what 1 coul d to have thi s
remedi ed. The maj ori ty of the Househol d, bei ng qui te unmusi cal ,
cl amoured for popul ar ai rs . . . . 1 argued that these popul ar ai rs
robbed the ceremony of al l di gni ty. A presentati on at Court was often
a grear event in a l ady's l i fe, but if she went past the Ki ng and Queen
to the tune of 'H i s nose as redder than it was,' the whol e i mpressi on
was spoi l r. 1 mai ntai ned that mi nuets and ol d-fashi oned airs operati c
musi c wi th a ' mysteri ous 1 touch, were what was wanted. 2
1 al so took up the questi on of the musi c pl ayed by the band of
the guard of honour at i nvesti tures and wrote to the Seni or Bandmaster,
Captai n Rogan, on the subj ect. What I di sl i ked was seei ng emi nent
men bei ng kni ghted whi l e comi c songs were bei ng pl ayed by the band
outsi de; al so when the Home Secretary was readi ng out i mpressi vel y
some parti cul arl y h?roi c deed whi ch had been performed by a man who
was to recei ve rhe Al bert Medal, the baud outsi de pl ayed a two-step,
whi ch robbed rhe whol e ceremony of any di gni ty. I suggested operati c
musi c of a dramati c nature bei ng pl ayed, and he enti rel y agreed . . . .*
Similarly, at mi ddl e-cl ass American funeral s, a hearse driver,
decorousl y dressed in black and tactful l y l ocated at the out
ski rts of the cemetery during the servi ce, -may be al l owed to
smoke, but he i s l i kel y to shock and anger the bereaved'i f
he happens to flick hi s ci garette stub into a bush, l etti ng i t
descri be an el egant arc, i nstead of ci rcumspectl y dropping
i t at hi s feet. 4
In addi ti on to our appreci ati on of the consi stency requi red
on sacred occasi ons, we readi l y appreci ate that during secul ar
confl i cts, especi al l y hi gh-l evel confl i cts, each protagoni st
will have to watch hi s own conduct careful l y l est he gi ve
the opposi ti on a vul nerabl e poi nt at which to di rect cri ti ci sm.
Thus, Dale, in di scussi ng the work conti ngenci es of hi gher
ci vi l servants, suggests:
An even cl oser scruti ny (than that accorded to statements) i s
appl i ed to drafts of offi ci al l etters: for an i ncorrect statement or an
unhappy phrase in a l etter of whi ch the substance i s perfectl y harml ess
and rhe subj ect uni mportant may cover the Department wi th coofusi on
i f it happens to be sei zed on by one of the many persons to whom
the most tri vi al mi st ke of a Government Department i s a dai nry di sh
ro set before the publ i c. Three or four years of thi s di sci pl i ne duri ng
the sti l l recepti ve years from twenty four ro twenty-ei ght suffuse the
mind and character permanentl y with a passi on for preci se facts and
cl ose i nferences, and wirh a grim di strust of vague general i ti es.5
1Marcel Granet, Chines e Ci v i l i z a ti o n , trans. tnnes and Brai l sford (L ondon:
K egan Paul , 1930), p. 328.
2Ponsouby, op. c i t , t pp. 182-183.
3/6irf.pp. 183.
4 l l abenstei n, forthcoming work previ ousl y ci ted.
5 Dale, op. ci*., p. 81.
35
I n spice of our wi l l i ngness to appreci ate the expressi ve
requi rements of chese several ki nds of sicuacions, we tend
co see these si tuati ons as speci al cases; we tend to bli nd
oursel ves co the fact that everyday secul ar performances
in our own Anglo-American soci ety must often pass a stri ct
test of aptness, fi tness, propriety, .and decorum. Perhaps thi s
bl i ndness i s partl y due to the fact that as performers we are
often more consci ous of the standards which we might have
appl i ed to our acti vi ty buc have noc than of the standards we
unthi nki ngl y apply. In any case, as students we must be ready
to examine the di ssonance created by a mi sspel l ed word, or by
a sl i p that i s noc qui te conceal ed by a ski rt; and we must be
ready to appreci ate why a near-si ghted plumber, to protect the
i mpressi on of rough strength that i s de rigueur in hi s pro
fessi on, .f eel s i t necessary to sweep hi s spectacl es into hi s
pocket,when the housewi fes approach changes hi s work into
a performance, or why a tel evi si on repairman i s advi sed by
hi s publ i c rel ati ons counsel s thac che screws he f ai l s co puc
back inco the set shoul d be kepc al ongsi de hi s own so chat
the unrepi aced parts will not give an improper i mpressi on.
In other words, .we must be prepared to see that the i mpressi on
of real i ty fostered by a performance i s a del i cate, fragile thi ng
that can be shattered by very minor mi shaps.
The expressi ve coherence that i s requi red in performances
poi nts out a cruci al di screpancy between our all-too-human
sel ves and our soci al i zed sel ves. As human bei ngs we are
presumabl y creatures of vari abl e impul se with moods and
energi es that change from one moment to the next. As
characters put on for an audi ence, however, we must not be
subj ect to ups and downs. As Durkheim suggested, we <lo
not al l ow our hi gher soci al acti vi ty to follow in the trail
of our bodily states, as our sensati ons and our general bodily
consci ousness do.11 A certai n bureaucrati zati on of the
spi ri t i s expected so that we can be reli ed upon to give a
perfectl y homogeneous performance at every appoi nted time.
As Santayana suggests, the soci al i zati on process not only
transfi gures, i t f i xes:
But whether the vi sage we assume be a joyful or a sad one, in
adopti ng and emphasi zi ng i t we defi ne our soverei gn temper. Hence
forth, 90 l ong as we conti nue under the spel l of thi s sel f-knowl edge,
we do not merel y l i ve but act; we compose and pl ay our chosen
chajracrer, we wear the buski n of del i berati on, we defend and i deal i ze
our passi ons, we encourage oursel ves el oquentl y to be what we are,
devoted or scornful or carel ess or austere; we sol i l oqui ze (before an
i magi nary audi ence) and we wrap oursel ves graceful l y in the mantl e
of our i nal i enabl e part. So draped, we sol i ci t appl ause and expect
l Emi l e Durkheim. The Elementary Forms o f the Religious Life, trans.
J . W.Swain (London : Al l en & Unwin 1926), p. 272.
36
to di e amid a uni versal hush. We profess to l i ve up to the fi ne senti
ments we have uttered, as we try to bel i eve in the rel i gi on we profess.
The greater our di ffi cul ti es the greater our zeal . Under our publ i shed
pri nci pl es and pl i ghted l anguage we must assi duousl y hi de al l the
i nequal i ti es of our moods and conduct, and thi s wi thout hypocti sy,
si nce out del i berate character i s more Duly oursel f than i s the flux
of our i nvol untary dreams. The portrai t we pai nt in thi s way and
exhi bi t as our true person may wel l be in the grand manner, wi th column
and curtai n and di stant l andscape and fi nger poi nti ng to the terresti al
gl obe or to the Y ori ck-skul l of phi l osophy; but i f thi s styl e i s nati ve
to us and our art i s vi tal , the more it transmutes i ts model the deeper
and truer art i t wil l be. The severe bust of an archai c scul pture,
scarcel y humani zi ng the bl ock, will express a spi ri t far more j ustl y
than the mans dul l morning l ooks or casual gri maces. Every one
who i s sure of bi s mi nd, or proud of hi s offi ce, or anxi ous about hi s
duty assumes a tragi c mask. He deputes i t to be hi msel f and transfers
to i t al most al l hi s vani ty. While sti l l al i ve and subj ect, l i ke al l
exi sti ng thi ngs, to the undermi ni ng flux of hi s own substance, he
has crystal l i zed hi s soul i nto an i dea, and more in pri de than in sorrow
he has offered up hi s l i fe on the al tar of the Muses. Sel f-knowl edge,
l i ke any art or sci ence, renders i ts subj ect-matter in a new medium,
rhe medi um of i deas, in which it l oses i rs ol d di mensi ons and i ts ol d
pl ace. Our ani mal habi ts are transmuted by consci ence into l oyal ti es
and duti es, and we become ' persons or masks. 1
And i f our soci al front hel ps us to sustai n a worthy soci al
note, we must, as Simone de Beauvoi r says, l i ve up to the
fixed character of our i nani mate sign equipment.
Even if each woman dresses in conformity with her status, a game
i s sti l l bei ng pl ayed: arti fi ce, l i ke art, bel ongs to the realm of the
imaginary* I t i s nor only that gi rdle, brassi ere^ hai r-dye, make-up
di sgui se body and face; but that the l easr sophi sti cate] of women,
once she i s dressed,' does not present h e r s e l f to observati on; she i s,
l i ke the pi cture or the srarue, or the actor on the stage, an agent
through whom i s suggested someone not therethat i s, the character
she represents, but i s not. I t i s thi s i denti fi cati on with somethi ng
unreal , fi xed, perfect as the hero of a novel , as a portrai t or a bust,
that grati fi es her; she stri ves ro identi fy hersel f with thi s figure and
thus to seem to hersel f to be stabi l i zed, j usti fi ed in her spl endor. 2
Misrepresentation
I t was suggested earl i er that an audi ence i s abl e to ori ent
i tsel f in a si tuati on by accepti ng performed cues on faith,
treati ng these si gns as evi dence of somethi ng greater than
or different from the si gn-vehi cl es themsel ves. I f thi s ten
dency of the audi ence to accept si gns pl aces the performer
in a posi ti on to be misunderstood and makes i t necessary
for him to exerci se expressi ve care regarding everythi ng he
does when before the audi ence, so al so thi s si gn-accepti ng
tendency puts the audi ence in a posi ti on to be duped and
misled, for there are few si gns that cannot be used to
attest to the presence of something that i s not really there.
And i t i s plain that many performers have ample capaci ty
1Santayana, op. c i t . , pp. 133-134.
2Simone de Beauvoi r, The Second Se x , trans. H. M. Parshl ey (New York*
Knopf, 1953), p. 533-
37
and moti ve to mi srepresent the f acts; onl y shame, guilt, or
fear prevent them from doing so.
As members of the audi ence i t i s natural for us to feel
that the i mpressi on the performer seeks to gi ve may be true
or fal se, genui ne or spuri ous, val i d or 'phony.' So common
i s thi s soci al doubt that observers often gi ve speci al attenti on
to features of the performance that cannot be readi l y man
i pul ated, thus enabl i ng themsel ves to j udge the rel i abi l i ty
of the more mi srepresentabl e cues in the performance. (Sci en
ti fi c pol i ce work and proj ecti ve testi ng are extreme exampl es
of the appl i cati on of thi s tendency.) And if we grudgingly
al l ow certai n symbol s of status to establ i sh a performers right
to a given treatment, we are al ways ready to pounce on chi nks
in hi s symbol ic armour in order to di scredi t hi s pretensi ons.
When we think of those who present a fal se front or 'onl y'
a front, of those who di ssembl e, decei ve, and defraud, we
think of a descrepancy between fostered appearances and
real i ty. We al so think of the precari ous posi ti on in which
these performers pl ace themsel ves, for at any moment in thei r
performance an event may occur to catch them out and baldly
contradi ct what they have openl y avowed, bringing them
immediate humil iation and someti mes permanent l oss of
reputati on. We often feel that it i s j ust these terri bl e event
ual i ti es, which ari se from being caught out, flagrante delicto,
in a patent act of mi srepresentati on, that an honest performer
i s abl e to avoi d. Thi s common-sense view has l i mi ted an
al yti cal uti l i ty.
Someti mes when we ask whether a fostered i mpression
i s true or fal se we real l y mean to ask whether or not the
performer i s authori zed to gi ve the performance in questi on,
and we are not primaril y concerned with the actual performance
i tsel f . When we di scover that someone with whom we have
deal i ngs i s an i mpostor and out-and-out fraud, we are di scover
i ng that he did not have the right to play the part he pl ayed,
that he was not an accredi ted incumbent of the rel evant status.
We assume that the i mpostor s performance, in addi ti on to the
fact that i t mi srepresents him, will be at fault in other ways,
but often hi s masquerade i s di scovered before we can detect
any other difference between the f al se performance and the
l egi ti mate one which it si mul ates. Paradoxi cal l y, the more
cl osel y the i mpostors performance approxi mates to the real
thi ng, the more i ntensel y we may be threatened, for a competent
performance by someone who proves to be an i mpostor may
weaken in our minds the sacred connecti on between l egi ti mate
38
authori zati on to play a part and the capaci ty to play it. (Skil led
mimics, who admit all al ong that thei r i ntenti ons are unseri ous,
seem to provide one way in which we can 'work through'
some of these anxi eti es.)
The soci al defini tion of impersonati on, however, i s not
i tsel f a very consi stent thing. For exampl e,'Whi l e i t i s felt
to be an i nexcusabl e crime agai nst communicati on to im
personate someone of sacred status, such as a doctor or a
pri est, we are often l ess concerned when someone i mpersonates
a member of a di sesteemed, non-cruci al , profane status, such
as that of a hobo or unski l l ed worker. When a di scl osure
shows that we have been parti ci pati ng with a performer who
has a hi gher status than he l ed us to bel i eve, there i s good
Chri sti an precedent for our reacti ng with wonderment and
chagrin rather than with hosti l i ty. Mythology and our popular
magazi nes, in fact, are full of romantic stori es in which the
vi l l ai n and the hero both make fraudulent cl ai ms that are
di scredi ted in the l ast chapter, the vi l l ai n proving not to have
a high status, the hero proving not to have a low one.
Further, while we may take a harsh view of performers
such as confi dence men who knowingly mi srepresent every
fact about thei r l i ves, we may have some sympathy for those
who have but one fatal flaw and who attempt to conceal the
fact that they are, for example, ex-convi cts, deflowered,
epi l epti c or raci al l y impure, i nstead of admitti ng thei r fault
and making an honourabl e attempt to l i ve it down. Also, we
di sti ngui sh between impersonati on of a speci fi c, concrete
i ndi vi dual , which we usual l y feel i s qui te i nexcusabl e, and
i mpersonati on of category membership, which we may feel
l ess strongly about. So, too, we often feel differently about
those who mi srepresent themsel ves to forward what they feel
are the j ust cl ai ms of a col l ecti vi ty, or those who mi srepresent
themsel ves acci dental l y or for a lark, than about those who
mi srepresent themsel ves for pri vate psychol ogi cal or material
gain*
Fi nal l y, si nce there are senses in which the concept of
'a status i s not cl ear-cut, so there are senses in which the
concept of i mpersonati on i s not cl ear ei ther. For example,
we obvi ousl y find that there are many statuses in which
membership i s not subj ect to formal rati fi cati on. Cl ai ms to
be a law graduate can be establ i shed as valid or invalid, but
cl ai ms to be a friend, a true bel i ever, or a musi c l over can be
confirmed or disconfi rmed only more-or-l ess. Where standards
of competence are not obj ecti ve, and where bona fide practi-
39
ti oners are not col l ecti vel y organi zed to protect thei r mandate,
an indi vi dual may styl e hi msel f an expert and be penal i zed
by nothi ng stronger than sni ggers.
All of these sources of confusi on are i nstructi vel y i l l us
trated in the vari abl e atti tude we have toward the handl i ng of
age and sexual status. I t i s a cul pabl e thi ng for a fi fteen-
year-ol d boy who dri ves a car or dri nks in a tavern to represent
hi msel f as bei ng ei ghteen, but there are many soci al contexts
in which i t would be improper for a woman not to mi srepresent
hersel f as bei ng more youthful and sexual l y attracti ve than i s
real l y the case. When we say a parti cul ar woman i s not real l y
as well-formed as she appears tp be and that the same woman
i s not real l y a physi ci an al though she appears to be, we are
usi ng different concepti ons of the term 'real l y. Further
modi fi cati ons of ones personal front that are consi dered
mi srepresencati ve one year may be consi dered merely decorati ve
a few years later, and thi s di ssensus may be found at any one
ti me between one sub-group in our soci ety and others. For
example, very recentl y the conceal ment of grey hair by dyei ng
has come to be consi dered acceptabl e, al though there sti l l are
sectors of the popul ace which consi der thi s to be imper
mi ssi bl e. 1 I t i s fel t to be al l right for immi grants to
i mpersonate nati ve Ameri cans in dress and in patterns of
decorum but aL i t i s sti l l a doubtful matter to Ameri cani ze
ones name2 or ones nose. 3
L et us try another approach to the understandi ng of mi s
representati on. An 'open, 'f l at, or barefaced l i e may be
defi ned as one for which there can be unquesti onabl e evi dence
that the tel l er knew he l i ed and wilfully did so. A cl ai m to
have been at a parti cul ar pl ace at a parti cul ar ti me, wiien thi s
was not the case, i s an example. (Some ki nds of impersonati on,
but not al l , i nvol ve such l i es, and many such l i es do not
i nvol ve i mpersonati on.) Those caught out in the act nf tel l i ng
barefaced l i es not onl y l ose face during the i nteracti on but
in a sense may have thei r face destroyed, for it i s felt by
many audi ences that i f an i ndi vi dual can once bring hi msel f
to tel l such a l i e, he ought never agai n to be fully trusted.
However, there are many 'whi te l i es,' told by doctors, poten
ti al guests and others, presumabl y to save the feel i ngs of
See, for exampl e, 'T i mai r,' Fortune, November 1951, p. 102.
2See, for exampl e, I I .L . Mencken, The American Language (4th ed.; New
Y ork: Knopf, 1936), pp. 474-525.
3See, for exampl e, 'Pl asti c Surgery, Ebony, May, 1949, and F. C. Macgtegor
and^B.Schaffner, 1Screeni ng Pati ents foe Nasal Pl asti c Operati ons: Some
Soci ol ogi cal and Psychi atri c Consi derati ons,' Psychosomatic Medicine,
XI I, pp. 277-291.
40
the audi ence that i s l i ed to, and these ki nds of untruths are
not thought to be horrendous. (Such l i es, meant to protect
others rather than to defend the sel f, will be consi dered again
l ater.) Further, in everyday l i fe i t i s usual l y possi bl e for
the performer to create i ntenti onal l y al most any kind of f al se
i mpressi on without putti ng hi msel f tn the i ndefensi bl e posi ti on
of havi ng told a cl ear-cut l i e. Communication techni ques
such as i nnuendo, strategi c ambiguity, and crucial omi ssi ons
al low the misinformer to profit from l i es without, techni cal l y,
tel l i ng any. 1
Formal recogni ti on has been given to the shadi ngs between
l i es and truths and to the embarrassi ng di ffi cul ti es caused
by thi s continuum. Organi zati ons such as real estate boards
develop expl i ci t codes speci fyi ng the degree to which doubtful
i mpressi ons can be given by overstatement, under-statement,
and omi ssi ons.2 The Ci vil Servi ce in Bri tai n apparentl y
operates on a si mi l ar understandi ng:
The rul e here (as regards ' statements whi ch are i ntended or are
l i kel y to beevme publ i c ) i s si mpl e. Nothi ng may be sai d whi ch i s
not true: but it i s as unnecessary as it i s someti mes undesi rabl e,
even i n the publ i c i nterest, to say everythi ng rel evant whi ch i s true;
and the f acts fi ven may be arranged in any conveni ent order. I t i s
wonderful what can be done withi n these l i mi ts by a ski l ful draftsman.
I t mi/sh. be sai j , cyni cal l y, but wi th some measure of truth, that the
perfect reply to an embarrassi ng questi on in the House of Commons i s
one that i s bri ef, appears to answer the questi on compl etel y, i f
chal l enged can be proved to be accurate in every word, gi ve? no openi ng
for awkward ' suppl ementari es/ and di scl oses real l y nothi ng.^
The law crosscuts many ordinary soci al ni ceti es by i ntroducing
ones of i ts own. In America}) law, i ntent, negl i gence, and
stri ct l i abi l i ty are di sti ngui shed; mi srepresentati on i s hel d
to be an i ntenti onal act, but one that can ari se through word
or deed, ambi guous statement or mi sl eadi ng l i teral truth, non
di scl osure or preventi on of di scovery. 4 Cul pabl e non-di scl osure
i s hel d to vary, dependi ng on the area of l i fe, there bei ng one
standard for the adverti si ng busi ness and another standard for
professi onal counsel l ors. Further, the law tends to hold that:
A representati on made with an honest bel i ef in i ts truth may sti l l
be negl i gent, because of l ack of reasonabl e care in ascertai ni ng the
1A. cl ear i l l ustrati on of thi s i s given i n the L angs' study of Mac Arthurs
entrance of Chi cago duri ng the 1952 Republ i can Nati onal Conventi on.
They provi de a detai l ed contrast between the actual recepti on accorded
MacArthur and the edi ted versi on of i t that appeared on tel evi si on. See
Kurt and G. H. L ang, *The Uni que Perspecti ve of Tel evi si on and i ts Effect *.
A Pi l ot Study,' American Sociological Review, XVI II , pp. 3-12.
2See, for example, E.C. Hughes, 'Study of a Secul ar I nsti tuti on' The
Chi cago Real Estate Board' (unpubl i shed Ph.D. di ssertati on. Department
of Sociology, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1928), p. 85.
3 Dal e, op. c i l . t p. 105-
4 Sec William L . Prosser, Handbook o f the Law o f Torts (Hornbook Seri es;
St. Haul , Minn.: West Publ i shi ng Co., 1941), pp.701-776.
41
facts, or in the manner of expressi on, or absence of the ski l l and
competence requi red by a parti cul ar busi ness or professi on. 1
. . . . the fact that the defendant was di si nterested, that he had the
best of moti ves, and that he thought he was doi ng the pl ai nti ff a
ki ndness, wil l not absol ve hi m from l i abi l i ty so long as he di d in fact
i ntend to mi sl ead. 2
When we turn from outright i mpersonati ons and barefaced
l i es to other types of mi srepresentati on, the common-sense
di sti ncti on between true and f al se i mpressi ons becomes even
l ess tenabl e. We find that charl atan professi onal acti vi ty
of one decade becomes an acceptabl e l egi ti mate occupati on
in the next. 3 We find that acti vi ti es which are thought to
be l egi ti mate by some audi ences in our soci ety are thought
by other audi ences to be rackets.
More important, we find that there i s hardly a l egi ti mate
everyday vocati on or rel ati onshi p whose performers do not
engage in conceal ed practi ces which are i ncompati bl e with
fostered i mpressi ons. Although parti cul ar performances,
and even parti cul ar parts or routi nes, may pl ace a performer
in a posi ti on of havi ng nothing to hi de, somewhere in the
full round of hi s acti vi ti es there will be somethi ng he cannot
treat openl y. The l arger the number of matters and the l arger
the number of acti ng parts which fall within the domain of the
rol e or rel ati onshi p, the more li kel i hood, it would seem, for
poi nts of secrecy to exi st. Thus in wel l -adj usted marri ages,
we expect that each partner may keep from the other secrets
havi ng to do with fi nanci al matters, past experi ences, current
fl i rtati ons, i ndul gences in 'bad or e x p en s i ve habi ts, personal
aspi rati ons and worries, acti ons of chi l dren, true opi ni ons
hel d about rel ati ves or mutual fri ends, etc, < With such
strategi cal l y l ocated poi nts of reti cence, it i s possi bl e to
maintain a desi rabl e status quo in the rel ati onshi p without
havi ng to carry out rigidly the i mpl i cati ons of thi s agreement
in all areas of l i fe.
Perhaps most important of al l , we must note that a fal se
i mpressi on mai ntai ned by an indi vi dual in any one of his
routi nes may be a threat to the whole rel ati onshi p or role of
which the routi ne i s only one part, for a di scredi tabl e di s
cl osure in one area of an i ndi vi dual 's acti vi ty will throw doubt
on the many areas of acti vi ty in which he may have nothing
1Prosser, op. c i t . , p. 733.
2 Ibid., p. 728.
3 See Harol d D. McDowell , Osteopathy i A Study o f a Semi-orthodox Healing
A g e nc y and the Recruitment o f i t s Cl i ent el e, unpubl i shed Master's Thesi s
Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1951.
* See, for exampl e, Davi d Dressi er, 'What Don't They Tel l Each Other,*
This Beek, September 13, 1953.
42
to conceal . Similarly, if the indivi dual has only one thing
to conceal during a performance, and even i f the l i kel i hood of
di scl osure occurs only at a parti cul ar turn or phase in the
performance, the performers anxi ety may well extend to the
whole performance.
In previ ous secti ons of thi s chapter some general charact
eri sti cs of performance were suggested: acti vi ty ori ented
towards work-tasks tends to be converted i nto acti vi ty ori ented
towards communi cati on; the front behi nd which the routine i s
presented i s al so l i kel y to be sui tabl e for other, somewhat
different routi nes aad so i s l i kel y not to fit compl etel y any
parti cul ar routi ne; suffi ci ent self-control i s exerted so as to
mai ntai n a working consensus; an i deal i zed i mpression i s
offered by accentuati ng certai n f acts and conceal i ng others;
expressi ve coherence i s maintained by the performer taking
more care to guard agai nst minor di sharmoni es than the stated
purpose of the performance might l ead the audi ence to thir.k
was warranted. All of these general characteri sti cs of per
formances can be seen as i nteracti on constrai nts which pl ay
upon the i ndivi dual and transform hi s acti vi ti es i nto perform
ances. I nstead of merely doing hi s task and givi ng vent to
hi s feel i ngs, he will express the doing of hi s task and accep
tabl y convey hi s feel i ngs. In general , the representati on
of an acti vi ty, especi al l y when thi s representati on i s soci al i zed
in accordance with i nteracti on standards, will vary in some
degree from the acti vi ty i tsel f and therefore, in a certai n
sense, will i nevi tabl y be a mi srepresentati on of it. And
si nce the i ndivi dual will be required to rely on si gns in order
to construct a representati on of hi s acti vi ty, the i mage he
constructs, however faithful 10 the facts, will be subj ect to
al l the di srupti ons that i mpressi ons are subj ect to.
While we coul d retai n the common-sense notion that fostered
appearances can be di scredi ted by a di screpant real i ty, 'there
i s often no reason for cl ai mi ng that the facts di screpant with
the fostered impressi on are any more the teal real i ty than
i s the fostered real i ty they have the power of embarrassi ng.
A cyni cal view of everyday performances can be as one-si ded
as the one that i s sponsored by the performer. For many
soci ol ogi cal i ssues i t may not even be necessary to deci de
which i s the more real, the fostered i mpressi on or the one
che performer attempts to prevent the audi ence from recei vi ng.
The cruci al soci ol ogi cal consi derati on, for thi s report, at
l east, i s merely that i mpressi ons fostered in everyday per
formances are subj ect to disruption. We will want to know
what kind of i mpressi on of real i ty can shatter the fostered
43
i mpressi on of real i ty, and what real i ty real l y i s can be l eft
to other students. We will want to ask, "What are the ways
in which a given i mpressi on can be di scredi ted? and thi s
i s not qui te the same as aski ng, "What are the ways in which
the given i mpressi on i s f al se?
We come back, then, to a real i zati on that while the per
formance offered by i mpostors and l i ars i s in a sense qui te
fl agrantl y f al se and differs in thi s respect from ordinary per
formances, both are si mi l ar in the care their performers must
exert in order to maintain the i mpressi on that i s fostered.
Thus, for example, we know that the formal code of Bri ti sh
ci vil servants1 and of American basebal l umpi res2 obl i ges
them not onl y to desi st from making improper 'deal s but
al so to desi st from innocent acti on which might possi bl y
give the (wrong) i mpressi on that they are making deal s.
Whether an honest performer wi shes to convey the truth or
whether a di shonest performer wi shes to convey a fal sehood,
both must take care to enl i ven thei r performances with appro
pri ate expressi ons, excl ude from thei r performances expressi ons
that might di scredi t the i mpressi on being fostered, and take
care l est the audi ence impute uni ntended meanings. Because
of these shared dramatic conti ngenci es, we can profitably
study performances that are quite fal se in order to learn about
ones that are qui te honest. 3
Mystification
I have suggested ways in which the performance of an
i ndi vi dual accentuates certai n matters and conceal s others.
I f we see percepti on as a form of contact and communion,
c control over what i s percei ved i s control over contact
that i s mr.J - . and the li mi tati on and regul ati on of what i s
shown i s a i/miration and regul ati on of contact. There i s a
rel ati on here between informati onal terras and ritual ones.
Fai l ure to regul ate the informati on acqui red by the audi ence
1Dal e, op. c i t . , p. 103-
2Pi nel I i , op. c i t . , p. 100.
3 There i s a further reason for gi vi ng attenti on to performances and fronts
that are fl agrantl y fal se. V.lten we find that fake tel evi si on aeri al s are
sol d to persons who do not have sets, and packngcs of exoti c travel
l abel s to persons who have never l eft home, and wi re-whecl hub cap
attachments to motori sts with ordinary cars, we have cl ear-cut evi dence
of the i mpressi ve functi on of presumabl y i nstrumental obj ects. When we
study the real thi ng, i .e., persons wi th real aeri al s and rea)sets,, etc.,
i t may be di ffi cul t in many cases to demonstrate concl usi vel y the im
pressi ve functi on of what can be cl ai med as a spontaneous or i nstrumental
act.
44
i nvol ves possi bl e di srupti on of the proj ected defini tion of the
si tuati on; fail ure to regul ate contact i nvol ves possi bl e ritual
contami nati on of the performer.
I t i s a widely hel d notion that restri cti ons pl aced upon
contact, the maintenance of soci al di stance, provide a way
in which awe can be generated and sustai ned in the audi ence
a way, as Kenneth Burke has sai d, in which the audi ence can
be hel d in a state of mysti fi cati on in regard to the performer.
Cool eys statement may serve as an i l l ustrati on:
How far ii i s possi bl e for a man to work upon others through a
fal se i dea of hi msel f depends upon a vari ety of ci rcumstances. As
al ready poi nted out, the man hi msel f may be a mere i nci dent with no
defi ni te rel ati on to the i dea of him, the l etter bei n a separate product
of the i magi nati on. Thi s can hatdly be except where there i s no imme
di ate contact between l eader and fol lower, and partl y expl ai ns why
authori ty, especi al l y i f it covers i ntri nsi c personal weakness, has
al ways a tendency to surround I tsel f wlrh forms and arti fi ci al mystery,
whose obj ect i s to prevent famili ar contact and so gi ve the imagi nati on
a chance to i deal i ze . . . . The di sci pl i ne of armi es and navi es, for
i nstance, very di sti nctl y recogni zes the necessi ty of those forms whi ch
separate superi or from i nferi or, and so hel p to establ i sh an unscruti ni 2ed
ascendancy in the former. In the same way manners, as Professor Ross
remarks in hi s work on Soci al Control, are l argel y used by men of the
world as a means of sel f-conceal ment, and thi s sel f-conceal ment serves,
among other purposes, that of preservi ng a sort of ascendancy over the
unsophi sti cated. 1
The l ogi cal concl usi on to thi s kind of theory, whether i t i s
in fact correct or not, i s to prohibit the audi ence from l ooking
at the performer at al l , and at ti mes when cel esci al qual i ti es
and powers have been cl aimed by a performer, thi s logi cal
concl usi on seems to have been put into effect.
Of course, in the matter of keepi ng soci al di stance, the
audi ence i tsel f will often co-operace by act^g in a respectful
fashi on, in awed regard fc r the sacred integri ty imputed to
the performer. As Simmel suggests:
To act upon the second of these deci si ons corresponds to the feel i ng
(whi ch al so operates el sewhere) that an i deal sphere l i es around
every human being. Although di fferi ng in si ze in vari ous di recti ons
1Cool ey, op cit , p. 551. Ponsonby, iri gi vi ng advi ce to the King of
.Norway, gi ves voi ce to the same theory, op. c i t , , p. 277:
*One ni ght K.ing Haakon tol d me of hi s di ffi cul ti es i n face ol the republ i can
l eani ngs of the opposi ti on and how careful in consequence he had to
be in al l he di d and sai d. He i ntended, he sai d, to go as much as possi bl e
among the peopl e and thought it would be popul ar if, i nstead of going
in a motor car, he and Queen Maud wete to use the tramways.
* 1 told him frankl y that I thought thi s would be a great mi stake as
fami li ari ty bred contempt. As a naval offi cer he would know that the
captai n of a shi p never had hi s meal s with the other offi cers but remai ned
qui te al oof. T hi s was, of course, to scop any fami l i ari ty with them. 1
tol d him that he must get up on a pedestal and remai n there. He coul d
then step off occasi onal l y and no harm would be done. The peopl e di dnt
want a King wi th whom they coul d hob-nob but somethi ng nebul ous l i ke
the Del phi c oracl e. The Monarchy was real l y the creati on of each i ndi vi d
ual s brain. Every man l iked to thi nk what he woul d do, if he was King.
Peopl e i nvested the Monarch wi th every concei vabl e vi rtue and tal ent.
They were bound therefote to be di sappoi nted if they saw him going
about li ke an ordi nary man in the stteet.
45
and di fferi ng accordi ng to the person with whom one entertai ns rel ati ons,
thi s sphere cannot be penetrated, unl ess the personal i ty val ue of the
i ndi vi dual i s thereby destroyed. A sphere of thi s sort i s pl aced around
man by hi s 'honor.1 L anguage very poi gnantl y desi gnates an i nsul t
to one s honor as 'comi ng too cl ose: the radi us of thi s sphere marks,
as i t were, the di stance whose trespassi ng by another person i nsul ts
one's honor. 1
Durkheim makes a si mi l ar poi nt:
The human personal i ty i s a sacred thi ngone does not vi ol ate i t nor
i nfri nge i ts bounds, whi l e at the same time the greatest good i s in
communi on with others. 2
I t must be made qui te cl ear, in contradi cti on to the i mpl i cati ons
of Cool ey s remarks, that awe and di stance are felt toward
performers of equal and i nferior status as wel l as (al bei t not
as much) toward performers of superordi nate status.
However mysti cal in character, these i nhi bi ti ons of the
audi ence allow the performer some elbow-room in building
up an i mpressi pn of hi s own choi ce and allow him to functi on,
for hi s own good or the audi ence s, as a protecti on or a threat
that cl ose i nspecti on would destroy.
[ would l i ke, fi nal l y, to add that the matters which the
audi ence l eaves al one because of thei r awe of the performer
are l i kel y to be the matters about which he would feel shame
were a di scl osure to occur. As Ri ezl er has suggested, we
have, then, a basi c soci al coi n, with awe on one si de and
shame on the other. 3 The audi ence senses secret mysteri es
and powers behind the performance, and the performer senses
that his chi ef secrets are petty ones. As countl ess folk tal es
and i ni ti ati on ri tes show, often the real secret behind the
mystery i s that there real l y i s no mystery; the real problem
i s to prevent the audi ence from l earni ng thi s too.
i T h e Sociology o f Georg Simmel, trans. and ed. Kurt H.Wol ff (Gl encoe,
l i t.: The Free Press, 1950), p. 321.
2 Emil e Durkheim, Sociology and Philosophy, trans. D. P. Pocock (London*
Cohen & West, 1953), P* 37.
3 Kurt Riezler Comment on the Soci al Psychol ogy of Shame.' American
Journal o f Sociology, XL1II, 462 ff.
46
CHA PT ER I I
TEAMS
In thinki ng about a performance i t i s easy to assume that
the content of the presentati on i s merely an expressi ve ex
tensi on of the character of the performer and to see the functi on
of the performance in these personal terms. Thi s i s a limited
view and can obscure important di fferences in the function
of the performance for the i nteracti on as a whole.
Fi rst, i t often happens that the performance serves mainly
to express the characteri sti cs of the task that i s performed
and not the characteri sti cs of the performer. Thus one finds
that servi ce personnel , whether in professi on, bureaucracy,
busi ness, or craft, enl iven thei r manner with movements which
express profi ci ency and i ntegrity, but, whatever thi s manner
conveys about them, often i ts major purpose i s to establ i sh
a favourabl e defi ni ti on of thei r servi ce or product. Further,
we often find that the personal front of the performer i s em
pl oyed not so much because it al l ows him to present hi msel f
as he would l i ke to appear but because hi s appearance and
manner can do something for a scene of wider scope. I t i s
in thi s l i ght that we can understand how the si fti ng and sorting
or urban li fe brings gi rl s with good grooming and correct accent
into the job of recepti oni st, 'where they can present a front
for an organi zati on as well as for themsel ves.
But most i mportant of al l , we commonly find that the defi ni
tion of the si tuati on proj ected by a parti cul ar parti ci pant i s
an i ntegral part of a proj ecti on that i s fostered and sustai ned
by the i nti mate co-operation of more than one parti ci pant,
and, moreover, that each member of such a troupe or cast
of pl ayers may be requi red to appear in a different l i ght i f
the team s overal l effect i s to be sati sfactory. Thus if a
househol d i s to stage a formal dinner, someone in uniform or
livery will be required as part of the working team. The in
di vidual who pl ays thi s part must di rect at hi msel f the soci al
defini tion of a menial . At the same time the i ndivi dual taki ng
the part of hostess must di rect at hersel f, and foster by her
appearance and manner, the soci al defini tion of someone
upon whom i t i s natural for meni al s to wait. Thi s was
stri ki ngl y demonstrated in the i sl and touri st hotel studi ed
by the writer. There an overal l impressi on of mi ddl e-cl ass
servi ce was achi eved by the management, who al l ocated to
themsel ves the rol es of mi ddl e-cl ass host and hostess and
to thei r empl oyees that of mai dsal though in terms of the
l ocal cl ass structure the gi rl s who acted as maids were of
sl i ghtl y higher status than the hotel owners who employed
them. When hotel guests were absent, no nonsense about a
mai d-mi stress status difference was al l owed by the maids.
Another example may be taken from mi ddl e-cl ass family life.
I n our soci ety, when husband and wife appear before new
fri ends for an eveni ng of soci abi l i ty, the wife may demonstrate
more respectful subordi nati on to the will and opinion of her
husband than she may bother to show when al one with him or
when with ol d fri ends. When she assumes a respectful role, he
can assume a dominant one; and when each member of the
marriage team pl ays i ts speci al role, the conj ugal unit, as a
unit, can sustai n the i mpressi on that new audi ences expect
of it. Race eti quette in the South provi des another example.
Charl es J ohnson s suggesti on i s that when few other whi tes
are in the regi on, a Negro may call hi s white fell ow-worker
by his fi rst name, but when other whi tes approach it i s under
stood that mi steri ng will be rei ntroduced. 1 Busi ness eti quette
provi des a si mi l ar exampl e:
When outsi ders ace present, the touch o( busi nessl i ke formal ity i s
even more important. You may cal l your secretary 'Mary' and yout
partner 'J oe* all day, but when a stranger comes inn) your offi ce you
shoul d tefet to your associ ates as you would expect the stranger to
address them: Mi ss or Mr- You may have a runni ng j oke wi th the
swi tchboard operator, but you l et :t ri de when you are pl aci ng a cal l
i n an outsi der's heari ng. 2
She (your secretary) wants to be cal l cd Mi ss or Mrs in front of
strangers; at l east, she won't be fl attered if your *Mary* provokes
everyone el se i nto addressi ng her with fami li ari ty. *
In general , then, a set of i ndi vi dual s who co-operate in stagi ng
a si ngl e routi ne may be referred to as a performance team
or, in short, a team.
Until now in thi s report we have taken i he i ndi vi dual s
performance as the basi c point of reference, and we have
concerned oursel ves with two l evel s of f actthe indivi dual
and hi s performance on one hand and the full set of parti ci pants
and the i nteracti on as a whole on the other. For the study
of certai n ki nds and aspects of i nteracti on, thi s perspecti ve
would seem suffi ci ent; anythi ng that did not fit thi s framework
coul d be handl ed as a resol vabl e compl i cati on of it. Thus
co-operati on between two performers each of whom was osten
si bl y i nvol ved in presenti ng hi s own speci al performance
coul d be anal yzed as a type of col l usi on or 'understandi ng
without al teri ng the basi c frame of reference. However in
the case-study of parti cul ar soci al establ i shments, the co
1Charl es S. J ohnson, op. ci t . , pp. 137-138.
2Esqui re Et i quel t e (Phi l adel phi a: L i ppi ncott, 1953), p. 6.
*l bi d. , p- I ?
48
operati ve acti vi ty of some of the parti ci pants seems too
important to be handl ed merely as a vari ati on on a previous
theme. Whether the members of a team stage si mi l ar individual
performances or stage di ssi mi l ar performances which fit to
gether i nto a whole, an emergent team i mpressi on ari ses which
can conveni entl y be treated as a fact in i ts own right, as a
third l evel of fact l ocated between the i ndi vi dual performance
on one hand and the total i nteracti on of parti ci pants on the
other. I t may even be sai d that if our speci al i nterest i s the
study of i mpressi on management, of the conti ngenci es which
ari se in fosteri ng an i mpressi on, and of the techni ques for
meeti ng these conti ngenci es, then the team and the ream-
performance may well be the best uni ts to take as the
fundamental point of reference. 1 Given thi s point of reference,
i t i s possi bl e to assi mi l ate such si tuati ons as two-person
i nteracti on into the framework by descri bi ng these si tuati ons
as two-team i nteracti on in which each team contai ns only one
member. (L ogi cal l y speaki ng, one could even say that an
audi ence which was duly i mpressed by a parti cul ar soci al
setti ng in which no other persons were present would be an
audi ence wi tnessi ng a team-performance in which the team
was one of no members.)
The concept of team al l ows us to think of performances
that are given by one, or more than one, performer: it al so
covers another case. Earl i er i t was suggested that a performer
may be taken in by hi s own act, convi nced at the moment
that the i mpressi on of real i ty which he fosters is the one
and onl y real i ty. In such cases we have a sense in which
the performer comes to be hi s own audi ence; he comes to be
performer and observer of the same show. Presumabl y he
i ntrocepts or i ncorporates the standards he attempts to maintain
in the presence of others so that even in thei r absence his
consci ence requi res him to act in a soci al l y proper way. In
these cases it will have been necessary for the i ndivi dual
in hi s performing capaci ty to conceal from hi msel f in hi s
audi ence capaci ty the di scredi tabl e facts that he has had to
l earn about the performance; in everyday terms, there will
be thi ngs he knows, or has known, that he will not be abl e
to tel l himself. Thi s i ntri cate manoeuvre of sel f-del usi on
constantl y occurs; psychoanal ysts have provi ie I us with
beauti ful fi el d data of thi s kind, - under the headi ngs of
repressi on and di ssoci ati on. 2
1 The use ol the team (as opposed to the performer) as the fundamental
uni t 1 take ftom Von Neumann, op, ci t . , especi al l y p. 53, where bridge
i s anal ysed as a game between two pl ayers, each of whom in some
respects has two separate i ndi vi dual s to do the pl ayi ng.
2I ndi vi dual i sti c modes of thought tend to see processes such as sel f-
49
When a performer gui des hi s pri vate acti vi ty in accordance
with i ncorporated moral standards, he may associ ate these
standards with a reference group of some kind so that, in a
sense, there will be a non-present audi ence for hi s acti vi ty.
Thi s possi bi l i ty l eads us to consi der a further one. The
indi vi dual may pri vatel y maintain standards of behaviour which
he does not personal l y bel i eve in, mai ntai ni ng these standards
because of a l i vel y bel i ef that an unseen audi ence i s present
which will puni sh devi ati ons from these standards. In other
words, an indi vi dual may be hi s own audi ence or may i magi ne
an audi ence to be present.
A team has been defined as a set of performers who co
operate in presenti ng a si ngl e performance. Di fferences
have been suggested between the concept of team and the
concept of indi vi dual performer. I t will be useful here to
di sti ngui sh the team, which i s a type of col l ecti vi ty, from
other col l ecti ve groupings.
I t i s apparent that i ndi vi dual s who are members of the
same team will find themsel ves, by vi rtue of thi s fact, in an
important rel ati onshi p to one another. Two basi c components
of thi s rel ati onshi p may be ci ted.
Fi rst, i t would seem that while a team-performance i s
in progress, any member of the team has the power to gi ve
the show away or to di srupt it by i nappropri ate conduct.
Each team-mate i s forced to rely on the good conduct and
behaviour of hi s fel l ows, and they, in turn, are forced to rely
on him. There i s, then, perforce, a bond of reci procal de
pendence [inking team-mates to one another. When members
of a team have different formal statuses and rank in a soci al
establ i shment, as i s often the case, then we can see that
the mutual dependence created by membership in the team
i s l i kel y to cut across structural or soci al cl eavages in the
establ i shment and thus provide a source of cohesi on for the
establ i shment. Where staff and l i ne statuses tend to di vi de
an organi zati on, performance teams may tend to i ntegrate
the di vi si ons.
decepti on and i nsi nceri ty as characterol ogi cal weaknesses generated
withi n the deep recesses of the i ndi vi dual personal i ty. I t might be
better to start from outsi de the i ndi vi dual and work in than to start i nsi de
the i ndi vi dual and work out. We may say that the starti ng poi nt for
ai l that i s to come l ater consi sts of the i ndi vi dual performer mai ntai ni ng
a defi ni ti on of the si tuati on before an audi ence. The i ndi vi dual auto
mati cal l y becomes i nsi ncere when he adheres to the obl i gati on of
mai ntai ni ng a worki ng consensus and when he parti ci pates in di fferent
routi nes or performs a gi ven part before di fferent audi ences. Sel f-decepti on
can be seen as somethi ng that resul ts when what were ori gi nal l y two
di fferent rol es, performer and audi ence, are compressed i nto the same
i ndi vi dual .
50
Secondl y, i t i s apparenc that i f members of a team muse
co-operate to maintain a given defini tion of the si tuati on before
thei r audi ence, they will hardly be in a posi ti on to maintain
that parti cul ar i mpressi on before one another. Accompl i ces
in the mai ntenance of a parti cul ar appearance of thi ngs, they
are forced to defi ne one another as persons in the know,
as persons before whom a parti cul ar front cannot be maintained.
Team-mates, then, in proportion to the frequency with which
they act as a team and the number of matters that fall within
i mpressi onal protecti veness, tend to be bound by ri ghts of
what might be cal l ed fami l i ari ty. Among team-mates, the
pri vi l ege of fami l i ari tywhich may consti tute a kind of i nti macy
without warmthneed not be somethi ng of an organic kind,
slowly devel opi ng with the passage of time spent together,
but rather a formal rel ati onshi p that i s automati cal l y extended
and recei ved as soon as the individual takes a pl ace on the
team.
In suggesti ng that team-mates tend to be rel ated to one
another by bonds of reci procal dependence and reci procal
fami liarity, we must not confuse the type of group so formed
with other types, such as informal group or cl i que. A team
mate i s someone whose dramaturgi cal co-operati on one i s
dependent upon in fosteri ng a given defini tion of the si tuati on;
if such a person comes to be beyond the pal e of informal
sancti ons and i nsi sts on gi vi ng the show away or forcing it
to take a parti cul ar turn, he i s none the l ess part of the team.
In fact, -it i s j ust because he i s part of the team that he can
cause thi s kind of troubl e. Thus the i sol ate in the factory
who becomes a rate-buster i s none the l ess part of the team,
even if hi s producti ve acti vi ty embarrasses the i mpressi on
the other workers are attempti ng to foster as to what con
sti tutes a hard days work. As an obj ect of friendship he
may be studi ousl y ignored, but as a threat to the teams defi ni
tion of the si tuati on, he cannot be overlooked. Similarly, a
girl at a party who i s flagrantly accessi bl e may be shunned
by the other gi rl s who are present, but in certai n matters she
i s part of thei r team and cannot fail to threaten the defi ni ti on
they are col l ecti vel y mai ntai ni ng that gi rl s are di ffi cult sexual
pri zes. Thus while team-mates are often persons who agree
informally to guide thei r efforts in a certai n way as a means
of sel f-protecti on and by doing so consti tute an informal group,
thi s informal agreement i s not a cri teri on for defini ng the
concept of team.
The members of an informal cl i que, usi ng this term in
the sense of a smal l number of persons who j oi n together for
51
informal amusements, may al so consti tute a ceam, for it i s
l ikely that they will have to co-operate in tactful l y conceal i ng
rheir excl usi veness from some non-members while adverti si ng
i t snobbi shl y to others. There i s, however, a meaningful con
trast between the concepts team and cl i que. In l arge soci al
establ i shments, i ndi vi dual s within a given status l evel are
thrown together by vi rtue of the fact that they must co-operate
in mai ntai ni ng a defi ni ti on of the si tuati on toward those above
and bel ow them. Thus a set of i ndi vi dual s who might be
di ssi mi l ar in important respects, and hence desi rous of main
tai ni ng soci al di stance from one another, find they are in a
rel ati on of enforced fami l i ari ty characteri sti c of team-mates
engaged in stagi ng a show. Often it seems that small cl i ques
form not to further the i nterests of those with whom the i ndivi d
ual stages a show but rather to protect him from an unwanted
i denti fi cati on with them. Cl i ques, then, often functi on to
protect the i ndi vi dual not from persons of other ranks but from
persons of hi s own rank. Thus, while all the members of one's
cl i que may be of the same status l evel , i t may be cruci al that
not all persons of ones status l evel be al l owed into the
cl i que. 1
A final comment must be added on what a team i s not.
I ndi vi dual s may be bound together formally or informally into
an acti on group in order to further l i ke or col l ecti ve ends by
any means avai l abl e to them. I n so far as they co-operate
i n mai ntai ni ng a given i mpressi on, usi ng thi s devi ce as a
means of achi evi ng thei r ends, they consti tute what has here
been cal l ed a team. But it shoul d be made qui te cl ear that
there are many means by which an acti on group can achi eve
ends other than by dramaturgi cal co-operati on. Other means
to ends, such as force or bargai ni ng power, may be i ncreased
or decreased by strategi c manipulation of i mpressi ons, but
the exerci se of force or bargai ni ng power gi ves to a set of
i ndi vi dual s a source of group formation unconnected with
the fact that on certai n occasi ons the group thus formed i s
l i kel ^to act, dramaturgi cal l y speaki ng, as-a team. 2
I f we are to employ the concept of team as a fundamental
point of reference, i t will be conveni ent to retrace earl i er
steps and redefi ne our framework of terms in order to adj ust
1There are, of course, many bases of cl i que formati on. Edward Gross,
Informal Rel at i ons and t he Soci al Organizat i on o f Work i n an I ndust ri al
Of f i ce (unpubl i shed Ph.D. di ssertati on. Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni
versi ty of Chi cago, 1949), suggests that cl i ques may cross ordi nary
age and' ethni c l i nes in order to bri ne together i ndi vi dual s whose work
acti vi ty i s not seen as a competi ti ve refl ecti on upon one another.
2 Si mi larl y, an i ndi vi dual who i s in a posi ti on of power or l eadershi p may
i ncrease or decrease hi s strength by the degree to whi ch hi s appearance
and manner are appropri ate and convi nci ng, but i t i s not cl ai med that
the dramaturgi cal qual i ti es of hi s acti on necessari l y or even commonly
consti tute the fundamental basi s of hi s posi ti on.
52
for die use of team, rattier than individual performer, t>' the
Kasic unit.
It has been suggested that the obj ect of a perlormer is
to sustai n a parti cul ar definition of the si tuati on, thi s
representi ng, as i t were, hi s claim as to what real i ty is.
As a one-man team, with no team-mates to inform of his
deci si on, he can quickly deci de whi ch-of the avai l abl e stands
on a matter to take and then wholeheartedly act as if his
choi ce were the only one he could possi bl y have taken. And
hi s choi ce of position may be ni cel y adj usted to his own
parti cul ar si tuati on.
When we turn front a one-man team to a larger one, the
character of the real i ty that i s espoused by the team changes.
I nstead of a rich definition of the si tuati on, real i ty may become
reduced to a thin party li ne, for we may expect the l i ne to
be unequally congenial to the members of the team. We may
expect ironic remarks by which a team-mate jokingly rej ects
the line while seri ousl y accepti ng it. On the. other hand,
there will be the new factor of loyalty to ones team and
one s team-mates to provide support for the teams line.
I t seems to be generally felt that publ i c disagreement
among the members of the team not only i ncapaci tates them
lor united action but al so embarrasses the real i ty sponsored
by the team. To protect thi s i mpression of reality, members
of the team may be required to postpone taking public stands
until the posi ti on of the team has been settl ed; and once
the teams stand has been taken, al l members may be obliged
to follow it. 1 An i l l ustrati on may be taken from the ci vil
servi ce:
Ac such commi ttees (Cabi net Committee meeti ngs) civil servants
share i u the di scussi ons and evprcss thei r vi ews freely, subj ect to
one qual i fi cati on : they will not di rectl y oppose thei t own Minister.
The possi bi l i ty of such open di sagreement very rarely ari ses, and
ou^ht never co 3ri se: in nine cases out of Len, the Mini ster and the
ci vi l servant who attends the cj nmi tcce with hi m have agreed before
hand what li ne is ro be taken, and in che tenth the ci vi l servant who
di sagrees with hi s Mi ni sters view on a parti cul ar point wil l stay
3wav from the meeti ng where it i s co be di scussed. 2
Another i l l ustrati on may he ci ted from a recent study
power structure of a smnlL ci ty:
I f one has been en^a^cd in community work on any scal e at al l ,
Si: is i mpressed over and over with whac might be termed the pri nci pl e
ol unani mi ty. \Mien pol icy i s fi nally formulated by the l eaders in
the community, chere i s an immediace demand on thei r part for stri ct
conformity of opinion. Oeci si ons are not usual ly arri ved at hutriedl y.
There i s ampl e time, parcicularly among (he top l eaders, lor di scussi on
of most proj ects before a state of action is set. Thi s is true for
community proj ects. When the time for di scussi on i s past and che
l i ne i s set, rhen unanimity i s cal l ed for. Pressures are put upon
1Ihe question of the amount of Sovi et sel f-cri ti ci sm* that i s all owed,
and from whom it i s al l owed, before che team's posi ti on is announced
i s not here at i ssue.
2 Pal e, op. ci t , p. 141.
53
di ssenters, and the proj ect i s under way. 1
However, unanimity i s often not the sol e requirement of
the team s proj ecti on. There seems to be a general feel i ng
that the most real and sol i d thi ngs in li fe are ones whose
descri pti on i ndi vi dual s i ndependently agree upon. We tend
to feel that if two parti ci pants in an event lec'ide to be as
honest as they can in recounti ng it, then the stands they
take will be acceptabl y similar even though they do not
consul t ode another prior to thei r presentati on. I ntention
to tell the truth presumably makes such prior consul tati on
unnecessary. And we al so tend to feel that if the two
i ndi vi dual s wish to tell a l i e or to sl ant the versi on of the
event which they offer, then not only will it be necessary
for them to consul t with one another in order, as we say,
' to get their story strai ght, but it will al so be necessary
to conceal the fact that an opportunity for such prior
consul tati on was avai l abl e to them. In other words, in stagi ng
a defini tion of the si tuati on, it may be necessary for the
several members of the team to be unanimous in the posi ti ons
they take and secreti ve about the fact that these posi ti ons
were noc i ndependentl y arrived at. (I nci dental l y, if the
members of the team are al so engaged in maintaining a show
of sel f-respect before one another, it may be necessary for
the members of the team to learn what the l ine i s to be, and
take it, without admitti ng to themsel ves and to one another
the extent to which cheir posi ti on i s not i ndependentl y arrived
at, but such problems carry us somewhat beyond the team-
performance as the basi c point of reference.)
I t should be noted that j ust as a team-mate ought to wait
1Floyd i i unter, Communit y Power St ructure (Chapel Hi l l : Uni versi ty of
Notch Carol i na Press, 1953) p. 181. See al so p. 118 and p. 212. Open
di sagreement in front of the audi ence creates, as we say, a fal se note.
I t may be suggested that l i teral fal se notes arc avoi ded tor qui te the
same reasons that fi gurati ve fal se notes are avoi ded; in both cases it
i s a matter of sustai ni ng a defi ni ti on of the si tuati on. Thi s may be
i l l ustrated from a bri ef book on the work probl ems of the professi onal
concert-nrti st accompani st, Gerald Moore, f h e Unashamed Accompani st
(New Y ork: Macmill an, 1944), p* 60:
* The nearest that she si nger and pi ani st can get to an i deal perform
ance i s to do cxactl y what the composer wants, yet someti mes rhe si nger
wi l l requi re hi s partner to do somethi ng whi ch i s in fl at contradi cti on
to the composer's marki ngs, l i e will want an accent where there shoul d
be none, he will make a f i rmal a where it i s not needed, he wll make
a ral l ent ando when it shoul d be a tempo', he wil l be f ort e when,he
shoul d be p i a n o: he may senti mental i ze when the mood shoul d be
nobi l ment e.
The l i st i s by no means exhausted. The si nger wil l swear with
hi s hand on hi s heart and tears in hi s eyes that he does and al ways
ai ms to do exactl y what the composer has wri tten. It i s very awkward.
I f he si ngs i t one way and the pi ani st pl ays it another way the resul t
i s chaoti c. Di scussi on may be of no avai l . Dut what i s an accompani st
to do ?
' At the performance he must be wit h the si nger, but afterwards l et
him erase the memory of it from hi s mind . . .'
54
for the official woH before taking his stan.l, so the official
word ought to be made avai l abl e to him so that he can play
hi s part on the team and feel a part of it. To withhold from
a teai i -mate information about the stand hi s team i s taking
i s to withhold his character from him, for without knowing
what stand he will be taki ng he may not be abl e to assert a
sel f to the audi ence. Thus, if a surgeon i s to operate on a
pati ent referred to him by another doctor, common courtesy
may obl i ge the surgeon to tel l the referri ng doctor when the
operation will be and, i f the referri ng doctor does not appear
at the operation, to tel ephone him the resul t of the operation.
By thus bei ng 'fi l l ed i n, the referri ng doctor can, more effect
i vel y than otherwise, present himself to the pati ent s kinsfolk
as someone who i s parti ci pati ng in the medical action. 1
I would l ike to add a further general fact about maintaining
the l i ne during a performance. When a member of the team
makes a mi stake in the presence of the audi ence, we often
find that the other team members must suppress their immediate
desi re to puni sh and instruct the offender until, that is, the
audi ence i s no l onger present. After al l, immediate correcti ve
sancti oni ng would often only di sturb the interacti on further
and, as previousl y suggested, make the audi ence privy to n
view that ought to be reserved for team-mates. Thus, tn
authori tarian organi zati ons, where a team of superordi nates
mai ntai ns a show of being right every time and of possessi ng
a uni ted front, there i s often a stri ct rule that one super
ordi nate must not show hosti l i ty or di srespect toward any
other superordi nate while in the presence of a member of the
subordi nate team. Army offi cers show consensus when before
enl i sted men, parents when before children, 2 managers when
before workers, nurses when before pati ents, 3 and the like.
Of course, when the subordi nates are absent, open, violent
1fn commenti ng on how some Chi nese merchants set the pri ce of i hei t
goods accordi ng to the appearance of the customer, Chester Holcombe,
The Real Chi naman (New Y ork: Dodd, Mead, 1895), p. 293, goes on to
say :
'One pecul i ar resul t of thi s study of a customer i s seen in the fact
that i f a person enters a store in Chi na, and, after exami ni ng several
arti cl es, asks the pri ce of any one of them, unl ess i t is posi ti vel y
known that he has spoken to but one cl erk, no answer will be made by
him to whom the questi on i s put until every other cl erk has been asked
i f he li as named a pri ce for the arti cl e in questi on io the gentl eman.
If, as very rarely happens, thi s important precauti on I s negl ected, the
sum named by di fferent cl erks wil l al most invari abl y be unl ike, thus
showing that they fail to agree in thei r esti mates of the customer.*
2 An i nteresti ng dramaturgi cal di ffi cul ty in the family i s that sex and
li neal sol i dari ty, 'which cross-cut conj ugal sol i dari ty, make it di ffi cul t
for husband and wife to 'back each other up in a show of authori ty
before chi l dren or a show of ei ther di stance or famili arity wi th extended
kin. As previ ousl y suggested, such cross-cutti ng l i nes of affi l i ati on
prevent the wi deni ng of structural cl eavages.
3Taxel , op. ei l . , pp. 53-54.
55
cri ti ci sm may and does occur. For example, in a recent study
of the teachi ng professi on, it was found that teachers felt that
i f they are to sustai n an i mpressi on of professi onal competence
and i nsti tuti onal authori ty, they must make sure that when
angry parents come to the school with compl ai nts, the princi pal
will support the posi ti on of hi s staff, at l east until the parents
ha/e left. 1 Similarly, teachers feel strongly chat their fellow-
teachers ought not to di sagree with or contradi ct them in front
of students. 'J ust l et another teacher rai se her eyebrow funny,
just so they (the chi l dren) know, and they dont miss a tiling,
and thei r respect for you goes right away. 2 Similarly, we
l earn that the medical professi on has a stri ct code of eti quette
whereby a consul tant in the presence of the pati ent and hi s
doctor i s careful never to say anythi ng which would embarrass
the impressi on of competence that the pati ents doctor i s
attempting to maintain. As Hughes suggests, 'T he
(professi onal ) etiquette i s a body of ri tual which grows up
informally to preserve, before the cl i ents, the common front
of the professi on. 3 And, of course, this kind of sol i dari ty
in the presence of subordi nates al so occurs when performers
are in the presence of superordi nates. For example, in a
recent study of the pol i ce we l eam that a patrol l i ng team of
two pol i cemen, who wi tness each others i l l egal and semi
i l l egal acts and who are in an excel l ent posi ti on to di scredi t
each others show of legal i ty before the judge, possess heroic
sol i dari ty and will sti ck by each others story no matter what
atroci ty it covers up or how l i ttl e chance there i s of anyone
bel i evi ng i t. 4
I t i s apparent that if performers are concerned with main
tai ni ng a l ine they will sel ect as team-mates those who
can be trusted to perform properly. Thus chi l dren of the
house are often excluded from performances given for guests
of a domesti c establ i shment because often cnil iren cannot
be trusted to 'behave* themsel ves, i .e., to refrain from acti ng
in a way i nconsi stent with the impr'ession that i s bei ng
fostered. 6 In fact, chi l dren must often be excl uded from
1Howard S. Becker, *The Teacher in the Authority System of the Publ i c
School ,' Journal o f Educat i onal Soci ol ogy, XXVI I, 134.
*!bi<(., from an i ntervi ew, p. 139.
3 E. C.Hughes, 'I nsti tuti ons,* New Out l i ne o f the Pri nci pl es o f Soci ol ogy,
ed. Al fred M.L ee (New York : Barnes and Nobl e 1946), p. 273-
**William Westley, 'T he Pol i ce' (Unpubl i shed Ph.D. di ssertati on, Depart
ment of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1952), pp. 187-196.
5I n so far as chi l dren are defi ned as 'non-persons* they have some
l i ccnce to commit gauche acts wi thout requi ri ng the audi ence to take
the expressi ve i mpl i cati ons of these acts too seri ousl y. However,
56
gossi p and from admi ssi ons on the par: of older members of
the family, si nce one can never he sure to whom ones children
will convey ones secrets, so that it will be only when the
chi l d arri ves at the age of di screti on that the voi ces of his
parents will cease to drop as he enters the room. Similarly,
those who are known to become i ntoxi cated when drink i s
avai l abl e and who become verbose or ' di ffi cult when chis
occurs consti tute a performance risk, as do those who are
sober but foolishly i ndi screet, and those who refuse to 'enter
into the spi ri t of the occasi on and help sustai n the impression
that the guests taci tl y uni te in maintaining to the host.
1 have suggested that in many i nteraction setti ngs some
of the parti ci pants co-operate together as a team or are in a
posi ti on where they are dependent upon thi s co-operation in
order to maintain a parti cul ar definition of the si tuati on. Now
when we study concrete soci al establ i shments we often find
that there will be a si gni fi cant sense in which all the remain
ing parti ci pants, in their several performances of response
to the team-show put on before them, will themsel ves con
sti tute a team. Since each team will be pl ayi ng through i ts
routi ne for the other, we may speak of dramatic i nteraction,
not dramatic acti on, and we can see thi s i nteraction not as
a medley of as many voi ces as there are parti ci pants but
rather as a kind of dialogue and interplay between two teams.
I do not know of any general reason why i nteraction in natural
setti ngs usually takes the form of two-team i nterplay, or i s
resol vabl e into thi s form, i nstead of i nvolvi ng a l arger number,
but empi ri cal l y thi s seems to be the case. Thus, in large
soci al establ i shments, where several different status grades
prevail, we find that for the durati on of any parti cular i nter
action, parti ci pants of many different statuses are typical ly
expected to al i gn themsel ves temporarily into two team group
i ngs. For example, a l i eutenant on an Army post will in on1,
si tuati on find himself aligned with al l the offi cers and opposed
to all enl i sted men; at other ti mes he will find hi msel f aligned
with junior offi cers, presenting with them a show for the
benefit of seni or offi cers present. There are, of course,
aspects of certai n i nteracti ons for which a two-team model
i s apparentl y not sui tabl e. I mportant el ements, for example,
of arbi trati on hearings seem to fit a three-team model, and
aspects of some competi tive and 'soci al si tuati ons suggest
a multi-team model. It should al so be made cl ear that whatever
the number of teams, there will be a sense in which the
whether treated as non-persons or not, chi l dren are in a posi ti on to
di scl ose cruci al secrets.
57
interacti on can be anal ysed in terms of the co-operati ve effort
of all parti ci pants to maintain a working consensus.
I f we treat an interacti on as a dialogue between two
teams, ic will someti mes be conveni ent to cal l one team the
performers and to call the other team the audi ence or the
observers, negl ecti ng momentarily that the audi ence, too,
will be presenti ng a team-performance. In some cases, as
when two one-person teams i nteract in a publ i c i nsti tuti on
or in the home of a mutual friend, it may be an arbitrary
choi ce as to which team to cal l the performer and which to
call the audi ence. In many important soci al si tuati ons,
however, the soci al setti ng in which the interacti on occurs
i s assembl ed and managed by one of the teams only, and
contri butes in a more inti mate way to the show thi s team
puts on than to thfe show put on in response by the other
team. A customer in a shop, a cl i enc in an office, a group
of guests in the home of thei r hoststhese persons put on a
performance and maintain a front, but the setti ng in which
they do thi s i s outsi de of cheir immediate control , bei ng an
i ntegral part of the presentati on made by those into whose
presence they have come. In such cases, it will often be
conveni ent co cal l the team which control s the setti ng the
performing team, and to call the other team the audi ence.
So, too, it will someti mes be.conveni ent to l abel as performer
the team which contri butes the most acti vi ty co the i nteraction,
or pl ays the more dramati cal l y prominent part in it, or sets
che pace and di recti on which both teams will follow in their
i nteracti ve di alogue.
The obvi ous point muse be stated chat if the team i s co
sustai n che impressi on chat ic i s fostering, then chere must
be some assurance that no individual will be al lowed to
join boch team and audi ence. Thus, for example, if the propri
etor of a small American l adi es-ready-to-wear i s to put a
dress on sal e and tell hi s customers that it i s marked down
because of soi l age, or end of the season, or l ast of a line,
etc., and conceal from her that ic i s really marked down
because it wont sel l , or i s a bad colour,- or styl e, and if he
i s ro impress her by calking about a buying office in New
York which he does not have or an adj ustment manager who
i s real l y a sal esgi rl , then he must make sure chac if he finds
i t necessary co hire an extra girl for part-time work on Saturday
he does not hire one trom che neighbourhood who has been a
customer and who will soon be one again. 1
I t i s often fel t that control of the setti ng i s an advantage
1These I l l ustrati ons are taken from George Rosenbaum, 'An Anal ysi s of
Personal i zati on in Neighbourhood Apparel Retai l i ng (Unpubl i shed M. A.
thesi s, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1953), pp. 86-87-
58
during i nteracti on. la a narrow sense, thi s control al lows a
team to introduce strategi c devi ces for determining the inform
ation the audi ence i s abl e to acquire. Thus, if J octors are
to prevenc cancer pati ents from learning the identi ty of their
di sease, it will be useful to scatter the cancer pati ents
throughout the hospi tal so that they will not be abl e to learn
from the i denti ty of their ward the identi ty of thei r disorder.
(The hospi tal staff, i nci dental l y, may be forced to spend
more time walking corridors and moving equipment because
of thi s stagi ng strategy than would otherwi se be necessary.)
Similarly, the master barber who regul ates the flow of appoi nt
ments by means of a schedul i ng took open to hi s public i s
in a position to protect hi s coffee-break by fi lli ng a properly-
timed appoi ntment with a dummy code name. A prospecti ve
customer can then see for himself that it will not be possi bl e
for him to have an appoi ntment at that ti me. 1 So, too, if any
member of a hotel staff i s suspi ci ous of the i ntenti ons or
character of a guest coupl e, a secret signal can be given to
the bellboy to 'throw the l atch.1
Thi s i s si mpl y a devi ce which makes it easi er for empl oyees to
keep an eye on suspected parti es.
After rooming the coupl e, the bel lman, in cl osi ng the door behind
him, pushes a ti ny button on the i nsi J c of the knob handle. Thi s
turns a l i ttl e tumbl er i nsi de the l ock and makes a bl ack stri pe show
agai nst the ci rcul ar center of the l atch on the outsi de. U*s i nconspi c
uous enough so as not to be noti ced by the guest, but mai ds, patrol s,
wai ters and bell men are al l trai ned to watch for them . . . and to
report any loud conversati ons or unusual occurrences vyhich take
pl ace behi nd them. 2
More broadly, control of the setti ng may give the control l
ing team a sense of securi ty. As one studenc suggests-
concerning the pharmaci st-doctor rel ati on:
The score i s another factot. The doctor often comcs to the
pharmaci st's store for medi ci ne, for bi ts of i nformation, fot conversati on.
In these conversati ons the man behind the counter has approximatel y
the same advantage that a standi ng speaker has ovet a si tti ng
audi ence ^
i An i nteresti ng use of setti ng and props is reported in a newspaper arti cl e
on soroti ti es, J oan Beck, *thats \fcrong with Sorority Rushi ng? Chi cago
Tri bune Magazi ne, J anuary 10, 1954, pp. 20-21, where a descri pti on is
given of how the sorori ty si sters, who gi ve a tea for prospecti ve members,
are abl e to sort out good prospects ftom bad without gi vi ng the i mpression
that guests of the house are bei ng treated di fferenti al l y:
*u Even with recommends, i t's hard to remember 967 gi rl s by j ust
meeti ng them for a few mi nutes in a recei vi ng l i ne, admi tted Carol .
MSo we've worked out thi s gimmick to separate the good ones from the
dull characters. Ae have three trays for the rushees' cal l i ng cards-
one fot gol den gi rl s, one for l ook~agai ns, one for pots.
'"T he acti ve who i s tal ki ng wi th the rushee at the party i s supposed
to escort her subtl y to the appropri ate tray when she's ready to l rav^
her card, Carol conti nued. "The rushees never figure out what were
doing !-1
2Dev Col l ans, with Stewart Sterli ng, / A House Det ect i ve (New Y ork:
Dutton, 1954), p. 56. El l i psi s dots the author's.
^ei nl ei n, op. c i t . , p. 105.
59
One thinj; chat contri butes co thi s feel i ng of che i ndependence of
the pharmaci st's medi cal practi ce i s hi s store. The store i s, in a
sense, a part of the pharmaci st- J ust as Neptune i s pi ctured as
ri si ng from the sea, whi l e at the same time bei ng che sea; so in the
pharmaceuti cal ethos there is a vi si on of a dignifi ed pharmaci st
tirwering above shel ves and counters of bottl es auu equi pment, whi l e
at the same time bei ng part of thoi r essence. 1
A pri ce must, of course, be pai d for che privilege of giving
a performance on one s home ground; one has che opportunicy
of conveying informati on abouc onesel f through sceni c means
but no opportunity of conceal i ng the kinds of faccs chac are
conveyed by scenery.
When we examine a ceam-performance, we often find that
someone i s given che right to di rect and control the progress
of the dramatic acti on. The equerry i n court establ i shments
i s an example. Sometimes the indivi dual who dominates the
show in thi s way and i s, in a sense, the di rector of it, pl ays
an actual part in the performance he di rects. In general, the
members of the team will differ in the ways and the degree
to which they are al l owed co direcc che performance. Ic may
be noted, i nci dental l y, that, dramaturgically speaki ng,. the
structural si mi l ari ti es of apparentl y di verse routines are
ni cel y refl ected in the l i ke-mi ndedness that ari ses in di rectors
everywhere. Whether ic i s a funeral, a wedding, a bridge
party, a one-day sal e, a hanging, or a pi cni c, che di rector
may tend to see the performance in terms of whether or not
i t went 'smoothl y, 'ef f ecti vel y,1 and 'wi thout a hi tch, and
1Weinlein, op. c i t . , pp. 105-106. A ni ce l i terary i l l ustrati on of the ei fccts
of bei ng robbed of control over ones own setri ng i gi ven in l*ranz
Kafka, The Tri al (Ne-* Y ork: KjTopf, 1948), pp. 14-15, where K .s meeti ng
with the authori ti es' in hi s own boarding house i s descri bed:
VShen he was fully dressed he had to walk, with Uillem trendi ng
nn hi s heel s, through the next room, which was now empty, into the
adj oi ni ng one, whose doubl e doors were flung open. This room, ns K.
knew quite wel l , had tecencl y l>ecn taken by a Fraul ci n Uursrner, a
typi st, who went very earl y to work, came home lace, and with whom he
hud exchanged l i ttl e more dian few words in passi ng. Mow the ni ght-
tabl e besi de her bed had been pushed into die mi ddl e of the floor to
serve a desk, and the I nspector was si tti ng behi nd i t. lie had crosscd
hi s l egs, and one arm was resti ng on the back of the chai r.
. . . . "J oseph K. ? asked the i nspector, perhaps merely to draw
K-s di stracted gl ance upon hi msel f. K. nodded. "Y ou are presumabl y
very surpri sed at the events of thi s morni ng?" asked che i nspector,
wi th both hands rearrangi ng the few thi ngs that lay on the oi gl tt-tabl e,
a candl e and a matchbox, a book and a pi ncushi on, as if they were obj ects
whi ch he requi red for hi s i nterrogati on. Certai nl y, n said K., and he
was fi l l ed wi th pl easure at havi ng encountered a sensi bl e man at l asr,
wi th whom he coul d di scuss the matter. * Certai nl y, I am surpri sed,
but I am by rro means very surpri sed. "Not very surpri sed? asked
the i nspector, setti ng the candl e in the mi ddl e of the tabl e and dicn
grouping the other thi ngs around i t. Perhaps you mi sunderstand me,*
K. hastened ro add. *[ mean"here K. stopped and looked round him
for a chai r" I suppose 1 may si t down ? " he ask"d. " l ts not usual ,
answered the I nspector.'
60
whether or not all possi bl e di srupti ve conti ngenci es were
prepared for in advance.
tn many performances two important functi ons must be
fulfilled, and if the team has a director he will often be given
the speci al duty of fulfi lling these functi ons.
Fi rst, the di rector may be given the speci al duty of bring
ing baclc into l ine any member of the team whose performance
becomes unsui tabl e. Soothing and sancti oni ng are the
correcti ve processes ordinarily involved. The role of the
basebal l umpire in sustai ni ng a parti cul ar kind of real i ty
for the fans may be taken as an i l l ustrati on.
All umpi res i nsi st that pl ayers keep themsel ves under control , and
refrai n from gescures that refl ect concempt for thei r deci si ons. 1
I certai nl y had blown off my share of steam as a pl ayer, and I
knew there had to be a safety val ve for rel ease of the terri fi c tensi on.
As nn umpire 1 could sympathi ze with the pl ayers. Gut as an umpire
I had to deci de how for I coul d l et a pl ayer go wi thout del ayi ng the
r.Amc and without permi tti ng him to i nsul t, assaul t, or ri di cul e me
and bel i ttl e the game. Handl i ng trouble and mea on the fi eld was
j s important as cal l i ng them ti ghtand more di ffi cul t.
I t i s easy for any umpire to thumb a man out of the game. I t i s
often a much more di ffi cul t job to keep him in the gameto understand
and anti ci pate hi s compl ai nt so that a nasty rhubarb cannot devel op. 2
I do not tol erate cl owni ng on the field, and nei ther wi ll any other
umpire. Comedi ans bel ong on the stage, or on tel evi si on not in
basebal l . A travesty or burl esque of the game can only cheapen it,
and al so hol d the umpire up to scorn- for al l owi ng such a sketch to
take pl ace. Thats why you wi l l see the funnymen and wi se guys
chased as soon as they begi n thei r routine. 3
Often, of course, the di rector will not so much have to smother
improper affect as he will have to sti mul ate a show of proper
affecti ve invol vement; 'sparki ng the show i s the phrase
sometimes employed for thi s cask in Rotarian ci rcl es.
Secondl y, the di rector may be given the speci al duty of
al l ocati ng the parts in the performance and the personal front
that i s employed in each part, for each establ i shment may
be seen as a pl ace with a number of characters to di spose
of to prospecti ve performers and as an assembl age of sign
equipment or ceremonial paraphernal i a to be al l ocated.
I t i s apparent that i f the di rector corrects for improper
appearances and al l ocates major and minor prerogati ves,
chen other members of the ream (who are l i kel y to be concerned
with the show they can put on for one another as well as
with the show they can col l ecti vel y stage for the audi ence)
will have an atti tude toward the di rector that they do not
have toward thei r other team-mates. Further, i f the audi ence
1Pi nel l i , op. ci t . , p. HI .
2 Ibi d., p. 131.
3 I b i d , p. 139.
61
appreci ates that the performance has a J irector, they are
l i kel y to hold him more responsi bl e chan other performers
for the success of the performance. The di rector i s likely
to respond to thi s responsi bi l i ty by making dramaturgical
demands on the performance that chey might not make upon
themsel ves. This may add to the estrangement they may
al ready feel from him. A director, hence, starti ng as a member
of the team, may find himself slowly edged into a marginal
role between audi ence and performers, hal f in and hal f out of
both camps, a kind of go-between without the protection that
go-betweens usual l y have. The factory foreman has been
a recentl y di scussed example. 1
When we study a routine which requi tes a team of several
performers for i ts presentati on, we someti mes find that one
member of the team i s made the star, l ead, or centre of
attenti on. We may see an extreme example of thi s in tradi
ti onal court l i fe, where a room full of court attendants will
be arranged in the manner of a livi ng tabl eau, s d that the
eye, starti ng from any point in the room will be led to the
royal centre of attenti on. The royal star of the performance
may al so be dressed more spectacul arl y and seated higher
than anyone el se present. An even more spectacul ar centring
of attention may be found in the dance arrangements of large
musi cal comedi es, in which forty or fifty dancers are made
to prostrate themsel ves around the herpine. I n general, we
find that those who help present a team-performance differ
in the degree of dramatic dominance given each of them and
that one team-routine di ffers from another in the extent to
which di fferenti al s in dominance are given i ts members.
The concepti on of dramatic and di recti ve dominance,
as contrasti ng types of power in a performance, can be
appl ied, mutatis mutandis, to an i nteracti on as a whole,
where it will be possi bl e to point out which of the two teams
lias more of which of the two types of power anJ which per
formers, taki ng the parti ci pants of both teams all together,
l ead in these two regards.
Frequentl y, of course, we may expect that the performer
or team which has one kind of dominance i s l ikely al so to
to have the other, but thi s i s by no means al ways the case.
For example, during the showing oi the body at a funeral
home, usual l y the soci al setti ng and all parti ci pants, in
1See, for exampl e, Donald E. Wray, 'Margi nal Men of I ndustry: The
Foreman,' Ameri can Journal of Soci ol ogy, LIV, pp. 298-301, and Fri tz
Koethl i sberger, 'T he toreman : Master and Vi cti m of Double Tal k,'
Harvard Bu s i ne s s Revi ew, XXI II , pp. 285-294. The rol e of go-between
i s consi dered l ater.
62
el udi ng both the bereaved team and the establ i shments
team, will be arranged so as to express their feel i ngs for
and ti es with the deceased; he will be the centre of the show
and the dramaticall y dominant parti ci pant in it. However,
si nce the bereaved are i nexperi enced and grief-laden, and
si nce the star of the show must stay in character as someone
who i s in a deep sl eep, the undertaker hi msel f will direct
the show, although he may all the while be sel f-effaci ng in
the presence of the corpse or be in another room of the estab
li shment getti ng ready for another showing.
I t should be made cl ear that dramatic and directi ve domin
ance are dramaturgical terms and that performers who enjoy
such dominance may not have other types of power and
authority. I t i s common knowledge that performers who have
posi ti ons of vi si bl e l eadershi p are often merely figureheads,
sel ected as a compromise, or as a way of neutral i zi ng a
potenti al l y threateni ng position, or as a way of strategi cal l y
conceal i ng the power behind the front and hence the power
behi nd the power behind the front. So al so, whenever in
experi enced or temporary incumbents are given formal authority
over experi enced subordi nates, we often find that the formally
empowered person i s bribed with a part that has dramatic
dominance whi l e the subordi nates tend to di rect the show. 1
Thus it has often been sai d about the Bri ti sh I nfantry in
World War I that experienced worki ng-cl ass sergeants managed
the del i cate task of covertly teachi ng thei r new l i eutenants
to take a dramati cal l y expressi ve role at the head of the
platoon and to die quickly in a prominent dramatic position,
as befi ts Publ i c School men. The sergeants themsel ves took
thei r modest pl ace at the rear of the platoon and tended to
live to trai n sti l l other l i eutenants.
Dramatic and di recti ve dominance have been mentioned
as two di mensi ons al ong which each pl ace on a team can
vary. By changi ng the point of reference a l i ttl e, we can
discern a third mode of variation.
In general, those who parti ci pate in the acti vi ty that occurs
in a soci al establ i shment become members of a team when
they co-operate together to present their acti vi ty in a parti c
ul ar light. However, in taking on the role of a performer, the
indivi dual need not cease to devote some of his effort to
non-dramaturgical concerns, that i s, to the activi ty i tsel f
of which the performance offers an acceptabl e dramatization.
' See David Ri esman, in col l aborati on with Reuel Denny and Nathan
Gl aser, The Lonel y Crowd (New Haven: Ynle Uni versi ty Press, 1950),
*The Avocacional Counsel ors,' pp. 363-367-
63
We may expect, then, that the i ndi vi dual s who perform on a
parti cul ar team will differ among themsel ves in the way they
apporti on their time between mere acti vi ty an I mere per
formance. At one extreme we find i ndi vi dual s who rarely
appear before the audi ence and are l i ttl e concerned with
appearances. At the other extreme we find what are someti mes
ca'l ed 'purel y ceremonial rol es, whose performers will be
concerned with the appearance that they make, and concerned
with l i ttl e el se. For example, the presi dent and the research
director of a nati onal union may both spend time in the main
offi ce of the union headquarters, appeari ng sui tabl y dressed
and sui tabl y spoken in order to give the union a front of
respectabi l i ty. However we may find that the presi dent al so
engages in making many important deci si ons whereas the
research di rector may have l i ttl e to do except be present in
body as part of the presi dents reti nue. Union offi ci al s
concei ve of such purely ceremoni al rol es as part of 'wi ndow-
dressi ng.' 1 I t may be remarked that an individual with a
purely ceremonial role need not have a dramati cal l y dominant
one.
ammaro
A team, then, may be defined as a set of i ndi vi dual s
whose inti mate co-operation i s required i f n given projected
defi ni ti on of the si tuati on is to be mai ntai ned. A team i s a
grouping, but i t i s a grouping not in relation to a soci al
structure or soci al organi zati on but rather in rel ati on to an
i nteracti on or seri es of i nteracti ons in which the rel evant
defini tion of the si tuati on i s maintained.
We have seen, and will see further, that if n performance
i s to be effecti ve it will be likely that the extent and character
of the co-operation that makes thi s possi bl e will be conceal ed
and kept secret. A team, then, has something ol the character
of a secret soci ety. Thfe audi ence may appreci ate, of course,
that all the members of the team are held together by a bond
no member of the audi ence shares. Thus, for example, when
customers enter a servi ce establ i shment, they cl earl y
appreci ate that al l empl oyees are different from customers
by virtue of thi s official role. However, the i ndi vi dual s who
'See Harold L. Wilensky, 'T he Staff "Expert:" A Study of the I ntel l i gence
Functi on in American Trade Uni ons' (Unpubl i shed Ph.D. di ssertati on.
Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1953), chap. iv. in
addi ti on to hi s thesi s materi al , 1 am i ndebted Mr Wilensky for many
suggesti ons.
64
are on the staff of an establ i shment are not members of a
team by virtue of staff status, but only by virtue of the co
operation which they maintain in order to sustai n a given
defini tion of the si tuati on. No effort may be made in many
cases to conceal who i s on the staff; but they form a secret
soci cty, a team, in so far as a secret i s kept as to how they
are co-operating together to maintain a parti cul ar definition
of the si tuati on. Teams may be created by i ndi vi dual s to
ai d the group they are members of, but in ai di ng themsel ves
and thei r group in thi s dramaturgical way, they are acti ng
as a team, not a group. Thus a team, as used herei n, i s the
kind of secret soci ety whose members may be known by non-
inembers to consti tute a soci ety, even an excl usi ve one, but
the soci ety these i ndi vi dual s are known to consti tute i s not
the one they consti tute by virtue of acti ng as a team.
65
CHA PT ER HI
REGIONS AND REGION BEHAVIOUR
A region may be defined as any pl ace that i s bounded
to some degree by barri ers to perception. Regi ons vary,
of course, in the degree to which they are bounded and
accordi ng to the media of communication in which the barriers
to perception occur. Thus thick gl ass panel s, such as are
found in broadcasti ng control rooms, can i sol ate a region
aural l y but not vi sual l y, while an offi ce bounded by beaver-
board parti ti ons i s cl osed off in the opposi te way.
In our Anglo-American soci etya rel ati vel y indoor one
when a performance i s given i t i s usual l y. given in a highly
bounded region, to which boundari es with respect to time
are often added. The impressi on and understandi ng fostered
by the performance will then tend, as it were, to saturate
the region and time span, so that any i ndivi dual l ocated in
thi s space-ti me manifold will be in a position to observe the
performance and be guided by the defini tion of the si tuati on
which the performance fosters. 1
Often a performance will involve only one focus of visual
attenti on on the part of performer and audi ence, as, for
example, when a pol i ti cal speech i s presented in a hall or
when a pati ent i s tal ki ng to a doctor in the l atters consul ti ng-
room. However many performances involve, as consti tuent
parts, seperate knots or cl usters of verbal i nteracti on. Thus
a cocktai l party typi cal l y i nvol ves several conversati onal
sub-groups which constantl y shift in si ze and membership.
So, too, the show maintained on the floor of a shop typi cal l y
invol ves several foci of verbal i nteraction, each composed
of attendant-customer pai rs.
Given a parti cul ar performance as a point of reference,
it will someti mes be conveni ent to use the term 'front regi on
to refer to the pl ?ce where the performance i s given. The
fixed sign-equi pment in such a pl ace has al ready been referred
to as that part of front cal l ed 'setti ng.' We will have to
see that some aspects of a performance seem to be played
not to the audi ence but to the front region.
1Under the term 'behavi oural setti ng, Wright and Barker, in a research
methodol ogy report, gi ve a very cl ear statement of the senses in which
expectati ons regarding conduct come to be associ ated wi th parti cul ar
pl aces. See Herbett F. Wright and Roger G. Barker, Met hods in Psycho
l ogi cal Ecol ogy (Topeka: K ansas: Rays Pri nti ng Servi ce, 1950).
66
The performance of an indivi dual in a front region may be
seen as an effort to gi ve the appearance that hi s activity
in the region mai ntai ns and embodies certain standards.
These standards seem to fall into two broad groupings. One
grouping has to do with the way in which the performer treats
the audi ence while engaged in tall: with them or in gestural
i nterchanges that are a substi tute for talk. These standards
are sometimes referred to as matters of pol i teness. The other
group of standards has to do with the way in which the per
former comports himself while in visual or aural range of the
audi ence but not necessari l y engaged in talk with them.
I shal l use the term decorum to refer to thi s second group
of standards, although some excuses and some qual i fi cati ons
will have to be added to j ustify the usage.
Uhen we look at the requirements of decorum in a region,
requirements of the kind not rel ated to the handling of others
in conversati on, we tend to divide these again into two sub
groupings, moral and instrumental. Moral requirements are
ends in themsel ves and presumably refer to rules regarding
non-interference and non-molestation of others, rul es re
garding sexual propriety, rul es regarding respect for sacred
pl aces, etc. I nstrumental requirements are not ends in them
sel ves and presumably refer to duti es such as an employer
might demand of his employe.escare of property, maintenance
of work l evel s, etc. It may be felt chat the term decorum
ought to cover only the moral standards and that another
term should be used to cover the instrumental ones. When
we examine the order that i s maintained in a given region,
however, we find that these two kinds of demands, moral
and instrumental, seem to affect in much the same way the
individual who must answer to them, and that both moral and
i nstrumental grounds or rati onal i zati on are put forth as
j usti fi cati ons for most standards that must be maintained.
Providi ng the standard i s maintained by sancti ons and by
a sancti oner of some kind, it will often be of small moment
to the performer whether the standard i s j ustifi ed chi efly
on instrumental grounds or moral ones, and whether he i s
asked to i ncorporate the standard.
It may be noted that the part of personal front we have
cal l ed 'manner will be important in regard to pol i teness
and that the part we have cal l ed appearance will be im
portant in regard to decorum. It may al so be noted that
while decorous behaviour may take the form of showing respect
for the region and setti ng one fi nds onesel f in, thi s show of
respect may, of course, be motivated by a desi re to impress
67
the audi ence favourably, or avoi d sancti ons, etc. Fi nal l y,
it should be noted that the requirements of decorum are more
pervasi ve ecol ogi cal l y than are the requirements of pol i teness.
An audi ence can subj ect an enti re front region to a continuous
i nspecti on as regards decorum, but while the audi ence i s
so engaged, none or only a few of the performers may be
obliged to tal k to the audi ence and hence to demonstrate
pol i teness.
In the study of soci al establ i shments it is important to
descri be the standards of decorum; it is diffi cult to do so
because informants and students tend to take many of these
standards for granted not real i zi ng they have done so until
an acci dent, or cri si s, or pecul i ar ci rcumstance occurs. VCe
know, for example, that di fferent busi ness offi ces have
different standards as regards informal chatter among cl erks,
f'Ut it i s only when we happen to study an office that has
a si zeabl e number of foreign refugee empl oyees that we
suddenly appreci ate that permi ssi on to engage in informal
talk may not consti tute permi ssi on to engage in informal
talk in a foreign language. 1
We are accustomed to assumi ng that the rul es of decorum
that prevail in sacred establ i shments, such as churches, will
be much different from the ones that prevail in everyday pl aces
of work. We ought not to assume from thi s that die standards
in sacred pl aces are more numerous and more smct than those
we find in work establ i shments. While in church, a woman
may be permi tted to si t, daydream, and even doze; as a
sal eswoman on the floor of a dress shop, she may be required
to stand, keep al ert, refrain from chewing gum, keep a fixed
smi l e on her face even when not tal ki ng to anybody and
wear cl othes she can ill afford.
One form of decorum that has been studi ed in soci al
establ i shments i s what i s cal l ed make-work. It i s under
stood in many establ i shments that not only will workers be
required to produce a certai n amount after a certai n length
of time but al so that they will be ready, when cal l ed upon,
to give the i mpression that they are working hard at the
moment. Of a shipyard we learn the following:
I t was amusing to watch the sudden transformation whenever
word KOt round that the foreman was on the hull or in the shop or
that a ftont-offi ce superi ntendent was coming by. J uarcermen and
l cadermen would rush to thei r groups of workers and sti r them to
obvi uus acti vi ty. l )on\ l et him catch you si tti ng down, was the
uni versal admonition, and where no work exi sted a pipe was busi l y
bent and threaded, or a bolt which was al ready firmly in pl ace was sub-
1See Gross, op. ci t . , p. 186.
68
j eneJ to further and unnecessary ti ghteni ng. Thi s * as the formal
tribute invari abl y attendi ng a vi si tati on by rhe boss, und i ts conventi ons
were as fami li ar to both si des as i hose surroundi ng a fi ve-star general 's
i nspecti on. To have negl ected any detai l of rhe fal se and empty sh'*>*-
would have been i nterpreted as a mark- of si ngul ar di srespect. 1
Similarly, of o hospital ward we l earn:
The observer was told very expl i ci tl y by other attendants on hi s first
day of work on the wards not to get caught stri ki ng a pati ent i to
appear busy when tlie supervi sor makes her rounds, and not to speak
to her unl ess fi rst spoken to. (c was noted that some attendants
watch for her approach and warn the other attendants so that no one
will gct c:iuhr doing undesi rabl e arts. Some attendants will save
work for when the supervi sor i s present so they will be busy and
will not be #i vcn addi ti onal tasks. In most attendants the change
i s not so obvi ous, dependi ng l argel y on the individual atteti dant,
rhe supervi sor, and the ward si tuati on. I fowevet, with nearly alt
attendants there i s some change in behavi our when an offi ci al , such
as a supervi sor, i s presenr. There i s no open flouting of the rul es
and regul ati ons................... ^
From a consi derati on of make-work it is only a step to con
si derati on of other standards of work acti vi ty for which
appearances must be maintained, such as pace, personal
i nterest, economy, accuracy, etc. 3 And from a consideration
of work standards in general it i s only a step to consideration
of other major aspects of decorum, instrumental and moral,
in work pl aces, such as: mode of dress; permi ssi bl e sound
l evel s; proscri bed di versi ons, i ndul gences, and affecti ve
expressi ons; etc.
I t was .suggested earl i er that when ones acti vi ty occurs
in the presence of other persons, some aspects of the activi ty
are expressi vel y accentuated and other aspects, which mi.tjht
di scredi t the fostered i mpressi on, are suppressed. It i s dear
that accentuated facts make thei r appearance in what we
have cal l ed a front regi on; it should be j ust as cl ear that
there may be another regiona back region or backstage
where the suppressed facts make an appearance.
A back region or backstage may be defined as a pl ace,
rel ati ve to a given performance, where the i mpression fostered
by the performance i s knowingly contradicted as a matter of
course. There are, of course, many characteri sti c functi ons
of such pl aces. It i s here that the capaci ty of a performance
to express something beyond i tsel f may be pai nstaki ngl y
fabri cated; i t i s here that i l l usi ons and i mpressi ons are
openl y constructed. Here grades of ceremonial equipment,
such as different types of liquor or cl othes, can be hidden
1Katheri ne Archibal d, Wartime Shi pyard (Berkeley and Los Angel es:
Uni versi ty of Cal i fornia Press, 1947), p. 159-
2 Willoughby, op. ci t . , p. 4 3.
^An anal ysi s of some major work standards may be found in Gross, op. c i l , t
from which the above exampl es of such standards are taken.
69
so that the audi ence will not be abl e to see the treatment
accorded them in comparison with the treatment that could
have been accorded them. Here devi ces such as the tel ephone
are sequestered so that users will be abl e to use them
'pri vatel y. Here costumes and other parts of personal front
may be adj usted and scruti ni zed for fl aws. Here the team
can run through i ts performance, checki ng for offending ex
pressi ons when no one i s present to be affronted by them;
here poor members of the team, who are expressi vel y inept,
can be school ed or dropped from the performance. Here the
performer can rel ax; he can drop hi s front, forgo speaki ng hi s
l i nes, and step out of character. Simone de Beauvoi r provides
a rather vivid pi cture of thi s backstage acti vi ty in descri bi ng
si tuati ons from which the male audi ence i s absent.
What gi ves val ue to such rel ati ons among women i s rhe truthful ness
they imply. Confronting man woman i s al ways pl ay-acti ng; she l i es
when she makes bel i eve that she accepts her status as the i nessenti al
other, she l i es when she presents to him an imaginary personage
through mimicry, costumery, studi ed phrases. These hi stri oni cs
requi re a constant tensi on: when with her husband, or with her lover,
every woman is more or l ess consci ous of the thought: 'I am not being
myself^* the mal e world i s harsh, sharp edged, i ts voi ces arc too
resounatng, the l i ghts ate too crude, the contacrs rough. With other
women, a woman i s behi nd the scenes; she i s pol i shi ng her equi pment,
but not in battl e; she i s getti ng her costume together, preparing her
make-up, l ayi ng out her tacti cs; she i s li ngering in dressi ng-gown and
sl i ppers i n the wi ngs before maki ng her entrance on the stage; she
l i kes thi s warm, easy, rel axed atmosphere . . . .
For some women thi s warm and fri vol ous i nti macy i s dearer than
the seri ous pomp of rel ati ons with men. 1
Very commonly the back region of a performance i s l ocated
at one end of the place where the performance i s presented,
bei ng cut off from it by a parti ti on and guarded passageway.
By havi ng the front and back regions adj acent in thi s way,
a performer out in front can recei ve backstage assi stance
while the performance i s in progress and can interrupt his
performance momentaril y for brief peri ods of relaxati on. In
general , of course, the back region will be the pl ace where
the performer can rel i abl y expect that no member of the
audi ence will intrude.
Si nce the vital secrets of a show are vi si bl e backstage
and si nce performers behave out of character while there,
it i s natural to expect that the passage from the front region
to the back region will be kept cl osed to members of the
audi ence or that the enti re back region will be kept hidden
from them. Thi s i s a widel y practi sed techni que of impression
management, of which some i l l ustrati ons and i mpl i cati ons
are given below.
Fi rst, we often find that control of backstage pl ays a
si gni fi cant role in the process of 'work control whereby
l de Beauvoi r, op. c i L, p. 54 J .
70
i ndi vi dual s attempt to buffer themsel ves from the determin
i sti c demands that surround them. I f a factory worker i s to
succeed in giving the appearance of working hard all day,
then he must have a safe pl ace to hi de the jig that enabl es
him to turn out a days work with l ess than a full days effort. 1
I f the bereaved are to be given the i l l usi on that the dead
one i s real l y in a deep and tranquil sl eep, then the undertaker
must be abl e to keep the bereaved from the workroom where
the corpses are drained, stuffed, and pai nted in preparation
for thei r final performance.2 In many servi ce trades, the
customer i s asked to l eave the thing that needs servi ce
and to go away so that the tradesman can work in private.
When the customer returns for hi s automobi l eor watch, or
trousers, or wi rel essit i s presented to him in good working
order, an order that i nci dental l y conceal s the amount and
kind of work that had to be done, the number of mi stakes
that were fi rst made before getti ng it fixed, and other detai l s
the cl i ent would have to know before being abl e to judge
the reasonabl eness of the fee that i s asked of him.
Servi ce personnel so commonly take for granted the right
to keep the audi ence away from the back regi on that attention
i s drawn more to cases where thi s common strategy cannot
be appl i ed than to cases where it can. For example, the
American filli ng stati on manager has numerous troubles in
thi s regard. 3 If a repai r i s needed, customers often refuse to
l eave their automobile overnight or al l day, in trust of the
establ i shment, as they would do had they taken their auto
mobil e to a garage, Further, when the mechanic makes repai rs
and adj ustments, customers often feel they have the right to
watch him as he does hi s work. I f an ill usi onary servi ce i s
to be rendered and charged for, i t must, therefore,- be rendered
before the very person who i s to be taken in by it. Customers,
in fact, not only disregard the right of the stati on personnel
to thei r own back region but often al so define the whole
stati on as a kind of open city for males, -a pl ace where an
individual runs the risk of getting hi s suit dirty and therefore
1See Orvi s Col l i ns, Melvill e Dal ton, and Donald Koy, *Restri cti on of
Output and Soci al Cl eavage in I ndustry,' Applied Anthropol ogy (now
Human Organizat i on), I V, pp. 1-1*1, esp. p. 9.
2Mr. l i abcnstei n has suggested tn seminar that in some states the under
taker has a l egal right to prevent rel ati ves of the deceased from enteri ng
the workroom where the corpse i s in preparation. Presumabl y the
.sight of what has to be done to the dead to make them look attracti ve
would be roo great a shock for non-professi onal s and especi al l y for
ki nsfol k ol tin* deceased. Mr. Habenstei n al so suggests that kinsfork
may want to be kept from the undertaker's workroom because of their
own fear of i hei r own morbid curi osi ty.
^The statements which follow are taken from a study by Soci al Research
I nc. of two hundred smal l -busi ness managers.
71
has the right to demand full backstage pri vi l eges. Male
motori sts will saunter in, tip back their hats, spi t, swear,
and ask for free servi ce or free travel advi ce. They will
barge in to make fami liar use of the toi l et, the stati ons tools,
or the offi ce tel ephone; and in order to avoi d traffic l i ghts,
motori sts will cut right across the stati on driveway, obl i vi ous
to the managers proprietary rights.
The study of the i sl and hotel previ ousl y ci ted provi des
another exampl e of the problems workers face when they
have i nsuffi ci ent control of thei r backstage. Within the hotel
ki tchen, where the guests food was prepared and where the
staff ate and spent thei r day, crofters cul ture tended to
prevai l , i nvolvi ng a characteri sti c pattern of cl othing, food
habi ts, tabl e manners, l anguage, employer-empl oyee rel ati ons,
cl eanl i ness standards, etc. Thi s cul ture was felt to be
di fferent from, and lower in esteem than, Bri ti sh mi ddl e-cl ass
cul ture, which tended to prevail in the dini ng room and other
pl aces in the hotel . The. doors l eadi ng from the kitchen to
the other parts of the hotel were a constant sore spot in the
organi zati on of work. The mai ds wanted to keep the doors
open to make i t easi er to carry food trays back and forth, to
gather information about whether guests were ready or not for
the servi ce which was to be performed for them, and to retai n
as much contact as possi bl e with the persons they had come
to work to learn about. Si nce the mai ds pl ayed a servant role
before the guests, they, felt they did not have too much to
l ose by being observed in thei r own mil ieu by guests who
gl anced into the ki tchen when passi ng the open doors. The
managers, on the other hand, wanted to keep the door cl osed
so that the mi ddl e-cl ass role imputed to them by the guests
would not be di scredi ted by a di scl osure of thei r crofter habi ts.
Hardly a day passed when these doors were not angril y banged
shut and angril y banged open. A kick-door of the kind modern
restaurants use would have provided a parti al solution for
the stagi ng problem. A small gl ass window in the doors
that could act as a peephol ea stage devi ce used by many
small pl aces of busi nesswould al so have been helpful.
Another i nteresti ng example of backstage di ffi cul ti es i s
found in radio and tel evi si on broadcasti ng work. In these
si tuati ons, back region tends to be defined' as al l pl aces
where the camera i s not focussed at the moment or al l pl aces
out of range of 'l i v e microphones. Thus an announcer may
hold the sponsors product up at arms length in front of the
camera while he holds his nose with his other hand, his face
bei ng out of the pi cture, as a way of joking with his team
mates. Professi onal s, of course, tell many exemplary tal es
72
of how pei sons who ihoughr they were backstage were in
facc on the ai r and how thi s backstage conduct di scredi ted
the defini tion of the si tuati on being maintained on the air.
For techni cal reasons, then, the wal l s that broadcasters
have to hide behind can be very treacherous, tendi ng to fall
at the flick of a switch or a turn ot the camera. Broadcasting
arti sts must live with thi s stagi ng contingency,
A final example of backstage di ffi cul ti es i s found among
exal ted persons. Persons may become so sacred that the
only fitting appearance they can make i s in the centre of a
reti nue and ceremony; it may be thought improper for them
to appear before others in any other context, as such informal
appearances may be thought to di scredi t the magical attri butes
imputed to them. Therefore members of the audi cnce must
be prohibited from al l the pl aces the exalted one i s likely
to relax in, and if the place for rel axati on i s large, as in the
case of the Chi nese Emperor in the ni neteenth century, or it
there i s uncertainty about where the exal ted one will be,
problems of trespass become consi derabl e. Thus Queen
Victoria enforced the rule that anyone seei ng her approach
when driving in her pony-cart on the pal ace grounds should
turn hi s head or walk in another directi on, and sometimes
great statesmen were required to sacri fi ce their own dignity
and jump behind the shrubbery when the queen unexpectedly
approached. 1
While these examples of back region difficulty are extreme,
it would seem that no soci al establ i shment can be studi ed
where some problems associ ated with backstage control do
not occur.
Work and recreati on regions represent two areas for
backstage control. Another area i s suggested by the very
widespread tendency in our soci ety to give performers control
over the pl ace in which they attend to what are cal l ed
biological needs. In our soci ety, defecati on i nvol ves an
individual in acti vi ty which i s defined as i nconsi stent with
the cl eanl i ness and purity standards expressed in many of our
performances. Such acti vi ty al so causes the individual to
di sarrange hi s cl othi ng and to 'go out of play,* that is, to
drop from hi s face the expressi ve mask that he employs in
face-to-face i nteracti on. At the same time ic becomes difficult
for him to reassembl e hi s personal front shoul d the need to
enter into interacti on suddenly occur. Perhaps that i s a
reason why toi l et doors in our soci ety have l ocks on them.
When asl eep in bed the individual i s al so immobilized,
* t'onsonhy, of>. c i t. , p J 2.
73
expressi vel y speaki ng, and may not be abl e to bring himself
into an appropriate posi ti on for interacti on or bring a soci abl e
expressi on to hi s face until some moments after being
wakened, thus providing one expl anati on of the tendency
to remove the bedroom from the acti ve part of the house.
The util ity of such secl usi on i s reinforced by the facc that
sexual acti vi ty i s li kel y to occur in bedrooms, a form of
i nteracti on which al so renders i ts performers i ncapabl e of
immediately entering into an ocher i nteracti on.
One of the most i nteresti ng ti mes to observe im
pressi on management i s the moment when a performer
l eaves the back region and enters the pl ace where the
audi ence i s to be found, or when he returns therefrom,
for at these moments we can detect a wonderful putti ng on
and taki ng off of character. Orwell, speaki ng of waiters,
and speaki ng from the backstage point of view of di shwashers,
provi des us with an exampl e:
1c is an i nstructi ve sigh: co see a wai ter going into a hotel
di ni ng-room. As he passes the door a sudden change comes over
him. The set of hi s shoul ders al ters; all the dirt and hurry and
i rri tati on have dropped off in an i nstant. He gl i des over the carpec,
wi th a solemn pri est-l i ke air. I remember our assi stant maitre d*hoiel t
a fiery I tal i an, pausi ng at the dining-room door to address hi s apprenti ce
who had broken a bottl e of wine. Shaki ng hi s fi st above hi s head
he yel l ed (l ucki ly the door was more or l ess soundproof), Tu me f ai s
Do you cal l yoursel f a waiter, you young bastard? You a wai terl
Y ou re not fit to scrub fl oors in ihe brothel your mother came from.
Mttf fuereau! M
Words fai ling him, he turned to the door; and as he opened it
lie del i vered a final i nsul t in the same manner as Squi re Uesrcrn
in Tom Jones .
Then he entered the dining-room and sai l ed across i l di sh in
hand, graceful as a swan. Ten seconds loiter he was bowi ng reverentl y
to a customer. And you coul d not hel p thi nking, as ^ou saw him
bow and smil e, with that benign smi l e of the trai ned wai ter, that rho
customer was put to shame by havi ng such an ari stocrat co serve him. 1
The decl i ne of domestic servi ce lias forced quick changes
of the kind mentioned by Orwell upon the mi ddl e-cl ass house
wife. I n servi ng a dinner for fri ends she must manage the
ki tchen dirty work in such a way as to enabl e her co switch
back and forth between the rol es of domesti c and hostess,
al teri ng her acti vi ty, her manner, and her temper, as she
1George Orwell , Down and Out in Pari s and London (London.* Seeker
and Warburg, 1951), pp. 68-69* Another i l l ustrati on i s provided by
Moqica Di ckens, One Pair o f Hands (Mermaid Books; L ondon: Michael
J oseph, 1952), p. 13:
The sai d mai dher name was Addi e, 1 di scoveredand the two
wai tresses were behavi ng like peopl e acti ng in a pl ay. They would
sweep into the ki tchen as if coming off stage into the wings, with trays
hel d high and a tense expressi on of hauteur sti l l on thei r f aces; relax
for a moment in the frenzy of getti ng the new di shes loaded, and gl ide
off agai n with faces prepared to make their next entrance. The cook
and 1 were left l i ke stage hands among rhe debri s, as if havi ng.seen
a gl i mpse of another world, we al most l i stened for the appl ause of the
unseen audi ence.1
74
passes in and oiic of the dining room. Eti quette provide
helpful di recti ons for faci l i tati ng such changes.
The l i ne di vidi ng front and back regions i s i l l ustrated
everywhere in our soci ety. As suggested, the bathroom and
bedroom, in al l but l ower-cl ass homes, are pl aces from which
the downstai rs audi ence can be excluded. Bodi es that are
cl eansed, cl othed, and made up in these rooms can be pre
sented to friends in others. In the kitchen, of course, there
i s done to food what in the bathroom and bedroom i s done to
the human body. It i s, in fact, the presence of these staging
devi ces that di sti ngui shes mi ddl e-cl ass livi ng from lower-
cl ass livi ng. But in all cl asscs in our soci ety there i s a
tendency to make a di vision between the front and back parts
of resi denti al exteriors. The front tends to be relati vel y
well decorated, well repaired, and ti dy; the rear tends to be
rel ati vel y unprepossessi ng. Correspondingl y, soci al adul ts
enter through the front, and often the soci al l y incompl ete
domesti cs, delivery men, and chi l drenenter through the rear.
While we are familiar with the stage arrangements in and
around a dwelling pl ace, we tend to be l ess aware of other
stage arrangements. In American resi denti al neighbourhoods,
boys of eight to fourteen and other profane persons appreci ate
that entrances to back l anes and al l eys lead somewhere and
are to be used; they see these openi ngs in a vivid sense
that will be l ost to them when they become older. Similarly,
j ani tors and scrubwomen have a cl ear perception of the small
doors that lead to the back regions of busi ness buildi ngs
and are i nti mately familiar wich the profane transportation
system for secretl y transporti ng dirty cl eani ng equipment,
large stage props, and themsel ves. There i s a si mi l ar arrange
ment in stores, where pl aces 'behi nd the counter and the
storeroom serve as back regions.
Given the val ues of a parti cular soci ety, it i s apparent
that the backstage character of certai n pl aces i s built into
them in a material way, and that rel ati ve to adj acent areas
these pl aces are i nescapabl y back regions. In our society
the decorators art often does thi s for us, apportioning dark
col ours and open brickwork to the servi ce parts of buildings
and white pl aster to the front regions. Pi eces of fixed equip
ment add permanency to this division. Employers complete
the harmony by hiring persons with undesi rabl e visual
attri butes for back region work,-1 placing persons who niak?
a good appearance in the front regions. (Thi s i nvolves a
1Reserves of uni mpressive-l ooki ng labour can be used not only for acti vi ty
that must be conceal ed from the audi ence but al so for acti vi ty that
need not but can be conceal ed. Mr Hughes has suggested in seminar
7S
kind of ecol ogi cal sorting that i s well known but l i ttl e studi ed.)
And often i t i s expected that those who work backstage will
achi eve techni cal standards while those who work in the
front region will achi eve expressi ve ones.
The decorati ons and permanent fi xtures in a pl ace where
a parti cul ar performance i s usual l y given, as well as the
performers and performance usual l y found in it, tend to fix a
kind of spel l over i t; even when the customary performance
i s not being given in it, the pl ace tends to retain some of
i ts front region character. Thus a cathedral and a schoolroom
retai n somethi ng of thei r tone even when only repairmen are
present, and while these men may not behave reverently while
doing thei r work, their i rreverence tends to be of a structured
kind, speci fi cal l y oriented to what in some sense they ought
to be feel i ng but are not. So, too, a given pl ace may become
so i denti fi ed as a hide-out where certai n standards need not
be maintained that it becomes fixed with an i dentity as a
back region. Hunting l odges and l ocker rooms in athl eti c
soci al establ i shments may serve as i l l ustrati ons. Summer
resorts, too, seem to fix permi ssi veness regarding front,
al l owi ng otherwi se conventional people to appear in public
streets in costumes they would not ordinarily wear in the
presence of strangers. So, too, criminal hangouts and even
criminal neighbourhoods are to be found, where the act of
being l egi t need not be maintained. An i nteresti ng example
of thi s i s sai d to have exi sted in Pari s:
In the seventeenth century, therefore, in order to become a thorough
Argotier, it was necessary not only to sol i ci t al ms li ke any mere
heggar, but al so to possess the dexteri ty of the cut-purse and the
thi ef. These arts were to be learned in the pl aces whi ch served
a s the habi tual rendezvous of the very dregs of soci ety, a/id which
were general l y known as the Cours des Miracl cs. These houses, ot
rather resorts, had been so cal l ed, i f we are to bel i eve a wri ter of the
earl y part of the seventeenth century, ' Because rogues . . . and others,
who have all day been cri ppl es, maimed, dropsi cal , and beset with
every son of bodily ai l ment, come home at ni ght, carrying under thei t
Arms a si rloin of beef, a joint of veal , or a l eg of mutton, not forgetti ng
to hang a bottl e of wi ne to thei r bel ts, and, on enteri ng the court,
they throw asi de rhei r crutches, resume thei r heal thy and l usty
appearance, and, in i mi tati on of the anci ent Bacchanal i an revel ri es,
dance al l ki nds of dances with their trophi es in thei r hands, whi l st
the host i s prepari ng their suppers. Can there be n greater miracle
than i s to be seen in thi s court, where the maimed walk upri ght? ' 1
In back regi ons such as these, the very fact that an important
effect i s not stri ven for tends to set the tone for interacti on,
l eadi ng those who find themsel ves there to act as if they
were on familiar terms with one another in all matters.
cli.it Negro empl oyees can more easi l y than otherwi se be gi ven staff
status in American factori es if, as in the case of chemi sts, they can
be sequestered from the main regi ons of factory operati on.
'Paul LaCroi x, Manners, Cust om, and Dress during the Middle Ag e s and
during the Renai s s ance Peri od (London : Chapman and Hal l , 1876), p. 471.
76
However, while there i s a tendency for a region to become
i denti fi ed as the front region or back region of a performance
with which it i s regularl y associ ated, sti l l there are many
regi ons which function at one time and in one sense as a
front region and at another time and in another sense as a
back region. Thus the private office of an executi ve i s
certai nl y the front region where his status in the organi zati on
i s i ntensi vel y expressed by means of the qual i ty of his office
furni shi ngs. And yet it is here that he can take his j acket
off, l oosen hi s tie, keep a bottle of liquor handy, and act in
a chummy and even boi sterous way with fell ow executi ves
of hi s own rank. 1 Similarly, of a Sunday morning, a whole
household can use the wall around i ts domesti c establ i shment
to conceal a rel axi ng sl ovenl i ness in dress and ci vi l
endeavour, extendi ng to al l rooms the informality that i s
usual l y restri cted to the ki tchen and bedrooms. So, too, in
American mi ddl e-cl ass neighbourhoods, on afternoons the
line between the chi l drens playground and home may be
defined as backstage by mothers, who pass al ong i t wearing
jeans, l oafers and a minimum of make*up, a ci garette dangl ing
from thei r l i ps as they push their baby carri ages and openly
talk shop with thei r col l eagues. So al so, in worki ng-cl ass
quartiers in Pari s in the early morning, women feel they have
a right to extend the backstage to their ci rcl e of nei ghbouring
shops, and they patter down for milk and fresh bread, wearing
bedroom sl i ppers, bathrobe, hai rnet, and no make-up. And,
of course, a region that i s thoroughly establ i shed as a front
region for the regular performance of a parti cul ar routine
often functi ons as a back region before and after each perform
ance, for at these ti mes the permanent fi xtures may undergo
repair, restorati on, and rearrangement, or the performers may
hold dress rehearsal s. To see this we need only glance
into a restaurant, or store, or home, a few minutes before
chese establ i shments are opened to us for the day. In
general , then, we must keep in mind that when we speak of
front and back regions we speak from the reference point of a
parti cul ar performance, and we speak of the function that the
pl ace happens to serve at that time for the given performance.
It was suggested that persons who co-operate in stagi ng
' The fact that a small private office can be transformed into a back regi on
by the manageabl e method of being the only one in i t provi des one reason
why stenographers someti mes prefer to work in a pri vate offi ce as opposed
to a l arge offi ce floor. On a l arge open floor someone i s al ways likely
to be present before whom an i mpression of i ndustri ousness must be
mai ntai ned; in a small offi ce al l pretence of work and decorous behavi our
can be dropped when the boss i s out. See Richatd Rencke, ' The Status
Characteri sti cs of J obs in a Factory' (Unpubl i shed Master's thesi s,
Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1953), P- 53*
77
the same team-performance tend to be in a familiar relarion
to one another. Thi s fami liarity tends to be expressed only
when the audi ence i s not present, for it conveys an i mpression
of sel f and team-mate which i s ordinarily i nconsi stent with
the i mpressi on of sel f and team-mate one wants to sustai n
before the audi ence. Since back regi ons are typi cal l y out of
bounds to members of the audi ence, it i s here that we may
expect reci procal fami liarity to determine the tone of soci al
i ntercourse. Similarly, it i s in the front region that we may
expect a tone of formality to prevail.
Throughout our soci ety there tends to be one informal or
backstage language of behaviour, and another language of
behaviour for occasi ons when a performance i s being presented.
The backstage language consi sts of reciprocal first-naming,
co-operati ve decisi on-making, profanity, open sexual remarks,
el aborate griping, smoking, rough informal dress, ' s l oppy '
si tti ng and standi ng posture, use of di al ect or sub-standard
speech, mumbling and shouti ng, playful aggressi vi ty and
'ki ddi ng,' i nconsi derateness for the other in minor but
potenti al l y symbolic acts, minor physi cal sel f-i nvol vements
such as humming, whistl ing, chewing, nibbli ng, belching, and
fl atul ence. The frontstage behaviour l anguage can be taken
as the absence (and in some sense the opposi te) of thi s. In
general, then, backstage conduct i s one which al lows minor
acts which might easi l y be taken as symbolic of inti macy
and di srespect for others present and for the region, while
front region conduct i s one which di sal l ows such potentially
offensi ve behaviour. *
By invoking a backstage styl e, indi vi dual s can transform
any region into a backstage. Thus we find that in many
soci al establ i shments the performers will appropriate a secti on
of the front region and by acti ng there in a familiar fashion
symbol ically cut i t off from the rest of the region. For
i nstance, in some restaurants in America, especi al l y those
cal l ed 'one-arm j oi nts, the staff will hold court in the booth
farthest from the door or cl osest to the kitchen, .inJ there
conduct themsel ves, at l east in some respects, as if they
were backstage.
More important, we ought not to expect that in concrete
si tuati ons we will find pure exampl es of informal conduct or
1Ic may be noted (hat backstage behaviour has what psychol ogi sts might
cal l a regressi ve* character. The questi on, of course, is whether a
backstage gi ves i ndi vi dual s an opportunity ro regress or whether re
gressi on, in the cl i ni cal sense, i s bnckstagc conduct invoked on
inappropri ate occasi ons for moti ves that are not soci al l y approve*!.
re
formal conduct, al though there is usually a tendency to move
the defini tion of the si tuati on in one of these two directions.
We will not find rhese pure cases because team-mates with
respect to one show will he to some degree performers and
audi ence for another show, and performers and audi ence for
one sliow wjil to some extent, however sl i ght, be team-mates
with respect to another show. 1hus in a concrete si tuati on
we may expect a predominance of one styl e or the oclier, with
some feel i ngs of guilt or doubt concerni ng the actual
combination or bal ance that is achi eved between the two
styl es.
I would l i ke to emphasi ze the fact chat acti vi ty in a
concrete si tuati on i s al ways a compromise between the formal
and informal styl es by reference to backstage and backstage
acti vi ty. Three common li mi tati ons on backstage informali ty
may be ci ted. Fi rst, when the audi ence i s not present, each
member of the team i s l ikely to want to sustai n the impression
that lie can be trusted with the secrets of the team and that
he is not l ikely to play his part badly when the audi ence i s
present. While each team member will want the audi ence to
think of him as a worthy character, he is l i kel y to want hi s
team-mates to think of him as a l oyal, wel l -di sci pl i ned
performer. Secondly, there are often moments backstage
when the performers will have to sustai n one anothers morale
and maintain the i mpression that the show that i s about to
be presented will go over well or that the show that has j ust
been presented did not really go over so badly. Thirdly, if
the team contai ns representati ves of fundamental soci al
di vi si ons, such as different age-grades, different ethnic
groups, etc., then some di screti onary l i mi ts will prevail on
freedom of backstage activi ty. Here, no doubt, the most
important di vi si on i s the sexual one, for there seems to be
no soci ety in which members of the two sexes, however cl osel y
rel ated, do not sustai n some appearances before each other.
I n America, for i nstance, we learn the following about West
Coast shi pyards:
In i hei r ordinary rel ati onshi ps with women workers most of the
men were courteous and even gal l ant. As the women i nfiltrated the
hul l s and the remoter shacks of the yard, the men amiably removed
thei r gal l eri es of nudes and pornography from the wal l s and retired
them to the gloom of the tool box. In deference to the presence of
'l adi es, manners were improved, faces were shaved more often, and
l anguage was toned down. The taboo agai nst i mpropri eti es of speech
within earshot of women was so extreme as to be amusing, patti cul arl y
si nce the women themsel ves frequently gave audi bl e proof that the
forbidden words were nei ther unfamili ar nor di sturbi ng to them. Yet
1 have often seen men who wanted to use strong l anguage, and with
good excuse for it, flush with sudden embarrassment and drop thei r
79
voi ces to a mutcer on becoming consci ous of a feminine audi ence. In
i he lunchri me compani onship of men and women workers and in the
casual char at any l ei sure moment, in al l rhar pertai ned to familiar
soci al contacts, even amid the unfami l i ar surroundi ngs of the shi pyards
the men preserved al most i ntact the pattern of behavi our which they
practi sed at home; the respect fot the decent wife and the good mother,
the ci rcumspect fri endl i ness with the si ster, and even (he )>rotecttvo
affecti on for the i nexperi enced daughter of the family. 1
Chesterfi el d makes a similar suggesti on about another soci ety:
I n mixed compani es with your equal s (for in mixed compani es rill
peopl e are to a certai n degree equal ) greater ease and li berty are
al l owed; but they too have tbei r bounds withi n bi cnscauce. There is
a soci al respect necessary; you may start your own subj ect of
conversati on with modesty, taki ng great cate, however, de ne jttmnis
parl er de coni es duns la mai son d un pendt u Y our words, gestures,
and atti tudes, have a greater degree of l ati tude, though by no means
an unbounded one. You may have your hands in your pockets, take
snuff, si t, stand, or occasi onal l y wal k, -as vou l i ke; but I bel i eve you
would nor think it very bi enseanl to whi stl e, put your hat on, l oosen
your garters or your buckl es, l i e down upon a couch, Or go to bed
*ind wel ter in an <?asy chai r. These are negl i gences and freedoms
whi ch one can only take when qui te al one; they are inj uri ous to
superi ors, shocki ng and offensive to equal s, brutal and i nsul ti ng to
i nferi ors. 3
K i nseys data on the extent of the nudity taboo between
husband and wife, especi al l y in the older generation of the
American working cl ass, documents the same point. 3
In sayi ng that performers act in a rel ati vel y inlormal,
familiar, relaxed way while backstage and are on their ijuard
when giving a performance, it should not be assumed that the
pl easant i nterpersonal thi ngs of l i f ecourtesy, warmth,
generosi ty, and pl easure in the company of othersare al ways
reserved for those backstage and that suspi ci ousness,
snobbi shness, and a show of authority are reserved for front
region acti vi ty. Often it seems that whatever enthusi asm
and l ively i nterest we have at our di sposal we reserve for
those before whom we are putting on a show and that the
surest si gn of backstage sol i dari ty i s to feel that it i s safe
to l apse into an associ abl e mood of sul l en, si l ent i rri tabi lity.
I t i s i nteresti ng to note that while each team will be in
a posi ti on to appreci ate the unsavoury 'unperformed' aspects
of i ts own backstage behaviour, it is not likely ro be in a
posi ti on to come to a similar conclusi on about the teams
with which it i nteracts. When pupi l s leave the schoolroom
and go outsi de for a recess of familiarity and misconduct,
they often fail to appreci ate that their teachers have reti red
to a 'common room to swear and smoke in a similar recess
1Archi bal d, op. ci t . , pp. 16-17.
2 l e t t e r s o f l.ord Chest erf i el d t o Hi s Son ( hveryman's ed.; New York:
Dutton, 1929), P- 239.
3 Alfred C. Ki nsey, U'ardell B. Pomeroy, and Cl yde h. Martin, JSexual
Behavi our in the Human Male (Phi l adel phi a: Saunders, 1948), p. h<>-367.
80
of backstage behaviour. We know, of course, that a team
with only one member can take a very dark view of i tsel f and
that not a few cl i ni cal psychol ogi sts attempt to al l evi ate
thi s guilt, making their livi ng by tel l i ng i ndi vi dual s the facts
of other peopl es l i ves. Behind these real i zati ons about
onesel f and i l l usi ons about others i s one of the important
dynamics and di sappoi ntments of soci al mobility, be it mobil ity
upward, downward, or si deways. In attempting to escape
from a two-faced world of front region and back region
behaviour, i ndi vi dual s may feel that in the new posi ti on they
are attempting to acqui re they will be the character projected
by i ndi vi dual s in that position and not at the same time a
performer. When they arrive, of course, they find their new
si tuati on has unanti ci pated si mi l ari ti es with their old one;
both involve a presentati on of front to an audi ence and both
involve the presenter in the grubby, gossi py busi ness of
stagi ng a show.
I t i s someti mes thought that coarse fami liarity is merely
a cul tural thing, a characteri sti c, say, of the working cl asses,
and that those of high estate do not conduct themsel ves in
thi s way. The point, of course, i s that persons of high rank
tend to operate in small teams and tend to spend much of
thei r day engaged in spoken performances, whereas working-
cl ass men tend to be members of large teams and tend to
spend much of their day backstage or in unspoken perform
ances. Thus the higher ones pl ace in the status pyramid,
the smal l er the number of persons with whom one can be
familiar, 1 the l ess time one spends backstage, and the more
*An i nteresti ng l i mi ti ng i nstance occurs in the case of heads of states,
who have no team-mates. Sometimes these i ndi vi dual s may make use
of a set of croni es to whom they gi ve a courtesy rank of team-mate when
moments of rel axi ng recreati on ate cal l ed for. Court equerri es often
pl ay thi s rol e. Ponsonby, op. ci t . , p. 269, i l l ustrates thi s in hi s
descri pti on of King Edwards vi si t to the Dani sh Court:
'Di nner consi sted of several courses and many wi nes, and usual ly
l asted one and a hal f hours. M'e then al l fi led out ami in arm to the
drawi ng-room, where agai n the King of Denmark and al l the Dani sh
Royal Famil y ci rcl ed round the room. At ei ght we reti red to our rooms
to smoke, but as -the Dani sh sui te accompani ed us the conversati on was
l i mi ted to pol i te enqui ri es into the customs of the two counrri es. At
ni ne we returned to the drawing-room where we pl ayed round games,
general l y Loo, without stakes.
1At ten we were mercifull y rel eased and al l owed to go to our rooms.
These eveni ngs were a high trial to everyone, but the Ki ng behaved
l i ke an angel , pl ayi ng whi st, whi ch was then qui te out of date, for very
low poi nts. After a week of thi s, however, he determi ned to pl ay bridge,
but onl y after the King of Denmark had reti ted to bed. We went through
the usual routine ti l l ten ocl ock, and then Pri nce Demidoff of the Russi an
L egati on came to the Ki ngs rooms and pl ayed bridge with the King,
Seymoure Fortescue, and mysel f, for fairly hi gh poi nts. Ve conti nued
thus till the end of the vi si t, and it was a pl easure to rel ax oursel ves
from the sti ffness of the Dani sh Court.1
81
l i kel y it i s that one will be required to be pol i te as well as
decorous. However, when the time and company are right,
quite sacred performers will act, and be required to act, in a
quite vulgar fashi on. i 'or numerical and strategi c reasons,
however, we are l i kel y to l earn that labourers use a backstage
manner and unl ikely to learn that l ords use it too.
A final point must be suggested about backstage rel ati on
shi ps. When we say that persons who co-operate in presenti ng
a performance may express fami liarity with one another when
not in the presence of the audi ence, it must be allowed that
one can become so habi tuated to ones front region acti vi ty
and front region character that it may be necessary to handl e
ones relaxati on from it as a performance. One may feel
obliged, when backstage, to act out of character in a fami liar
fashi on and thi s can come to be more of a pose than the
performance for which it was meant to provide a rel axati on.
In this chapter I have spoken of the util ity of control over
backstage and of the dramaturgical trouble that ari ses when
thi s control cannot be exerted. 1 would l ike now to consi der
the problem of control ling access to the front region, but in
order to do so it will be necessary to extend a l i ttl e the
ori gi nal frame of reference.
Two kinds of bounded regi ons have been consi dered:
front regi ons where a parti cul ar performance is or may be in
progress, and back regi ons where action occurs that is rel ated
to the performance but i nconsi stent with the appearance
fostered by the performance. It would seem reasonabl e to
add a third region, a resi dual one, namely, al l pl aces other
than the two al ready i denti fi ed. Such a region could be cal l ed
'the outsi de.' The notion of an outsi de region that i s nei ther
front nor back with respect to a parti cul ar performance conforms
to our common-sense notion of soci al establ i shments, for
when we look at most bui l di ngs we find within them rooms
that are regularl y or temporarily used as back regi ons and
front regions, and we find that the outer wall s of the building
cut both types of rooms off from the outsi de world. Those
i ndi vi dual s who are on the outsi de of the establ i shment we
may cal l outsi ders.
While the notion of outsi de i s obvious, unl ess we handl e
it with care we will be misled and confused, for when we
shi ft our consi derati on from the front or back region to the
outsi de we tend al so to shi ft our point of reference from one
performance to another. Given a parti cul ar ongoing performance
as a point of reference, those who are outsi de will be persons
for whom the performers actual l y or potenti al l y put on a show,
82
but a show (as we shal l see) different from, or all too similar
to, the one in progress. When outsi ders unexpectedl y enter
the front or the back region of a parti cular performance-in-
progress, the consequence orf their inopportune presence
can often best be studi ed not in terms of i ts effects upon
the performance in progress but rather in terms of i ts effects
upon a different performance, namely, the one which the
performers or the audi ence would ordinarily present before
the outsi ders at a time and pl ace when the outsi ders would
be the anti ci pated audi ence.
In Chapter One of thi s report it was suggested that per
formers tend to give the impression, or tend not to contradi ct
the i mpression, that the role they are playing at the time
i s thei r most important role and that the attri butes claimed
by or imputed to them are their most essenti al and character
i sti c attri butes. When i ndivi duals wi tness a show that was
not meant for them, they may, then, become di si l l usi oned
about thi s show as well as about the show that was meant
for them. The performer, too, may become confused, as
Kenneth Burke suggests:
We are al l , in our compartmental i zed responses, li ke the man
who I s a tyrant in his offi ce and a weakl i ng among hi s family, or
l i ke the musi ci an who i s asserti ve in hi s art and sel f-effaci ng in hi s
personal rel ati onshi ps. Such di ssoci ati on becomes a diffi cul ty when
we attempt to uni te these compartments (as, were the man who i s a
tyrant in hi s offi ce and a weakl i ng in hi s home suddenl y to employ hi s
wife or chi l dren, he would find hi s di ssoci ati ve devi ces i nadequate,
and might become bewi l dered and tormented). 1
The answer to thi s problem i s for the performer to segre
gate hi s audi ences so that the i ndi vi dual s who wi tness him
in one of hi s rol es will not be the indi vi dual s who wi tness
him in another of hi s rol es. Thus some French Canadian
pri ests do not want to lead so stri ct a life that they cannot
go swimming at the beach with friends, but they tend to feel
that i t i s best to swim with persons who are not thei r
pari shi oners, si nce the familiarity required at the beach i s
incompatible with the di stance and respect required in the
parish. Front region control i s one measure of audi ence
segregati on. I ncapaci ty to maintain thi s control l eaves the
performer in a position of not knowing what character he will
have to project from one moment to the next, making it diffi cult
for him to effect a dramaturgical success in any one of them.
I t i s not diffi cult to sympathi ze with the pharmacist who
acts l i ke a sal esman or l i ke a begrimed stock-man to a
customer who proves to have a prescri ption in her hand, while
at the next moment he proj ects hi s dignified, di si nterested,
'K enneth Burke. Permanence and Change (New Y ork: New Republi c
I nc., 1953), fn. p. 309.
83
medical, professi onal l y-spotl ess pose someone who happens
to want a three-cent stamp or a chocol ate tudge sundae. 1
It should be cl ear that j ust as it i s useful for the performer
to excl ude persons from the audi ence who see liim in another
and i nconsi stent presentati on, so al so i s it useful for the
performer to excl ude from the audi ence those before whom
he performed in the past a show' i nconsi stent with the current
one. Persons who are strongly upward or downward mobil e
accomplish thi s in a grand manner by making sure to l eave
rhe pl ace of their origins. And, on the same grounds, j ust
;is it i s conveni ent to play one's different routi nes before
lifferent persons, so al so is it convenient to separate the
different audi ences one has for the same routine, si nce that
i s the only way in which each audi ence can feel that while
there may be other audi ences for the same routine, none i s
getti ng so desi rabl e a presentati on o| it. Here again front
region control i s important.
By proper schedul i ng of ones performances, ir i s possi bl e
not only to keep ones audi ences separated from each other
(by appearing before them in different front regi ons or sequent
ially in the same region) but al so to allow a few moments
in between performances so as to extri cate onesel f psychol
ogi cal l y and physi cal l y from ones personal front, while
taki ng on another. Probl ems sometimes arise, however, in
those soci al establ i shments whc-re the same or di l l erent
members of the team must handl e different audi cnces at the
same time. If the different audi ences come within hearing
di stance of each other, it will be difficult to sustai n the
impression that each i s recei vi ng speci al and unique servi ces.
Thus, if a hostess wi shes to give each of her guests a warm
speci al greeting or farewel l a speci al performance, in f act-
then she will have to arrange to do thi s in an anteroom that
i s separated from the room contai ni ng the other guests.
Similarly, in cases where a firm of undertakers i s required
to conduct two servi ces on the same day, it will be necessary
to route the two audi ences through the establ i shment in such
a way that thei r paths will not cross, l est the feeling that
the funeral home i s a home away from home be destroyed.
So, too, in furniture sal esrooms, a clerk who i s swi tchi ng
a customer from one sui te of furniture to another of higher
price must be careful to keep his audi ence out of earshot
of another cl erk who may be swi tchi ng another customer
from a sti l l cheaper sui te to the one from which the first
clerk i s trying to swi tch hi s customer, for at such ti mes
See Weinlein, op. cit., pp. 147-148.
84
the suice that one clerk i s di sparagi ng will be the sui te that
the ocher clerk i s prai si ng. 1 Of course, i f wal l s separate
the cwo audi ences, the performer can sustai n the i mpressi ons
he i s fostering by darti ng rapidly from one region to another.
Thi s stagi ng devi ce, possi bl e with two examining rooms, is
i ncreasi ngl y popular among American denti sts and doctors.
When audi ence segregati on fai l s and an outsi der happens
upon a performance that was not meant for him, difficult
problems in i mpression management ari se. Two accommodative
techni ques for deal i ng with these problems may be mentioned.
Fi rst, al l those al ready in the audi ence may be suddenly
accorded, and accept, temporary backstage status and
col l ustvel y join the performer in abruptly shifting to an act
that i s a fitting one for the intruder to observe. Thus a
husband and wife in the midst of their daily bickering, when
suddenl y faced with a guest of brief acquai ntance, will put
asi de thei r inti mate quarrel s and play out between themsel ves
a rel ati onshi p that i s al most as di stant and friendly as the
one played out for the sudden arrival . Rel ati onshi ps, as
well as types of conversati on, which cannot be shared
among the three will be l ai d asi de. In general, then, if the
newcomer i s to be treated in the manner to which he has
become accustomed, the performer must switch rapidly from
the performance he was giving to one that the newcomer will
feel i s proper. Rarely can thi s be done smoothly enough to
preserve the newcomers i l l usi on that the show suddenl y put
on i s the performers natural show. And even if thi s i s
managed, the audi ence al ready present i s likely to feel that
what they had been taki ng for the performers essenti al sel f
was not so essenti al .
I t has been suggested that an intrusion may be handled
by having those present swi tch to a definition of the si tuati on
into which the intruder can be incorporated. A second way
of handling the problem i s to accord the intruder a cl ear-cut
welcome as someone who should have been in the region all
along. The same show, more or l ess, i s thus carried on,
but i t i s made to include the newcomer. Thus when an
i ndivi dual pays an unexpected vi si t to his friends and finds
them giving a party, he i s usual l y welcomed loudly and coaxed
into staying. If the welcome were not enthusi asti cal l y
extended, his discovery that he has been excl uded might
di scredi t the front of fri endl i ness and affection that obtai ns
between the intruder and hi s hosts on other occasi ons.
Ordinarily, however, nei ther of these techni ques seems
See L ouse Conant, 'T he Borax House, The Ameri can Mercury, XVII, 172.
85
to be very effecti ve. Usual ly when i ntruders enter the front
region, the performers tend to get ready to begin the perform
ance they stage for the i ntruders at another time or place,
and thi s sudden readi ness to act in a parti cul ar way brings
at l east momentary confusi on to the l i ne of action the
performers are al ready engaged in. The performers will find
themsel ves temporarily torn between two possi bl e real i ti es,
and until si gnal s can be given and recei ved members of the
team may have no guide as to what l i ne they are to follow.
Embarrassment i s al most certai n to resul t. Under such
ci rcumstances it i s understandabl e that the intruder may be
accorded nei ther of the accommodative treatments mentioned
but rather treated as if he were not there at all or qui te
unceremoniously asked to stay out.
86
CHA PT ER I V
DISCREPANT ROLES
One overall obj ecti ve of any team i s to sustai n the
defini tion of the si tuati on that i ts performance fosters. Thi s
will involve the over-communication of some facts and the
under-communication of others. Given the fragility and the
required expressi ve coherence of the real i ty that i s dramatized
by a performance, there are usually facts which, i f attenti on
i s drawn to them during the performance, would di scredi t,
disrupt, or make usel ess the i mpression that the performance
fosters. These facts may be sai d to provide 'destructi ve
informati on. A basi c problem for many performances, then,
i s that of information control ; the audi ence must not acquire
destructi ve information about the si tuati on that is being
defined for them. In other words, a team must be able to
keep i ts secrets and have i ts secrets kept.
Before proceeding it will be conveni ent to add some
suggesti ons about types of secrets, because di scl osure of
different types of secrets can threaten a performance in
different ways. The suggested types will be based upon
the functi on the secret performs and the rel ati on of the secret
to the conception others have about the possessor; I will
assume that any parti cul ar secret can represent more than
one such type.
Fi rst, there are what we sometimes cal l dark secrets.
These consi st of facts about a team which it knows and
conceal s and which are incompatible with the image of sel f
that the team attempts to maintain before i ts audi ence. Dark
secrets are, of course, double secrets: one i s the crucial
fact that i s hidden and another is the fact that crucial facts
have not been openly admitted. Dark secrets were considered
in Chapter One in the secti on on mi srepresentati on.
Secondly, there are what might be cal l ed strategi c
secrets. These pertain to i ntenti ons and capaci ti es of a
team which it conceal s from i ts audi ence in order to prevent
them from adapti ng effecti vel y to the state of affai rs the
team is planning to bring about. Strategi c secrets are the
ones that busi nesses and armi es employ in desi gni ng future
acti ons agai nst the opposi ti on. So long as a team makes no
pretence of being the sort of team that does not have strategi c
87
secrets, i ts strategi c secrets need not be dark ones. Y et it
i s to be noted that even when the strategi c secrets of a team
are not dark ones, sti l l the di scl osure or di scovery of such
secrets di srupts the teams performance, for suddenly and
unexpectedl y the team finds it usel ess and foolish to maintain
the care, reti cence, and studi ed ambiguity of acti on that
was required prior to l oss of i ts secrets. It may be added
that secrets that are merely strategi c tend to be ones which
the team eventual l y di scl oses, perforce, when acti on based
upon secret preparati ons i s consummated, whereas an effort
may be made to keep dark secrets secret forever. I t may
al so be added that informati on i s often held back not because
of i ts known strategi c importance but because it i s felt that
it may someday acqui re such importance.
Thirdly, there are what might be cal l ed 'i nsi de' secrets.
These are ones whose possessi on marks an i ndivi dual as
bei ng a member of a group and hel ps the group feel separate
and different from those i ndi vi dual s who are not 'i n the
know. 1 I nsi de secrets give obj ecti ve i ntel l ectual content
to subj ecti vel y felt soci al di stance. Almost al l informati on
in a soci al establ i shment has something of this excl usi onary
functi on and may be seen as none of somebodys busi ness.
I nsi de secrets may have l i ttl e strategi c importance and
may not be very dark. When thi s i s :he case, such secrets
may be di scovered or acci dental l y di scl osed without radi cal l y
di srupti ng the team performance; the performers need only
shi ft their secret del i ght to another matter. Of course, secrets
that are strategi c and/or dark serve extremel y well as i nsi de
secrets and we find, in fact, that the strategi c and dark
character of secrets i s often exaggerated for thi s reason.
I nteresti ngl y enough, the l eaders of a soci al group are some
ti mes faced with a dilemma regarding important strategi c
secrets. Those in the group who are not brought in on the
secret will feel excluded and affronted when the secret finally
comes to l i ght; on the other hand, the greater the number of
persons who are brought in on the secret, the greater the
likel i hood of i ntenti onal or uni ntentional di scl osure.
The knowledge that one team can have of anothers secrets
provides us with two other types of secrets. Fi rst, there
are what might be cal l ed 'entrusted secrets. Thi s i s the
kind which the possessor is obliged to keep because of hi s
rel ati on to the team to which the secret refers. If an individual
who i s entrusted with a secret i s to be the person he cl ai ms
1Cf. Ri esman's di scussi on of the i nsi de dopcstex,* op. c U pp. 199*209.
88
he i s, 'he must keep the secret, even though i t i s not a secret
about himself. Thus, for example, when a lawyer di scl oses
the i mpropri eti es of hi s cl i ents, two quite different perform
ances are threatened: the cl i ents show of i nnocence to the
court, and the l awyers show of trustworthi ness to hi s cl ient.
It may al so be noted that a teams strategi c secrets, whether
dark or not, are likely to be the entrusted secrets of the
i ndivi dual members of the team, for each member of the team
i s l i kel y to presenc himself to hi s team-mates as someone
who i s l oyal to the team.
The second type of information about anothers secrets
may be cal l ed free. A free secret i s somebody el ses secret
known to onesel f that one could di scl ose without di scredi ti ng
the image one was presenti ng of onesel f. A team may acquire
free secrets by discovery, involuntary di scl osure, indi scrcet
admi ssi ons, re-transmi ssi on, etc. In general we muse see
that the free or entrusted secrets of one team may be the
dark or strategi c secrets of another team, and so a team
whose vital secrets are possessed by others will try to oblige
the possessors to treat these secrets as secrets that are
entrusted and not free.
Thi s chapter i s concerned with the ki nds of persons who
learn about the secrets of a team and with the bases and
the threats of thei r privileged position. Before proceeding,
however, i t should be made cl ear that al l destructi ve inform
ati on i s not found in secrets, and that informati on control
i nvol ves more than keepi ng secrets. For example, there
seem to be facts about al most every performance which are
incompatible with the i mpression fostered by the performance
but which have not been col l ected and organized into a usabl e
form by anyone. 1 These are in a sense l atent secrets, and
the problems of keepi ng secrets are quite different from the
problems of keepi ng l atent secrets l atent. Another example
of destructi ve informati on not embodied in secrets i s found
in such events as unmeant gestures, previousl y referred to.
These events i ntroduce informati ona defini tion of the si t
uati onwhich i s incompatible with the projected cl ai ms of
the performers, but these untoward events do not consti tute
secrets. Avoidance of such expressi vel y inappropri ate events
i s al so a kind of information control but will not be consi dered
in thi s chapter.
11-ot exampl e, Wilensky, op. ci t . , chap. vi i , reports chat a uni on newspaper
may have such low readershi p that the edi tor, concerned with his job,
"ay refuse to have a professi onal survey made of readershi p so that
ei ther he nor anyone el se wil l have proof of the suspected i neffecti veness
of liis role.
89
Given a parti cul ar performance as the point of reference,
we have di sti ngui shed iliree cruci al rol es on the basi s of
functi on: those who perform; those performed to; arid outsi ders
who nei ther perform in the show nor observe i t. V/e may al so
di sti ngui sh these cruci al rol es on the basi s of informati on
ordinarily avai l abl e to those who pl ay them. Performers are
aware of the i mpressi on they foster and ordinarily al so possess
destructi ve information about the show. The audi ence know
what they have been al lowed to perceive, qual i fi ed by what
they can gl ean unofficially by cl ose observati on. In the
main, they know the defini tion of the si tuati on that the perform
ance fosters but do not have destructi ve information about it.
Outsi ders know nei ther the secrets of the performance nor
the appearance of real i ty fostered by it. Fi nal l y, the three
cruci al rol es mentioned coul d be descri bed on the basi s of
tlie regi ons to which the rol e-pl ayer has access; performers
appear in the front and back regi ons; the audi ence appears
only in the front regi on; and the outsi ders are excl uded from
both regions. I t i s to be noted, then, that during the perform
ance we rpay expect to find correl ati on among function,
informati on avai l abl e, and regi ons of access, so that, for
example, i f we knew the regi ons into which an indivi dual
I taJ access we shoul d know the role he pl ayed and the
informati on he possessed about the performance.
In actual fact, however, we find that the congruence
among function, informati on possessed, and accessi bl e regi ons
i s seldom compl ete. Additional poi nts of vantage rel ati ve
to the performance devel op which compl i cate the simple
rel ati on among function, informati on, and pl ace. Some of
these pecul i ar vantage poi nts are so often taken and their
si gni fi cance for the performance comes to be so cl earl y under
stood that we can refer to them as rol es, al though, rel ati ve
to the three cruci al ones, they migfit best be cal l ed di screpant
rol es. Some of the more obvious ones will be consi dered
here.
Perhaps the most spectacul arl y di screpant rol es are those
which bring a person into a soci al establ i shment in a fal se
gui se. Some vari eti es may be mentioned.
Fi rst, there i s the role of 'i nformer.' The informer i s
someone who pretends to the performers to be a member of
thei r team, i s allowed to come backstage and to acqui re
destructi ve informati on, and then openly or secretl y sel l s
out the show to the audi ence. The pol i ti cal , military, in
dustri al , and criminal vari ants of thi s role are famous. If it
appears that the i ndivi dual first joined the team in a si ncere
way and not with the premedi tated plan of di scl osi ng i ts
90
secrets, we someti mes cal l him a traitor, turncoat, or quitter,
especi al l y if he i s the sort of person who ought to have made
a decent team-mate. The indivi dual who al l al ong has meant
to inform on the team, and originally j oi ns only for thi s
purpose, i s someti mes cal l ed a spy. I t has frequently been
noted, of course, that informers, whether trai tors or spi es,
are often in an excel l ent posi ti on to play a double game,
selling out the secrets of those who buy secrets from them.
Secondly, there i s the role of 'shi l l . A shill i s someone
who acts as though he were an ordinary member of the audi ence
but i s in fact in l eague with the performers. Typi cal l y, the
shil l ei ther provi des a vi si bl e model for the audi ence of the
kind of response the performers are seeki ng or provi des the
kind of audi ence response that i s necessary at the moment
for the development of the performance. Our appreci ati on of
this role no doubt stems from fairgrounds, and the desi gnati ons
r shi l l and 'cl aque,1 employed in the entertai nment busi ness,
have come into common usage. The following defi ni ti ons
suggest the origins of the concept:
St i ck, n. An i ndi vi dual someti mes a l ocal rubehired by the
operator of a set - i oi nt (a 'f i xed' gambl i ng booth) to win flashy pri zes
so that the crowd will be i nduced to gamble. When the li ve ones
(nati ves) have been started, the s l i c k s are removed and del i ver their
wi nni ngs to a man outsi de who has no apparent connecti on with the
joint. 1
j f t i l t aber, n. An empl oyee of the ci rcus who tushes up to the kid
shou ti cket box at the psychol ogi cal moment when the barker concl udes
hi s spi el . Me and hi s fell ow shi l l abers purchase ti ckets and pass
*nsi de and the crowd of towners in from of the bal l y stand are not
sl ow in doi ng l i kewi se. 2
We must not take the view that shi l l s are found only in
non-respectabl e performances (even though it i s only the
non-respectabl e shi l l s, perhaps, who play thei r role system
ati cal l y and without personal ill usion). For example, at
informal conversati onal gatheri ngs, it i s common for a wife
to look i nterested when her husband tel l s an anecdote and
to feed him appropriate l eads and cues, although in fact she
has heard the anecdote many ti mes and knows that the show
her husband i s making of tel l i ng something for the first time
i s only a show. A shi l l , then, i s someone who appears to
be just another unsophi sti cated member of the audi ence and
who uses hi s unapparent sophi sti cati on in the i nterests of
the performing team.
W'e consi der now another impostor in the audi ence, but
(his time one who uses his unapparent sophi sti cati on in the
i nterests of the audi ence, not the performers. Thi s type
can be i l l ustrated by the person who is hired to check up on
Oavid Mauret, 'Carni val Cant,' Imericnn Speech, VI , 336.
5 VI'. \khite, 'A Ci rcus L i st,' American Speech, 1, 283.
91
the standards that performers maintain in order to ensure
that in some respects fostered appearances will not be too
far from real i ty. He acts, officially or unofficially, as a
protective agent for the unsuspecti ng public, playing the
role of audi ence with more percepti on and ethi cal stri ctness
rhan ordinary observers are l i kel y to employ.
Sometimes these agents pl ay their hands in an open way,
giving the performers preliminary warning that the next perform
ance i s abouc to be examined. Thus fi rst night performers
and arrested persons have fair warning that anythi ng they
say will be hel d as evi dence in judging them. A parti ci pant
observer who admi ts hi s obj ecti ves from the begi nning gi ves
ihe performers whom he observes a si mi l ar opportunity.
Someti mes, however, the agent goes underground and by
acti ng as an ordinary gulli ble member of the audi ence gi ves
the performers rope with which to hang themsel ves. In the
everyday trades, agents who give no warning are sometimes
cal l ed 'spotters,' as they will be here, and are understandabl y
di sl i ked. A sal esperson may find that she has been short-
tempered and impolite to a customer who i s real l y a company
agent checki ng up on the treatment bona fide customers
recei ve. A grocer may find that he has sold goods at i l l egal
pri ces to customers who are experts on pri ces and have
authori ty concerni ng them. 1
I nci dental l y, we must be careful to di sti ngui sh real
spotters from sel f-appoi nted ones, often cal l ed 'knockers'
or ' wi seguys, who do not possess the knowledge of backstage
operati ons that they cl ai m to possess and who are not
empowered by law or custom to represent the audi ence.
Today we are accustomed to think of agents who check
up on the standards of a performance and on the performers,
whether thi s i s done openly or without warning, as part of
the servi ce structure, and especi al l y as part of the soci al
control that governmental organi zati ons exert on behal f of
the consumer and taxpayer. Frequentl y, however, thi s kind
of work has been done in a wider soci al field. Offices of
heraldry and offi ces of protocol provide familiar examples,
these agenci es servi ng to keep the nobili ty and high
1An i l l ustrati on as tegards ctain conductors i s given by W. Fred Cottrel l ,
The Rai l roader (Stanford, Cal i forni a: Stanford Uni versi ty Press, 1940),
p. 87:
'Once a trai n conductor could demand respect of passengers; now
a 'spotter* may 'turn him in* i f he fai l s to remove hi s cap as he enters
a car where women are seated or does not exude that oi ly subservi ence
which i ncreasi ng cl ass consci ousness, di ffusi on of pattern from the
European and the hotel world, and the competi ti on with other forms of
transportati on have forced upon hi m.
92
government officers, and those who fal sel y claim these
statuses, in thei r proper rel ati ve pl aces.
There i s yet another pecul i ar fell ow in the audi ence.
Me i s the one who takes an unremarked, modest pl ace in the
audi ence and l eaves the region when they do, but when he
l eaves he goes to hi s employer, a competi tor of the team
whose performance he lias wi tnessed, to report what he has
seen. l i e i s the professi onal shopperthe Gimbels man in
Macy's and the Macys man in Gimbels; he i s the fashion
spy and the foreigner at Nati onal Air Meets. The shopper
i s a person who has a techni cal right to see the show but
ought to have the decency, it i s sometimes felt, to stay in
hi s own back region, for hi s i nterest in the show i s from the
wrong perspecti ve, at once more lively and more bored than
that of a thoroughly l egi ti mate spectator.
Another di screpant role i s one that i s often cal l ed ihe
go-between or mediator. The go-between l earns the secrets
of each si de and gi ves each si de the true i mpressi on that
he will keep i ts secrets; but he tends to give each side the
fal se i mpressi on that he i s more loyal to it than to the other
si de. Someti mes, as in the case of the arbi trator in some
l abour di sputes, the go-between may function as a means by
which two obl i gatorily hosti l e teams can come to a mutually
profitable agreement. Someti mes, as in the case of the
theatri cal agent, the go-between may functi on as 3 means
by which each si de i s given a slanted version of the other
that i s cal cul ated to make a cl oser rel ati onshi p between the
two si des possi bl e. Someti mes, as in the case of the marriage-
broker, the go-between may serve as a means of conveying
tentati ve overtures from one si de to the other which, if openly
presented, might lead to an embarrassi ng acceptance or
rejecti on.
When a go-between operates in the actual presence of
the two teams of which he i s a member, we obtain a wonderful
displ ay, not unl i ke a man desperatel y trying to play tenni s
with himself. Again we are forced to see that the individual
i s not the natural unit for our consi derati on but rather the
team and i ts members. As an indivi dual, the go-betweens
activi ty i s bizarre, untenable, and undignified, vaci l l ati ng
as i t does from one set of appearances and l oyal ti es to
another. As a consti tuent part of two teams, the go-betweens
vacill ati on i s quite understandabl e. The go-between can
be thought of simply as a double-shi ll.
One i l l ustrati on of the go-betweens role appears in recent
studi es of the function of the foreman. Not only must he
93
accept the J uri es of the director, guiding the show on the
factory floor on behal f of the managerial audi ence, but he
must al so transl ate what he knows and what the audi ence
sees into a verbal l i ne which hi s consci ence and the audi ence
will be willi ng to accept. 1 Another i l l ustrati on of the go-
betweens role i s found in the chairman of formally conducted
meeti ngs. As soon as he has cal l ed the group to order and
introduced the guest speaker, he i s l i kel y to serve thereafter
as a highly vi si bl e model for the other l i steners, i l l ustrati ng
by exaggerated expressi ons the involvement and appreci ati on
they ought to be showing, and providing them with advance
cues as to whether a parti cul ar remark ought to be greeted
by seri ousness, l aughter, or appreci ati ve chuckl es. Speakers
tend to accept i nvi tati ons to speak on the assumpti on that
the chairman will 'take care of them,' which he does by
bei ng the very model of a l i stener and thoroughly confirming
the notion that the speech has real si gni fi cance. The chai r
mans performance i s effecti ve partl y because the l i steners
have an obl i gati on to him, an obl i gati on to confirm any
defini tion of the si tuati on which he sponsors, an obl i gati on,
in short, to follow the l i steni ng-l i ne that he takes. The
dramaturgical task of ensuri ng that the speaker appears to
be appreci ated and that the l i steners are enthral l ed i s of
course not easy, and often l eaves the chairman in no frame
of mind to give thought to what he i s ostensi bl y l i steni ng to.
The role of go-between seems to be especi al l y si gni fi cant
in informal convi vi al i nteracti on, again i l l ustrati ng the util ity
of the two-team approach. When one indi vi dual in a
conversati onal ci rcl e engages in action or speech which
recei ves the concerted attenti on of the others present, he
defi nes the si tuati on, and he may defi ne it in a way that i s
not easi l y acceptabl e to hi s audi ence. Someone present
will feel greater responsi bi l i ty for and to him than the others
feel, and we may expect this person cl osest to him to make
an effort to transl ate the di fferences between speaker and
l i steners into a view that i s more acceptabl e col l ecti vel y
than the ori gi nal proj ecti on. A moment later, when someone
el se takes the floor, another individual may find hi msel f
taki ng on the role of go-between and mediator. A spate of
informal conversati on can, in fact, be seen as the formation
and re-formation of teams, and the creation and re-creati on
of go-betweens.
Some di screpant rol es have been suggested: the informer,
l See Rocchl isbcrger, op. ci t .
94
the shi l l , the spotter, the shopper, and the go-between. In
each case we find an unexpected, unapparent rel ati on among
feigned role, informati on possessed, and regi ons of access.
And in each case we deal with someone who may parti ci pate
in the actual interacti on between the performers and audi ence.
A further di screpant role may be consi dered, that of the non-
person; those who pl ay thi s role are present during the
i nteracti on but do not, in a sense, take the role ei ther of
performer or of audi ence, nor do they (as do informers, shi l l s,
and spotters) pretend to be what they are not. 1
Perhaps the cl assi c type of non-person in our soci ety i s
the servant. Thi s person i s expected to be present in the
front region while the host i s presenti ng a performance of
hospi tal i ty to the guests of the establ i shment. While in some
senses the servant i s part of the hosts team (as I have
treated him previousl y), in certai n ways he i s defined by both
performers and audi ence as someone who i sn t there. Among
some groups, the servant i s al so expected to enter freely into
the back regions, on the theory that no i mpressi on need be
mai ntai ned for him. Mrs Trol lope gi ves us some exampl es:
1 had, i ndeed, frequent opportuni ti es of observi ng thi s habi tual
i ndi fference to the presence of their sl aves. They calk of them, of
thei r condi ti on, of thei r facul ti es, of thei r conduct, exactl y as i f they
were i ncapabl e of heari ng. 1 once saw a young l ady, who, when seated
at tabl e between a male and a female, was i nduced by her modesty to
i ntrude on the chai r of her female nei ghbour to avoi d the i ndel i cacy
of touchi ng the el bow of a man. T once saw thi s very young lady
l aci ng her stays with the most perfect composure before a negro
footman. A Virgi ni an gentl eman tol d me that ever si nce he had maui ed,
he had been accustomed to have a negro girl sl eep in the same chamber
with hi msel f and hi s wife. I asked for what purpose thi s nocturnal
attendance was necessary? * Good Heaven1 was the repl y, "I f I
wanted a gl ass of water duri ng the ni ght, what woul d become of me." 2
Thi s i s an extreme example. While servants tend to be
addressed only when a 'request i s to be given them, sti l l
thei r presence in a region typi cal l y pl aces some restri cti ons
upon the behaviour of those who are fully present, the more
so, apparentl y, when the soci al di stance between servant
and served i s not great. In the case of other servant-l i ke
rol es in our soci ety, such as that of el evator operator and
cab-driver, there seems to be uncertainty on both si des of
the rel ati onshi p as to what kind of i nti maci es are permi ssi bl e
in the presence of the non-person.
In addi tion to those in servant-l i ke rol es, there are other
standard categori es of persons who are someti mes treated
1lOr a ful ler treatment of the role see Goffman, op. ci t., chap. xvi.
2Nirs Trol l ope, Vomest i c Manners o f the Ameri cans (2 vol s.; L ondon:
Whittaker, Treacher, 1832), I I, 56-57.
95
i n thei r presence as if they were not there; the very young,
the very old, and the si ck are common exampl es. Further,
we find today a growing body of techni cal personnel recording
stenographers, 'broadcasti ng techni ci ans, photographers, secret
pol i ce, etc.who pl ay a techni cal role during important
ceremoni es but who are not, in a sense, treated as i f present.
I t would seem that the role of non-person usual l y carri ed
with i t some subordination and di srespect, but we must not
underesti mate the degree to which the person who i s given
or who takes such a role can use it as a defence. And it
must be added that si tuati ons can ari se when subordi nates
find that the only feasi bl e way that they can handl e a super-
ordinate i s to treat him as if he were not present. Thus, on
the i sl and studi ed by the writer, when the Bri ti sh Publ i c
School doctor attended pati ents in the homes of poor crofters,
the resi dents someti mes handled the diffi culty of rel ati ng
themsel ves to the doctor by treati ng him, as best they could,
as if he were not present. I t may al so be added that a team
can treat an indivi dual as if he were not present, doing thi s
not because it i s the natural thing or the only feasi bl e thing
to do, but as a pointed way of expressi ng hosti l i ty to an
indi vi dual who has conducted himself improperly. I n such
si tuati ons, the important show i s to show the outcast that
he i s bei ng ignored, and the acti vi ty that i s carri ed on in
order to demonstrate thi s may i tsel f be of secondary
importance.
We have consi dered some types of persons who are not,
in a simple sense, performers, audi ence, or outsi ders, 'and
who have access to informati on and regi ons we would not
expect of chem. We consi der now four addi ti onal di screpant
rol es, involving, in the main, persons who are not present
during a performance but who have unexpected informati on
about it.
Fi rst, there i s an important role that might be cal l ed
'servi ce speci al i st. I t i s filled by i ndi vi dual s who speci al i ze
in the constructi on, repair, and mai ntenance of the show
thei r cl i ents maintain before other peopl e. Some of these
workers, l i ke archi tects and furniture sal esmen, speci al i ze
in setti ngs; some, such as denti sts, hai rdressers, and
dermatol ogi sts, deal with personal front; some, such as
staff economi sts, accountants, l awyers, and researchers,
formulate the factual el ements of a cl i ents verbal displ ay,
that i s, hi s teams argument-line or i ntel l ectual position.
On the basi s of concrete research it would seem that
servi ce speci al i sts can hardly attend to the needs of an
96
indivi dual performer without acquiring as much, or more
destructi ve information about some aspects of the indi vi dual 's
performance as the individual hi msel f possesses. Service
speci al i sts are l i ke members of the team in that they learn
the secrets of the show and obtain a backstage view of it.
Unlike members of the team, however, the speci al i st does
not share the risk, the guilt, and the sati sfacti on of presenti ng
before an audi ence the show to which he has contri buted.
And, unl i ke members of the team, in l earni ng the secrets of
others, the others do not learn correspondi ng secrets about
him. I t i s in thi s context that we can understand why
professi onal ethi cs often obl i ge the speci al i st to show
di screti on, i .e., not to give away a show whose secrets
hi s duti es have made him privy to. Thus, for example,
psychotherapi sts who vi cari ousl y parti ci pate so widel y in
the domesti c warfare of our ti mes are pledged to remain si l ent
about what they have l earned, except to their supervi sors.
When the speci al i st i s of higher general soci al status
than the i ndi vi dual s for whom he provides a servi ce, his
general soci al val uati on of them may be confirmed by the
parti cul ar thi ngs he must l eam about them. In some si tuati ons
thi s becomes a si gni fi cant factor in maintaining the status
quo. Thus in American towns upper-middle cl ass bankers
come to see that the owners of.some small busi nesses present
a front for tax purposes that is i nconsi stent with their banking
transacti ons, and that other busi nessmen present a confident
publ i c front of sol vency while pri vatel y requesti ng a loan in
an abj ect, fumbling manner. Mi ddl e-cl ass doctors on charity
duty who must treat shameful di seases in shameful surround
i ngs are in a similar position, for they make it i mpossi bl e
for a l ower-cl ass person to protect hi msel f from the i nti mate
i nsi ght of hi s superordi nates. Similarly, a landlord l earns
that all of his tenants act as if they were the sort who al ways
pai d their rent on time but that for some tenants thi s act i s
only an act. Persons who are not servi ce speci al i sts are
someti mes given the same di si l l usi oni ng view. I n many
organi zati ons, for example, an executi ve officer i s required
to observe the show of bustl i ng competence that the personnel
mai ntai ns, although he may secretl y possess an accurate
and low opinion of some of those who work under him.
Someti mes we find, of course, that the general soci al
status of the cl i ent i s higher than that of the speci al i sts
who are retai ned to attend to hi s front. In such cases an
i nteresti ng dilemma of status occurs, with high status and
low information control on one side, and low status and high
97
informati on control on the other. In such cases it i s possi bl e
for the speci al i st to become overi mpressed with the weak
nesses in the show that hi s betters put on and to forget the
weaknesses in hi s own. In consequence, such speci al i sts
someti mes develop a characteri sti c ambi val ence, feeling
cyni cal about the 'better' world for the same reasons that
make them vi cari ousl y intimate with it. Thus the janitor,
by vi rtue of the servi ce he provides, l earns v hat kind of
liquor the tenants drink, what kind of food they eat, what
l etters they recei ve, what bi l l s they l eave unpaid, and whether
the l ady of the apartment is menstruati ng behind her un
contami nated front, and how cl ean the tenants keep the
ki tcheh, bathroom, and other back regions. 1 Similarly, the
American fi lli ng stati on manager i s in a posi ti on to learn
that a man who affects a new Cadi l l ac may buy only a dol l ars
worth of gas, or buy a cut-price variety, or seek to wotk the
stati on for free servi ce. And he al so knows that the show
some men put on of mascul ine know-how about cars i s false,
for they can nei ther di agnose the trouble with their car
correctl y, ahhough cl ai mi ng to, nor drive up to the gasol i ne
pumps in a competent way. So, too, persons who sel l dresses
l earn that customers of whom they would not have expected
it someti mes have dirty underwear and that customers
unabashedl y judge a garment by i ts capaci ty to mi srepresent
the facts. Those who sel l mens cl othi ng learn that the gruff
show men maintain of being l i ttl e concerned with how they
look i s merely a show and that strong, si l ent men will try
on sui t after suit, hat after hat, until they appear in the mirror
exactl y as they want to see themsel ves. So al so, policemen
I eam from the thi ngs that reputabl e busi nessmen want them
to do and not do that the pi l l ars of soci ety have a sl i ght
ti l t. 2 Hotel maids learn that male guests who make passes
at them upstai rs are not quite what the seeml i ness u* their
downstai rs conduct suggests. 3 And hotel securi ty offi cers,
or house dicks, as they are more commonly cal i .d, I eam
that a wastebasket may conceal two rej ected drafts of a
sui ci de note :
Darli ng
By the t i me you gel t hi s I wi l l be it here not hi ng you ran
do wi l l hurt me-
l i y t he ti me you read t hi s, nothing you con do wi l l be
abl e to h u r t 4
l See Ray Gol d, *The Chi cago Fl at J ani tor (Unpubl ished 'Master's thesi s,
Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1950), especi al l y chap.
iv, The Garbage.
2Wesdey, op. ci t . , p. 131.
3 Writers srudy of an i sl and hotel.
4Col l ans, op. ci t., p. 156.
98
showing that the final feel i ngs of a desperatel y uncompromis
ing person were somewhat rehearse:! in order to stri ke j ust
the right note mid in any case were not final. Service
speci al i sts of questi onabl e repute who maintain an offi ce in
the back regi ons of a ci ty so that cl i ents will not be seen
seeki ng assi stance cl earl y provide another example. In Mr
Hughes words:
common scene in fiction depi cts a lady of degree seeki ng,
vei l ed and al one, the address of the fortunetel l er or dte midwife of
doubtful practi ce in nn obscure corner of the ci ty. The anonymity of
certai n secti ons of ci ti es al l ows peopl e to seek speci al i zed servi ces,
l egi ti mate but embarrassi ng as wel l as il lej ti mate, from persons
with whom they would not want to be seen by members of thei r own
soci al ci rcl e.
The speci al i st may, of course, carry his anonymity with
him, as does the exterminator who adverti ses that he will
come to the cl i ents house in a van that wears a plain wrapper.
Any guarantee of anonymity i s, of course, a rather bl atant
cl aim that the cl i ent has need of it and i s willing to make
use of it.
While it i s plain that the speci al i st whose work requi res
him to take a backstage view of other peopl es performances
will be an embarrassment to them, it must be appreci ated
that by changing the performance which serves as a point of
reference other consequences can be seen. We regularly
find that cl i ents may retai n a speci al i st not in order to obtain
help with a show they are putti ng on for others but for the
very act that i s provided by having a speci al i st attend them
especi al l y i f he has a higher general status than his cl i ents.
Many women, it seems, go to beauty parlours to be fussed
over and cal l ed madam and not merely because they need to
have their hair done. It has sometimes been claimed, for
example, that in Hindu I ndia the procurement of proper servi ce
speci al i sts for ri tual l y si gni fi cant tasks i s of crucial
si gni fi cance in confirming ones own caste posi ti on. 2 In
such cases as these, the performer may be i nterested in
bei ng known by the speci al i st who serves him and not by
the show that the servi ce al l ows him l ater to perform. And
so we find that speci al speci al i sts ari se who fulfil needs
that are too shameful for the cl i ent to take to speci al i sts
before whom he i s ordinarily not shameful. Thus the perform
ance that a cl i ent stages for his doctor sometimes forces
the cl i ent to go to a pharmaci st for aborti ves, contracepti ves,
and venereal di sease cures. 3 Similarly, in America, an
l E.C. Hughes and Hel en M. Hughes, Where Peopl e Meet (Gl encoe, 111.:
Free Press, 1952), p. 171,
2 For thi s and other data on I ndia, and foe suggesti ons in general , I am
i ndebted to McKim Marriott.
'Vei nl ei n, op. e i t p. 106.
99
individual involved in unseeml y entangl ements may take
hi s troubl es to a Negro l awyer because of the shame he might
l eel before a white one. 1
I t i s apparent that servi ce speci al i sts who possess
entrusted secrets are in a posi ti on to expl oit their knowledge
in order to gai n concessi ons from the performer whose secrets
they possess. The law, professi onal ethi cs, and enlightened
sel f-i nterest often put a stop to the grosser forms of black
mail, but small concessi ons del i catel y requested are frequentl y
unchecked by these forms of soci al control. Perhaps the
tendency to pl ace a lawyer, accountant, economist, or other
speci al i sts in verbal fronts on a retainer, and to bring those
who are on a retainer into the firm partl y represents an effort
to ensure di screti on; once the verbal speci al i st becomes
|>art of the organi zati on, presumably new methods can be
employed to ensure Jbis trustworthi ness. By bringing the
speci al i st into ones organi zati on and even one's team, there
i s al so greater assurance that he will employ hi s ski l l s in
the i nterests of ones show and not in the i nterests of prai se
worthy but i rrel evant matters such as a bal anced view, or
the presentati on of i nteresti ng theoreti cal data to che speci al
i st's professi onal audi ence. 2
A note shoul d be added about one variety of speci al i st
role, the role of 'trai ni ng speci al i st. I ndi vi dual s who take
thi s role have the complicated task of teachi ng the performer
how co build up a desi rabl e i mpressi on while at the same
time taking the part of the future audi ence and i l l ustrati ng
by puni shments the consequences of improprieties. Parents
1William H. Hal e, 'T he Career Devel opment of the Negro L awyer' (Un-
publ i shed Ph. D. di ssertati on, Department of Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of
Chi cago, 1949), p.72.
2The speci al i st in verbal fronts who i s brought into the organi zati on will
be expected to assembl e and present data in such a way as to lend
maximum support to the cl ai ms the team i s maki ng at the ti ne. The facts
of the case wil l ordi nari l y be an inci dcnral matter, merely one ingredi ent
to be consi dered al ong wich others, such as the l i kel y arguments of
one's opponents, the predi sposi ti on of the publ i c ac l arge to which the
team may want to appeal for support, che pri nci pl es co which everyone
concerned will feel obl i ged to give l i p-servi ce, etc. I nteresti ngl y enough,
the i ndi vi dual who hel ps col l ect and formul ate the army of faces used
i n a teams verbal show may al so be empl oyed in che di sti nctl y di fferent
task of presenti ng or conveyi ag thi s tronc in person co the audi ence.
I t i s rhe di fference between wri ti ng the ceremony for a show and
performing the ceremony i n che show. Here there i s a potenci al dilemma.
The more the speci al i st can be made to set asi de hi s professi onal
standards and consi der only che i nterests of the team which empl oys
him, the more useful may be che arguments he formul ates for them;
but the more he has a reputati on for being an i ndependent professi onal ,
i nterested only in the bal anced facts of the case, che more effecci vc
he i s l ikel y to be when he appears before the audi ence and presencs
hi s fi nJ i ngs. A very rich source of data on these matters i s to be
found in Wilensky, op. cil .
100
and school teachers are perhaps the basi c exampl es of thi s
role in our soci ety; the sergeants who drill officer cadets
provide a further example.
Performers often feel uneasy in the presence of a trainer
whose l essons they have long si nce l earned and taken for
granted. Trai ners tend to evoke for the performer a vivid
i mage of himself that he had repressed, a sel f-i mage of some
one engaged in the clumsy and embarrassi ng process of
becoming. The performer can make hi msel f forget how foolish
he once was, but he cannot make the trai ner forget. As
Ri ezl er suggests about any shameful fact, * if others know,
the fact i s establ i shed and hi s image of himself i s put beyond
hi s own power of remembering and forgetti ng. 1 Perhaps
there i s no consi stent easy stand that we can take to persons
who have seen behind our current frontpersons who knew
us wheni f at the same time they are persons who must
symbol ize the audi ences response to us and cannot, therefore,
be accepted as ol d team-mates might be.
The servi ce speci al i st has been mentioned as one type
of person who i s not a performer yet has access to back-
regi ons and destructi ve informati on. A second type i s the
person who pl ays the role of 'confi dant.' Confi dants are
persons to whom the performer conf esses his si ns, freely,
detai l i ng the sense in which the i mpression given during a
performance was merely an i mpressi on. Typi cal l y confi dants
are l ocated outsi de and parti ci pate only vi cari ousl y in back
and front region acti vi ty. I t i s to a person of thi s kind,
for i nstance, that a husband brings home a dai l y tal e of how
he fared in offi ce stratagems,, i ntri gues, unspoken feelings,
and bl uffs; and when he wri tes a l etter requesti ng, resi gni ng
from, or accepti ng a job it i s thi s person who will check
through the draft to make sure the l etter stri kes exactl y the
right note. And when ex-di pl omats and ex-boxers write their
memoirs, the reading public i s taken behind the scenes and
becomes a watered-down confidant of one of the great shows,
al bei t one that i s by then quite over.
A person in whom another confi des, unlike the servi ce
speci al i st, does not make a busi ness of recei vi ng such con-
fi dances; he accepts the informati on without accepti ng a
fee, as an expressi on of the friendship, trust, and regard
the informant feel s for him. We find, however, that cl i ents
often attempt to transform thei r servi ce speci al i sts i nto
confi dants (perhaps as a means of ensuri ng discretion),
R i ezl er, op. cit., p. 458.
101
especi al l y when the work of the speci al i st i s merely to l i sten
and tal k, as i s the case with pri ests and psychotherapi sts.
A third role remai ns to be consi dered. Li ke the role of
speci al i st and confidant, the role of col l eague affords those
who play ir some information about a performance they do not
attend.
Col l eagues may be defined as persons who present the
same routine to the same kind of audi ence but who do not
parti ci pate together, as team-mates do, at the same time and
pl ace before the same parti cul ar audi ence. Col l eagues, >as it i s
sai d, share a community of face. In having to put on the same
kind of performance, they come to know each others di ffi cul ti es
and poi nts of vi ew; whatever thei r tongues, they come to speak
the same soci al l anguage. And while col l eagues who compete
for audi ences may keep some strategi c secrets from one another,
they cannot very well, hide from one another certai n thi ngs
that they hid from the audi ence. The front that i s maintained
before others need not be mai ntai ned among themsel ves;
relaxati on becomes possi bl e. Hughes has recentl y provided
a statement of the compl exeti es of thi s kind of col l eague
sol i dari ty.
Parc of the worki ng code of a posi ti on i s discretion*, it al l ows the
col l eagues co exchange confi dences concerni ng thei r rel ati ons co ocher
peopl e. Among these confi dences one finds expressi ons of cyni ci sm
concerni ng thei r mi ssi on, cheir competence, and the foi bl es of cheir
superi ors, themsel ves, thei r cl i ents, thei r subordi nates, and the publi c
at l arge. Such expressi ons take the burden from one's shoul ders and
serve as a defence as wel l . The unspoken mutual confi dence necessary
to them rests on two assumpti ons concerni ng one's fel l ows. The fi rst
is that the col l egaue will not mi sunderstand, the second i s that he
viil not repeat to uni ni ated ears. To be sure that a new fel low will
not mi sunderstand requi res a sparri ng match of soci al gestures. The
zeal ot who turns the sparri ng match into a real battl e, who takes a
friendly i ni ti ati on too seri ousl y, i s not likely to be trusted with the
l i ghter sort of comment on one's work or with doubts and mi sgi vi ngs;
nor can he l earn those parts of the working code whi ch arc communi cated
onl y by hi nt and gesture. He is not to be trusted, for, though he i s
not fit for stratagems, he i s suspected of being prone to treason. In
order chat men may communi cate freely and confi denti al l y they must
be able to take a good deal of each other's senti ments for granted.
They must feel easy about thei r si l ences as wel l as about thei r
utterances. 1
A good statement of some other aspects of col l egi al sol i d
arity i s given by Simone de Beauvoi r; her intention i s to
descri be the pecul i ar si tuati on of women, her effect i s to tell
us about al l col l egi al groups:
I he female fri endshi ps that she succeeds in keepi ng or forming
are preci ous to a woman, but they are very di fferent in kind from
rel ati ons between men. The l atter communi cate as i ndi vi dual s through
i deas and proj ects of personal i nterest, whi l e women are confined
within their general feminine lot and bound together by a kind of immanent
compl i ci ty. And what they look for fi rst of all among themsel ves
1Hughes and Hughes, KAere People Meet, pp. 168-169.
102
is the affi rmati on of the uni verse they have in common. They do not
di scuss opi ni ons and general i deas, hue exchange confi dences and
reci pes; ihcy are in l eague co create a kind of countcr-uni verse, the
val ues of whi ch will outwei gh mascul i ne val ues. Col l ecti vel y they
find strength to shake off thei r chai ns; they negate the sexual dominati on
of the mal es by admi tti ng thei r fri gidity to one another, whi l e deri di ng
the mens desi res or thei r cl umsi ness; and diev questi on i ronical ly
the moral and i ntel l ectual superi ori ty of thei r husbands, and of men
m g e n e r a l . _ -
They compare experi ences; pregnanci es, bi rths, thei r own and cheir
chi l drens i l l nesses, and househol d cares become the essenti al events
of the human story. Thei r work i s not a techni que; by passi ng on
reci pes for cooki ng and the l i ke, they endow it with the di gnity of
a secret sci ence founded on oral tradi ti on. *
I t should be apparent, tlien, why the terms used to desi gnate
ones col l eagues, l i ke the terms used to desi gnate ones team
mates, come to be in-^group terms, and why terms used co
desi gnate audi ences tend to be l oaded without group sentiment.
it i s i nteresti ng to note that when team-mates come in
contact with a stranger who i s their col l eague, a sort of cere
monial or honorifi c team membership may be temporarily
accorded the newcomer. There i s a sort of visi ting-fi reman
complex whereby team-mates treat their vi si tor as if he had
.suddenly come into very inti mate and long-standing rel ati onshi ps
with them. Whatever their associ ati onal prerogati ves, he
tends to be given cl ub ri ghts. These courtesi es are especi al l y
given when the vi si tor and the hosts happen to have received
their trai ning in the same establ i shment or from the same
trai ners, or both. Graduates of the same household, the same
professi onal school , the same peni tenti ary, the same Publ i c
School, or the same small town provide cl ear exampl es. When
old boys meet, it may be diffi cult to sustai n backstage horse
play and the dropping of ones customary pose may become
an obl i gati on and a pose in i tsel f, but i t i s more diffi cult to
do anything el se.
An i nteresti ng impl ication of these suggesti ons i s that
a team which constantl y performs i ts routi nes to the same
audi ence may yet be soci al l y more di stant from thi s audi ence
than from a col l eague who momentarily comes into contact
with the team. Thus the gentry in the i sl and community
previousl y mentioned knew their crofter nei ghbours very well,
havi ng played out the gentry role to them si nce childhood.
Vet a gentry vi si tor to the i sl and, properly sponsored and
i ntroduced, could, in some senses, become more inti mate with
the i sl and gentry in the course of an afternoon tea than could
a crofter during a lifetime of contact with hi s gentry nei ghbours.
It may be suggested that the good will one col l eague cere
monially extends to another i s perhaps a kind of peace offeri ng:
1'ic Henuvoi r. ;. ci t . , p. M2.
103
'Y ou dont cell on us and we wont tel l on you. Thi s partl y
expl ai ns why doctors and shopkeepers often give professi onal
courtesi es or reducti ons in price to those who are in some
way connected with the trade. We have here a kinvl of bribery
of those who are well enough informed to become spotters.
The nature of col l eagueshi p al l ows us to understand some
thing about the important soci al process of endogamy, whereby
a family of one cl ass, caste, occupati on, reli gion, or ethni ci ty
tends to restri ct i ts marriage ti es to fami l i es of the same
status. Persons who are brought together by affinal ti es are
brought to a posi ti on from which they can see behi nd each
other's front; thi s i s al ways embarrassi ng but it i s l ess
embarrassi ng if the newcomers backstage have themsel ves
been maintaining the same kind of show and have been privy
to the same destructi ve informati on. A mi sal l i ance i s something
that brings backstage and into the team someone who shoul d
be kept outsi de or at l east in the audi ence.
It i s to be noted that persons who are col l eagues in one
capaci ty, and hence on terms of some reciprocal familiarity,
may not be col l eagues in other respects. I t i s someti mes felt
that a col l eague who i s in other respects a man of l esser
power or status may over-extend his cl ai ms of fami liarity and
threaten the soci al di stance that ought to be maintained on
the basi s of these other statuses. In American soci ety, middle-
cl ass persons of low minority-group status are often threatened
thi s way by the presumption of their l ower-cl ass brethren.
As Hughes suggests in regard to i nter-raci al col l eague
rel ati ons:
The di lemma ari ses from che face that, whi l e it i s bad for the
professi on to l et l aymen see ri fts in thei r ranks, it may be bad for che
i ndi vi dual to be associ ated in the eyes of hi s actual or potenti al pati ents
with persons, even col l eagues, of so despi sed a group as the Negro.
The favoured way of avoi di ng the dil emma i s co shun contacts with
the Negro professi onal . 1
Similarly, empl oyers who patentl y have l ower-cl ass status,
as do some American filli ng stati on managers, often find that
thei r empl oyees expect that the whole operation will be
conducted in a backstage manner and that commands and
di recti ons will be i ssued only in a pl eadi ng or joking fashion.
Of course, thi s kind of threat i s i ncreased by the fact that
non-col l eagues may si mi l arl y simplify the si tuati on and judge
the i ndivi dual too much by the col l egi al company he keeps.
But here again we deal with i ssues that cannot be fully explored
unl ess we change the point of reference from one performance
to another.
1Hughes and Hughes, KAere Peopl e Meet, p. 172.
104
J ust as some persons are thought co cause diffi culty by
n>aking too much of their col l eagueshi p, so others cause trouble
by not making enough of it. I t i s al ways possi bl e for a
di saffected col l eague to turn renegade and sell out to the
audi ence the secrets of the act that hi s onetime brethren are
sti l l performing. Every role has i ts defrocked pri ests to tell
us what goes on in the monastery, and the press has al ways
shown a l i vel y i nterest in these confessi ons and expose's.
Thus a doctor will descri be in print how hi s col l eagues spl i t
fees, steal each others pati ents, and speci al i ze in unnecessary
operati ons rhar require the kind of apparatus which gi ves the
pati ent a dramatic medical show for hi s money. 1 In Burkes
term, we are thereby suppl i ed with information about the
'rhetori c of medi ci ne. J Of course, in a very limited sense,
whenever any non-col l eague i s al lowed to become a confidant,
someone will have had to be a renegade.
Renegades often take a moral stand, sayi ng that it i s
better to be true to the i deal s of the role than to the performers
who fal sel y present themsel ves in it. A di fferent mode of
di saffecti on occurs when a col l eague "goes nati ve or becomes
a backsl i der, making no attempt to maintain the kind of front
which hi s authori zed status makes or l eads his col l eagues
and the audi ence to expect of him. Such devi ants are sai d to
'l et down the si de. Thus in the isl and community studi ed
by the writer, the i nhabi tants, in an effort to present themsel ves
as progressi ve farmers to vi si tors from the outsi de world, felt
somewhat hosti l e to the few crofters who apparently di dnt
care and who refused to shave or wash, or construct a front
yard, or to suppl ant the thatched roof of thei r cottage with
something l ess symbol ic of tradi ti onal peasant status.
Similarly, in Chi cago there i s an organi zati on of blind war
veterans who, mil itant in their desi re not to accept a pi ti abl e
role, tour the ci ty in order to check up on fellow blind men
who let down the si de by appeal i ng for al ms on street corners.
L ewi s G. Arrowsmith, 'T he Young Doctor in New Y ork, The American
' l ercury, XXII, 1-10.
^Kenneth iJ urlcc, A Rhet ori c o f Mot i ves (New Y ork: Prenti ce-l l al l , 1953).
r. 171.
Appl yi ng thi s statement to our purposes, we could observe that even
the medi cal equi pment of a doctor's offi ce i s not to be judged purely for
i ts di agnosti c useful ness, hue al so hfi3 a function in the rhetori c of
ni edi ci ne. Ul iatevef it i s as apparatus, i t al so appeal s as i magery; and
1 f ' man has been treated to a ful some scri es of tappi ngs, sctuti ni zi ngs,
and l i steni ngs, with the ai d of vari ous scopes, meters, and gauges, he.
may feel content to have parti ci pated as a pati ent in such hi stri oni c
acti un, though absol utel y no materi al thi ng has been done for him, whereas
he might count hi msel f cheated if he were gi ven a teal cure, but wi thout
the pageantry.
105
A final note must be added about col l eagueshi p. There
are some col l eague groupings whose members are rarely held
responsi bl e for each others good conduct. Thus mothers are
in some respects a col l eague grouping, and yet ordinarily the
mi sdeeds of one, or her confessi ons, do not seem to affect
cl osel y the respect that i s accorded the other members. On
the other hand, there are col l eague groupi ngs of a more
corporate character, whose members are so cl osel y identified
in the eyes of other peopl e that to some degree the good
reputation of one practi ti oner depends on the good conduct of
the others. I f one member i s exposed and causes a scandal ,
then al l l ose some public repute. As cause and effect of
such i denti fi cati on we often find that the members of the group
i ng are formally organi zed into a si ngl e col l ecti vi ty which i s
al lowed to represent the professi onal i nterests of the grouping
and al l pweJ to di sci pl i ne any member who threatens to di scredi t
the defi ni ti on of the si ruati on fostered by the other members.
Obviously, col l eagues of thi s kind consti tute a kind of team,
a team that di ffers from ordinary teams in that the members of
i ts audi ence are not in immediate face-to-face contact with
one another and must communicate thei r responses to one
another at a time when the shows they have seen are no longer
before them. Similarly, the col l egi al renegade i s a kind of
trai tor or turncoat.
The i mpl i cati ons of these facts about col l eague groupings
force us to modify a l i ttl e the original framework of defi ni ti ons.
We must i ncl ude a marginal type of 'weak1 audi ence whose
members are not in face-to-face contact with one another during
a performance, but who come eventual l y to pool their responses
to the performance they have i ndependentl y seen. Col l eague
groupings are not, of course, the only sets of performers who
find an audi ence of thi s kind. For example, a department of
state or foreign office may lay down the current official li ne
to di pl omats who are .scattered throughout the world. In their
stri ct mai ntenance of thi s line, and in the inti mate co-ordination
of the character and timing of their acti ons, these di pl omats
obvi ousl y functi on, or are meant to function, as a si ngl e team
putti ng on a si ngl e world-wide performance. But of course, in
such cases, the several members of the audi ence are not in
immediate face-to-face contact with one another.
106
CI I A PTK R V
COMMUNICATION OUT OF CHARACTER
When two teams present themsel ves to each other for
purposes of i nteracti on, the members of each team tern! to
(Maintain the l i ne that they are what they claim to be; they
tend to stay in character. Backstage fami liarity i s suppressed
l est the interplay of poses col l apse and all the parti ci pants
find themsel ves on the same team, as it were, with no one
left to pl ay to. Each parti ci pant in the i nteracti on ordinarily
endeavours to know and keep hi s pl ace, maintaining whatever
bal ance of formality and informality has been establ i shed for
the i nteracti on, even to the point of extendi ng thi s treatment
to his own team-mates. At the same time, each team tends to
suppress i ts candi d view of i tsel f and of the other team,
proj ecti ng a concepti on of sel f and a concepti on of other that
i s rel ati vel y acceptabl e to the other. And to ensure that
communication will follow establ i shed, narrow channel s, each
team i s prepared to assi st the other team, taci tl y and tactfully,
in maintaining the i mpressi on it i s attempti ng to foster. Of
course, at moments of great cri si s, a new set of moti ves may
suddenly become effecti ve and the establ i shed soci al di stance
between the teams may sharpl y i ncrease or decrease, i but
when the cri si s i s past, the previ ous working consensus i s
li kel y to be re-establ i shed, al bei t bashfully.
Underneath and behind thi s working consensus, and the
gentl emans agreement not to disrupt the interacti on upon
which thi s limited consensus is based, there are, typi cal l y,
l ess apparent currents of communication. I f these currents
were not undercurrents, if these concepti ons were officially
communicated i nstead of communicated in a surrepti ti ous
way, they would contradi ct and di scredi t the defi ni ti ons of
the si tuati on offi ci al l y projected by the parti ci pants. When
'A n exampl e i s found in a recent study of a hospi tal ward on which
experi mental treatment was gi ven to vol unteers sufferi ng from metabol i c
di sorders about whi ch li ttle was known and for which l i ttl e coul d be done.
In face of the research demands made upon the pati ents and the general
l eel i ng of hopel essness about prognosi s, the usual sharp li ne between
doctor and pati ent was bl unted. Doctors respectful l y consul ted with
tliuit pati ents at length about symptoms, and pati ents came to think of
themsel ves in part as research associ ates. See Kenee Cl ai re Fox, M
Sociological Study of Stress : Physi ci an and Pati ent on a Research Ward,
Unpubl i shed Ph. L). di ssertati on, Department of Soci al Rel ati ons, Kadcliff
Col l ege, 1953.
107
we study a soci al establ i shment, these di screpant senti ments
are al most al ways found. They demonstrate that while a
performer may act as i f hi s response in a si tuati on were
immediate, unthinki ng, and spontaneous, and while he hi msel f
may think thi s to be the case, sti l l it will al ways be possi bl e
for si tuati ons to ari se in which he will convey to one or two
persons present the understandi ng that the show he i s mai ntai n
i ng i s onl y and merely a show. The presence, then, of
communication out of character provi des one argument for the
propriety of studyi ng performances in terms of teams and in
terms of potenti al i nteracti on di srupti ons. I t may be repeated
that no claim i s made that surrepti ti ous communi cati ons are
any more a refl ecti on of the real real i ty than are the official
communicati ons with which they are i nconsi stent; the point
i s that the performer i s typi cal l y involved in both, and thi s
dual involvement must be careful l y managed l est offi ci al
proj ecti ons be di scredi ted. Of the many types of communication
in which the performer engages and which convey informati on
i ncompati bl e with the i mpression officially maintained during
i nteracti on, four types will be consi dered: treatment of the
absent, stagi ng tal k, team col l usi on, and temporary re
al ignments.
Treatment of the Absent
When the members of a team go backstage where the
audi ence cannot see or hear them, they very regularl y derogate
the audi ence in a way that i s i nconsi stent with the (ace-to-face
treatment that i s given to the audi ence. In servi ce trades,
for example, customers who are treated respectful l y during
the performance are often ridiculed, gossi ped about, cari catured,
cursed, and cri ti ci zed when the performers are backstage;
here, too, pl ans may be worked out for 'sel l i ng them, or
employing 'angl es agai nst them, or paci fyi ng them.1
Similarly, there are very few friendship rel ati onshi ps in which
there i s not some occasi on when atti tudes expressed about
the friend- behind hi s back are grossly incompati bl e with the
ones expressed about him to hi s face.
Sometimes, of course, the opposi te of derogation occurs,
and performers prai se their audi ence in a way that would be
i mpermi ssi bl e for them to do in the actual presence of the
audi ence. But secret derogation seems to be much more common
than secret prai se, perhaps because such derogation serves
1 See, for exampl e, the case report on 'Central Haberdashery' i n Robert
Dubin, ed., Unman Rel at i ons i n Admi ni st rat i on (New Y ork: Prentiec-Mal l ,
1951) pp. 560*563.
108
to maintain the sol i dari ty of the team, demonstrati ng mutual
regard at the expense of those absent and compensating,
perhaps, for the l oss of sel f-respect that may occur when the
audi ence must be accorded accommodative face-i o-face
treatment.
Two common techni ques of derogating the absent audi ence
may be suggested. Fi rst, we often find that when performers
are in the region in which they will appear before the audi ence,
and when the audi ence has left or not yet arrived, the performers
will someti mes play out a sati re on their i nteraction with the
audi ence, and with some members of the team taki ng the role
of the audi ence. Frances Donovan, for example, in descri bi ng
the sources of fun avai l abl e to sal es-gi rl s, suggests the
fol l owi ng:
Dot unl ess they are busy the gi rl s do noc remai n long apart. An
i rresi sti bl e attracti on draws them together a^ai n. At every opportunity
they pl ay the game of customer,* a game which they have i nvented and
of whi ch they never seem to ti tea game whi ch for cari cature and
comedy, 1 have nevet seen surpassed on any stage. One girl takes the
part of the sal eswoman, another that of the customer in search of a
dress, and together they put on an act that would del i ght the heart of a
vaudevi l l e audi ence. 1
A similar si tuati on i s descri bed by Dennis Kincai d in hi s
di scussi on of the kind of soci al contact that nati ves arranged
for the Bri ti sh during the early part of Bri ti sh rule in I ndi a:
I f the young factors found l i ttl e pl easure at these entertai nments,
thei t hosts for al l the sati sfacti on they would at other ti mes have
deri ved from Raj i 's grace and K al i ani 's wit, were too uneasy to enj oy
thei r own party ti l l the guests had gone. Then fol lowed an entertai nment
of whi ch few Engl i sh guests were aware. The doors woul d be shut,
and the danci ng gi rl s, excel l ent mimics li ke al l I ndi ans, would give
an imi tati on of the bored guests who had j ust l eft, and the uncomfortabl e
tensi on of the l ast hour would be di spel l ed in bursts of happy laughter.
And whi l e the Engli sh phaetons cl attered home Raj i and kal i ani would
be dressed up to cari cature Engl i sh costume ana be executi ng with
i ndecent exaggerati on an Ori ental i zed versi on of Engli sh dances, those
mi nuets and country dances whi ch seemed so i nnocent and natural to
Engl i sh eyes, so di fferent from the provocati ve posturi ng of I ndian
nautch-gi rl s, but which to I ndi ans appeared utterly scandal ous. 2
Among other thi ngs, thi s acti vi ty seems to provide a kind of
ritual profanati on of the front region as well as of the
audi ence, 3
Secondly, we quite regularl y find that a consi stent
difference appears between terms of reference and terms of
1 Frances Donovan, The Sal es l ady (Chi cago: Uni versi ty of Chi cago Press,
1929), p. 39. Speci fi c exampl es are gi ven on pp. 39-40.
2Denni s Ki ncai d, Bri t i sh Soci al Li f e in Indi a, 1608-1937 (London: Routl edge,
1938), pp. 106-107.
3 A rel ated tendency may be menti oned. In many offi ces chat are di vi ded
i nto ranked regi ons, the l unchti me break will find the topmost l evel
l eavi ng the soci al establ i shment and everyone el se in it moving up a
region for lunch or for a few moments of af terl unch tal k. Momentary
possessi on of the work-pl ace of one's superordi nates seems to offer,
among other thi ngs, an opportunity to profani ze-i t in some ways.
109
address. In the presence of the audi ence, the performers tend
to use a favourable form of address to them. Thi s involves,
in American soci ety, a pol i tel y formal term, such as 'si r or
'Mr or a warmly fami liar term, such as first name or ni ck
name, the formality or informality bei ng determined by the
wi shes of the person addressed. In the absence of the audi ence,
the audi ence tends to be referred to by bare surname, first
name where thi s i s not permi ssi bl e to their faces, nickname,
or sl i ghti ng pronunciation of full name. Sometimes members
of the audi ence are referred to not even by a sl i ghti ng name
hut by a code ti tl e which assi mi l ates them fully to an abstract
category. Thus doctors in the absence of a pati ent may refer
to him as the cardi ac or 'the strep; barbers privately refer
to thei r customers as 'heads of hai r. So, too, the audi ence
may be referred to in their absence by a col l ecti ve term combin
ing di stance and derogation, suggesti ng an ingroup-outgroup
spl i t. Thus musi ci ans will cal l customers squares; nati ve
American offi ce gi rl s may secretl y refer to thei r foreign
col l eagues as 'G. R.s; 1 American sol di ers may secretl y
refer to Engl i sh sol di ers with whom they work as 'L i meys; 2
pitchmen in carni val s present their spi el before persons whom
they refer to in pri vate, as rubes, nati ves, or towners; and
J ews act out the routi nes of the parent soci ety for an audi ence
which i s cal l ed the goyim. Perhaps the cruel est term of all
i s found in si tuati ons where an individual asks to be cal l ed
by a fami liar term to hi s face, and thi s i s tol erantl y done, but
in hi s absence he i s referred to by a formal term. Thus on
the i sl and studi ed by the writer any vi si tor who asked the
l ocal crofters to cal l him by hi s fi rst name was someti mes
obl i ged to hi s face, but in the absence of the vi si tor a formal
term of reference would push him back into what was felt to
be hi s proper pl ace.
1 have suggested two standard ways in which performers
derogate thei r audi encesmock role-playing and uncomplimentary
terms of reference. There are other standard ways. For
example, when no member of the audi ence i s present, the
German Refugees. See Gross, op. ci l ., p. 186.
2Sce Dani el Gl aser, 'A Study of Rel ati ons between Bri ti sh and American
hnl i sced Men at SMAHF,' Unpubl i shed Master's thesi s, Department of
Soci ol ogy, Uni versi ty of Chi cago, 1947. Mr Gl aser says, p. 16:
The term 'l i mey, as used by the Ameri cans in pl ace of 'Bri ti sh,
was general l y empl oyed with derogatory i mpl i cati ons. They would refrai n
from usi ng i t in the presence of the Bri ti sh though the l atter usual ly
ci ther di dnt know what it meant or di dnt gi ve it a derogatory si gni fi cance.
I ndeed, the Ameri cans care in thi s respect was rnuch li ke that of Northern
whi l es who use the term 'ni gger* but refrai n from usi ng it in front of a
Negro. Thi s ni ckname phenomenon i s, of course, a common feature of
ethni c rel ati ons in which categori c contacts prevai l .'
110
members of the team may refer to aspects of their routine in a
cyni cal or purely techni cal way, giving forceful evi dence to
themsel ves that they do not take the same view of their acti vi ty
as the view they maintain for thei r audi ence. A further standard
derogation may be ci ted. When team-mates are warned that
the audi ence i s approaching, the team-mates may hold off
thei r performance, purposel y, until the very l ast minute, until
the audi ence al most catches a gl i mpse of backstage acti vi ty.
Similarly, the team may race i nto backstage rel axati on the
moment the audi ence has departed. By means of thi s purposely
rapid swi tch into or out of their act, the team in a sense can
contami nate and profani ze the audi ence by backstage conduct,
or rebel agai nst the obl i gati on of maintaining a show before
the audi ence, or make extremely cl ear the difference between
team and audi ence, and do all of these thi ngs without quite
being caught out by the audi ence. Still another standard
aggressi on agai nst those absent occurs in the ki dding and
ribbing a member of the team recei ves when he i s about to
l eave (or merely desi res to leave) hi s team-mates and ri se or
fall or move l ateral l y into the ranks of the audi ence. At such
ti mes the team-mate who i s ready to move can be treated as
if he has al ready moved, and abuse or familiarity can be heaped
upon him with impunity, and, by implication, upon the audi ence.
And a final i nstance of aggressi on is found when someone
from the audi ence i s officially brought into the team. Again,
he may be jokingly mi streated and 'gi ven a hard ti me, for
much the same reason that he was abused when he departed
from the team he has j ust left. 1
The techni ques of derogation which have been consi dered
point out the fact that, verbally, i ndi vi dual s are treated
rel ati vel y well to thei r faces and rel ati vel y badly behind their
backs. Thi s seems to be one of the basi c general i zati ons
that can be made about i nteracti on, but we should not seek in
our all-too-human nature an expl anati on of it. As previousl y
suggested, backstage derogation of the audi ence serves to
maintain the morale of the team. And when the audi ence i s
present, consi derate treatment of them i s necessary, not for
thei r sake, or for thei r sake merely, but so that conti nuance
of peaceful and orderly i nteracti on will be assured. The
actual (eel i ngs of the performers for a member of the audi ence
(.whether posi ti ve or negati ve) seem to have l i ttl e to do with
rhe question, ei ther as a determinant of how thi s member of
the audi ence i s treated to hi s face or as a determinant of how
1 Cf. Kenneth Burke, A Rhet ori c o f Mot i ves, p. 234 ff., who gi ves a soci al
anal ysi s of the i ndi vi dual being i ni ti ated, usi ng as a key word 'hazi ng.'
HI
he i s treated behind hi s back. I t may be true that backstage
acti vi ty often takes the form of a counci l of war; but when
two teams meet on che fiel d of i nteraction it seems chat they
general l y do not meet for peace or for war. They meet under
a temporary truce, a working consensus, in order to get thei r
busi ness done.
Staging Talk
When team-mates are out of the presence of the audi ence,
di scussi on often turns to problems of stagi ng. Questi ons
are rai sed about the condi ti on of sign equi pment; stands, li nes,
and posi ti ons are tentati vel y brought forth and 'cl eared' by
the assembl ed membershi p; the meri ts and demerits of avai l abl e
front regi ons are anal yzed; the si ze and character of possi bl e
audi ences for the performance are consi dered; past performance
di srupti ons and l ikely di srupti ons are tal ked about; news about
the teams of ones col l eagus i s transmi tted; the reception
given ones l ast performance i s mull ed over in what are some-
ti mes cal l ed 'post mortems; wounds are l i cked and morale
i s strengthened for the next performance.
Staging talk, when cal l ed by other names such as gossi p,
'shop tal k, etc., i s a well-worn notion. I have stressed it
here because it hel ps point up the fact that i ndi vi dual s with
widely different soci al rol es l i ve in the same cl i mate of drama
turgi cal experi ence. The tal ks that comedi ans and schol ars
gi ve are quite different, but thei r talk about thei r work i s quite
similar. To a surpri si ng degree, before the talk, tal kers talk
to thei r friends about what will and will not hold the audi ence,
what will and will not give offence; after the tal k, all tal kers
tal k to their fri ends about the kind of hall they spoke in, the
kind of audi ence they drew, and the kind of reception they
obtai ned. Stagi ng talk has al ready been referred to in the
di scussi on of backstage acti vi ty and col l egi al sol i dari ty and
will not be further di scussed here.
Team Collusion
When a parti ci pant conveys something during i nteraction,
we expect him to communicate only through the l i ps of the
character he has chosen to project, openly addressi ng all of
hi s remarks to the whole i nteracti on so that all persons present
are given equal status as reci pi ents of communication. Thus
112
whispering, for example, i s often consi dered improper and i s
prohibited, for it can destroy the i mpressi on that the performer
i s only what he appears to be and that thi ngs are as he has
cl aimed them to .be. 1
In spi te of the expectati on that everythi ng said by the
performer will be in keepi ng with the defini tion of the si tuati on
fostered by him, he may convey a great deal daring an inter
acti on chat i s out of character and convey i t in such a way as
to prevent the audi ence as a whole from real i zi ng that anything
out of keepi ng with the defini tion of the si tuati on has been
conveyed. Persons who are admitted to thi s secret commun
icati on are pl aced in a col l usi ve rel ati onshi p to one another
vi s-a-vi s the remainder of the parti ci pants. By acknowledgi ng
to one another that they are keepi ng rel evant secrets from the
others present, they acknowl edge to one another that the show
of candour they maintain, and the show of bei ng only the
characters they offi ci al l y project, i s merely a show. By means
of such by-play, performers can affirm a backstage sol i dari ty
even while engaged in a performance, expressi ng with impunity
unacceptabl e thi ngs about the audi ence as well as thi ngs about
themsel ves that the audi ence would find unacceptabl e. I shall
cal l 'team col l usi on any col l usi ve communication which i s
careful l y conveyed in such a way as to cause no threat to
the il l usi on that i s bei ng fostered for the audi ence.
One important kind of team col l usi on i s found in the system
of secret si gnal s through which performers can surrepti ti ousl y
recei ve or transmit perti nent informati on, requests for assi st
ance, and other matters of a kind rel evant to the successful
presentati on of a performance. Typi cal l y, these stagi ng cues
come from, or to, the di rector of the performance, and i t greatly
si mpl i fi es hi s task of managing i mpressi ons to have such a
subterranean language avai l abl e. Staging cues often rel ate
those engaged in presenti ng a performance to those who are
offering assi stance or direction backstage. Thus, by means
of a foot-buzzer, a hostess can gi ve di recti ons to her kitchen
staff while acti ng as I f she i s fully involved in the meal-time
conversati on. Similarly, during radio and tel evi si on producti ons
a vocabulary of si gns i s employed by those in the control room
l fn recreati onal games, whi spered huddl es may be defi ned as acceptabl e,
as they may before audi ences such as chi l dren or forei gners to whom
l i ttl e consi derati on need be gi ven. In soci al arrangements in which knots
or cl usters of persons hol d separate conversati ons in each others vi si bl e
presence, an effort i s often made by the parti ci pants in each cl uster to
act as i f what they are sayi ng coul d be sai d in the other cl usters evei
though i t i s not.
113
to gui de performers, especi al l y as regards their timing, without
allowing the audi ence to become aware that a system of control
communication i s in operati on in addi tion to the communication
in which performers and audi ence are offi ci al l y parti ci pati ng.
So al so, in busi ness offi ces, executi ves who want to terminate
i ntervi ews both rapidly and tactful l y will train thei r secretari es
to interrupt i ntervi ews at the proper time with the proper excuse.
Another exampl e may be taken from the kind of soci al establ i sh
ment in America in which shoes are commonly sol d. Sometimes
a customer who wants a shoe of l arger si ze than the one that
i s avai l abl e or the one that fi ts may be handl ed as fol l ows:
To i mpress the customer as to the effecti veness of hi s stretchi ng
the shoe, the sal esman may tel l the customer chat he is goi ng to strctch
the shoes on the thirty-f our l ast . Thi s phrase tel l s the wrapper not to
stretch the shoes, but to wrap them up as they are and hold them undet
the counter for a short whi l e.
Stagi ng cues are, of course, employed between performers
and a shi l l or confederate in the audi ence, as in the case of
cross fire* between a pitchman and hi s pl ant among the
suckers. More commonly we find these cues employed among
team-mates while engaged in a performance, these cues in
fact providing us with one reason for employing the concept
of team i nstead of anal yzi ng interacti on in terms of a pattern
of indivi dual performances. Thi s kind of team-mate col l usi on,
for example, pl ays an important rol e in i mpression management
in American shops. Cl erks in a given store commonly develop
their own cues for handling the performance presented to the
customer, al though certai n terms in the vocabulary seem to be
rel ati vel y standardi zed and occur in the same form in many
shops across the country. When cl erks are members of a foreign
language group, as i s someti mes the case, they may employ
thi s l anguage for secret communi cati ona practi ce al so
employed by parents who spel l out words in front of young
chi ldren and by members of our better cl asses who talk to
each other in French about thi ngs they do not want their
chi ldren, thei r domesti cs, or their tradesmen to hear. However,
thi s tacti c, like whispering, i s consi dered crude and i mpol ite;
secrets can be kept in thi s way but not the fact that secrets
are being kept. Under such ci rcumstances, team-mates can
hardly maintain thei r front of si ncere sol i ci i ude for the customer
(or frankness to the chi l dren, etc.). Harml ess-soundi ng phrases
which the customer thi nks he understands are more useful to
sal espersons. For example, i f a customer in a shoe store
deeply desi res, say, a B width, the sal esman can convi nce
the customer that that i s what she i s getti ng:
'Davi d Gel l er, 'L i ngo of the Shoe Sal esman,' t merican ' t prerh. I \ , -KV
.14
. . . . the sal esman wil l cal l to another sal esman down the ai sl e
and say, " Be n n y what si ze I s thi s shoe?' 1 By cal l i ng the sal esman,
' Benny he i mpl i es that the answer shoul d be that the width i s B. 1
An engaging i l l ustrati on of thi s kind of col l usi on i s given in
a paper on the Borax furniture house :
Now rhat the customer i s in the store, suppose she cant be sol d?
The pri ce i s too hi gh; she must consul t her husband; she i s only
shoppi ng. To l et her walk, (i .e., escape without buying) i s treason in
a Borax House. So an S.O.S. i s sent out by the sal esman through one
of the numerous foot-pushes in the store. In a fl ash the manager' is
on the scene, preoccupi ed with a sui te and whol ly obl i vi ous of the
Aladdin who sent for him.
"Pardon me, Mr Dixon, says the sal esman, si mul ati ng rel ucrance
in di sturbi ng such a busy personage. "I wonder if you coul d do somethi ng
for my customer. She thi nks the pri ce of thi s sui te i s too hi gh. Madam,
thi s i s our manager, Mr Di xon."
Mr Dixon dears hi s throat i mpressi vel y, l i e i s al l of si x feet, has
iron-grey hai r and wears a Masoni c pi n on the l apel of hi s coat- Nobody
would suspect from hi s appearance that he i s only a T.O. man, a speci al
sal esman ro whom di ffi cul t customers are turned over.
"Y es," says Mr Dixon, stroki ng bi s wel l -shaven chi n, *1 see.
You go on, Bennett. I ll take care of madam mysel f. Pm not so busy
u the moment anyhow.*
The sal esman sl i ps away, val et-l i ke, though hell give Dixoo hell
i f he muffs chat sal e. 2
The practi ce descri bed here of 1T .O.i ng a customer to another
sal esman who takes the role of the manager i s apparentl y
common in many retai l establ i shments. Other i l l ustrati ons
may be taken from a report on the l anguage of furniture
sal esmen:
'Gi ve me the number of thi s arti cl e, i s a questi on concerni ng the
pri ce of the arti cl e. The forthcoming response i s in code. The codc
i s uni versal throughout the Uni ted States and i s conveyed by simply
doubl i ng the cost, the sal esman knowi ng what percentage of profit to
add on to that. 3
Verl i er i s used as a command . . . . meani ng 'l ose yoursel f. 1 I t i s
employed when a sal esman wants to let another sal esman know thar the
l atter's presence i s i nterferi ng with a sal e. 4
I n the semi -i l l egal and hi gh-pressure fringes of our
commercial life, it is common to find that team-mates use an
expl i ci tl y learned vocabulary through which informati on crucial
to the show can be secretl y conveyed. Presumabl y thi s kind
of code i s not commonly found in thoroughly respectabl e
ci rcl es. 5 We find, however, that team-mates everywhere employ
^Davi d Gel i er, op. c i t . t p. 284.
2 Conant, op. ct t . , p. 174.
^Charles Miller, ' Furniture L i ngo,' Ameri can Speech, VI, 128.
Al bi d. %p. 126.
5An excepti on, of course, i s found i n the boss-sccretary rel ati on in
respectabl e establ i shments. Esquire Eti quette, for exampl e, approves
the fol lowing; p. 24 .
Mf you share youc offi ce with your secretary, you wi l l do well to
arrange a si gnal which means you'd l i ke her to get out whil e you tal k to
a vi si tor in pri vate. "Will you l eave us al one for a whi l e, Mi ssSmi ch*
embarrasses everybody; it's easi er al l around if you can convey the same
i dea, by prearrangement, with somethi ng l i ke, * Will you see if you can
settl e that busi ness with the merchandi si ng department, Mi ss Smith?"'
115
an informally and often unconsci ousl y l earned vocabulary of
gestures and looks by which col l usi ve stagi ng cues can be
conveyed.
Sometimes these informal cues or 'hi gh si gns' will i ni ti ate
a phase in a performance. Thus, when in company,1 a husband
may convey to hi s -wife, by subtl e shadi ngs in hi s tone of
voi ce, or a change in his posture, that the two of them will
defi ni tel y now start making thei r farewel l s. The conj ugal
team can then maintain an appearance of unity in acti on which
looks spontaneous but often presupposes a stri ct di sci pl i ne.
Someti mes cues are avai l abl e by which one performer can
warn another that the other i s beginning to act out of l i ne.
The kick under the tabl e and the narrowed eyes have become
humorous exampl es. A piano accompani st suggests a way by
which devi ati ng concert si ngers can be brought back into tune:
He (the accompani st) does thi s by getti ng more sharpness into hi s
tone, so that hi s tone will penetrate to the si ngers ears, over or rather
through hi s voi ce. Perhaps one of the notes in the pi anoforte harmony
i s the very note that the si nger shoul d be si ngi ng, and so he makes
thi s note predomi nate. When thi s actual note i s not writcen in the
pi anoforte part, he must add i t in the trebl e cl ef, where i t will pi pe
loud and cl ear foe the si nger to hear. If the l atter i s si ngi ng a quarter
of a tone sharp, or a quarter of a tone fl at, i t wil l be an extraordinary
feat on hi s part to conti nue to si ng out of tune, especi al l y i f the
accompani st pl ays the vocal line with him for the whol e phrase. Once
havi ng seen the danger si gnal the accompani st will conti nue to be on
the qui vi ve and will sound the si nger's note from time to ti me. 1
The same wri ter goes on to say something that appl i es to
many ki nds of performances:
A sensi ti ve si nger wi l l need onl y the most dcl i catc of cucs from
hi s partner. I ndeed they can be so del i cate chat even die si nger hi msel f
whil e profi ti ng by them will not be consci ousl y aware of Cnem. The
l ess sensi ti ve the si nger, the more poi nted and therefore the more
obvi ous these cues will have to be. 2
Another example may be ci ted from Dal es di scussi on of how
civil servants during a meeting can cue their mini ster that
he i s on treacherous ground:
But in the course of conversati on new and unforeseen poi nts may well
ari se. If a ci vi l servant at the commi ttee then sees hi s Mi ni ster talcing
a li ne whi ch he thi nks wrong, he will nor say so fl atl y; he wil l ei ther
scri bbl e a note to the Minister or he wi l l del i catel y put forward some
fact or suggesti on as a minor modi fi cati on of hi s Mi ni ster's vi ew. An
experi enced Mi ni ster will percei ve the red li ght at once and gently
withdraw, or at l east postpone di scussi on. I t will be cl ear that the
mixture of Mi ni sters and ci vi l servants in a Commi ttee requi res on
occasi on some exerci se of tact and some qui ckness of percepti on on
both si des. 3
Very frequentl y informal stagi ng cues will warn team-mates
that the audi ence has suddenl y come into their presence; 4
1 Moore, op. ci t . , pp. 56-57.
p. 57.
3 Dal e, op. ci t . , p. 141.
A well-known formal l y-l eamed cue of thi s ki nd i s found in the vi sual si gnal
116
or that the coast i s cl ear and thar rel axati on of ones front i s
now possi bl e; or that while it may seem al l right to drop ones
guard of di screti on, there are in fact members of the audi ence
present, making it i nadvi sabl e to do so: 1 or that an innocent-
'ooki ng member of the audi ence i s really a spotter or shopper
or someone who i s in other ways more or l ess than he seems.
I t would be di ffi cul t for any teama family, for exampl e
to manage the i mpressi ons it fosters without such a set of
warning si gnal s. A recent memoir concerni ng a mother and
daughter who l i ved in one room in London provi des che
following exampl e:
On the way past Gennaro's 1 became filled wich apprehensi on about
our l unch, wonderi ng how my mother would take to Scotty (a manicurist*
col l eague she was bri ngi ng home to l unch for the fi rst time) and what
Scotty would think of my mother, and we were no sooner on the stai rcase
than 1 started to tal k in a loud voi ce to warn her chat 1 was not al one.
I ndeed, thi s was qui te a si gnal between us, for when two peopl e live
in a si ngl e room there i s no tel l i ng what sort of unti di ness can meet
the unexpected vi si tors eye. There was nearly al ways a cooki n-pan
or a di rty pl ate where it shoul d not be, or stocki ngs or a petti coat
dryi ng above the stove. My mother, warned by the rai sed voi ce of her
ebul l i ent daughter, would rush round l i ke a ci rcus dancer hidi ng the
pan or the pl ate or the stocki ngs, and then tum hersel f i nto a pi l l ar of
frozen di gni ty, very cal m, al l ready for the vi si tor. I f she had cl eared
thi ngs up too qui ckl y, and forgotten somethi ng very obvi ous, 1 would
see her vi gi l ant eye fixed upon it and I would be expected to do some*
thi ng about i t wi thout exci ti ng the vi si tor's attenti on. 2
I t may be noted, fi nal l y, that the more unconsci ousl y these
cues are l earned and employed, the easi er it will be for the
members of a team to conceal even from themsel ves that they
do in fact function as a team. As previ ousl y suggested, even
to i ts own members, a team may be a secret soci ety.
Cl osel y associ ated with stagi ng cues, we find that teams
work out ways of conveyi ng extended verbal messages to one
another in such a way as to protect a projected i mpressi on
chat might be di srupted were the audi ence to appreci ate that
employed in broadcasti ng studi os whi ch l i reral l y or symbol i cal l y reads:
You are on the ai r.' Another broad gesture i s reported by Ponsonby,
np, c i t , p. 102 :
'T he Queen (Vi ctori a) often went to sl eep duri ng these hot dri ves,
and in order that she shoul d not be seen l i ke thi s by a crowd in a vi l l age,
1 used to di g my spurs i nto the horse whenever 1 saw a l arge crowd ahead
and make the astoni shed ani mal jump about and make a noi se. Pri ncess
[Beatrice al ways knew that thi s meant a crowd, and if the Queen di dn't
wake with the noi se 1 made, she woke her hersel f.'
A typi cal warni ng cue i s i l l ustrated by Katheri ne Archibal d, op, ci t . ,
in her study of work in a shi pyard :
* At ti mes when work was especi al l y sl ack I have myself stood guard
at the door of a tool shack, ready' to warn of the approach of a super*
i ntendent or a front-office boss, whi l e for day after day nine or ten l esser
bosses and workmen pl ayed poker with passi onate absorpti on.'
Cri mi nal s commonly empl oy si gnal s of thi s kind to warn their col l eagues
that 'l egi t' ears are l i steni ng to them or l egi t eyes are watchi ng them;
in cri minal argot thi s warni ng i s cal l ed 'gi vi ng the offi ce.'
2Mrs Robert l l enrey, Madel ei ne Grown Up (New Y ork: Dutton, 1953), PP*
'16-47.
117
i nformation of thi s kind was bei ng conveyed. Again we may
ci te an i l l ustrati on from the Bri ti sh ci vil servi ce:
I t i s a very di fferent matter when a ci vi l servant i s cal l ed on to
watch over a Dil l in i ts passage through Parl i ament, or to go down to
ei ther House for a debate. He cannot speak in hi s own person; he can
onl y suppl y the Mi ni ster with materi al and suggesti ons, and hope that
he wil l make good use of them. I t need hardl y be sai d that the Minister
i s careful ly *briefed* beforehand for any set speech, as on the second
or thi rd readi ng of an i mportant Dil l, or the introducti on of the
Department's annual esti mates: for such an occasi on the Mi ni ster i s
suppl i ed wi th full notes on every poi nt l i kel y to be rai sed, even with
anecdotes and Mi ght rel i ef 1 of a decorous offi ci al nature. He hi msel f,
hi s Pri vate Secretary, and the Permanent Secretary probabl y spend a
good deal of time and labour in sel ecti ng from these notes the most
effecti ve poi nts to emphasi ze, arranging them in the best order and
devi si ng an i mpressi ve perorati on. All thi s i s easy both for the Minister
and hi s of fi ci al s; it i s done in qui et and at l ei sure. Dut the crux i s
the repl y at the end of a debate. There the Mi ni ster must mainly depend
on hi msel f. I t i s true that the ci vi l servants si tti ng wi th pati ent
endurance in the l i ttl e gal l ery on the Speaker's right or ac the entrance
to the House of L ords, have noted down i naccuraci es and di storti ons
of fact, fal se i nferences, mi sunderstandi ngs of the Government proposal s
and si mi l ar weaknesses, in the case presented by Opposi ti on speakers:
but ir i s often di ffi cul t co get thi s ammunition up to the fi ri ng-l ine.
Someti mes the Mi ni sters Parl i amentary Pri vate Secretary wili ri se from
hi s seat j ust behi nd hi s chi ef, strol l carel essl y al ong to the offi ci al
gal i ety and hold a whi spered conversati on wi th the ci vi l servants:
someti mes a note will be passed al ong to the Mi ni ster: very rarel y he
hi msel f wil l come for a moment and ask a questi on. All these l i ttl e
communi cati ons must go on under the eyes of the House, and no Minister
cares to seem l i ke an actor who does not know hi s part ar.d requi res
to be prompted. 1
Busi ness eti quette, perhaps more concerned with strategi c
secrets than with moral ones, offers the following suggesti ons:
. . . Guard your end of a phone conversati on if an outsi der i s withi n
earshot. If you are taki ng a message from someone el se, and you want
to be sure youve got i t strai ght, don't repeat the message in the usual
fashi on; i nstead, ask the cal l er to repeat i t, so your cl ari on tones
won't announce a possi bl y pri vate message to al l bystanders.
. . . Cover your papers before an outsi de cal l er arri ves, or make a
habi t of keepi ng them in fol ders or under a coveri ng bl ank sheer.
. . . If you must speak to someone el se in your organi zati on when
lie i s with an outsi der, or wi th anyone who i s not concerned with your
message, do it in such a way chat che chird person doesnt pi ck up any
information. You might use the i nteroffi ce tel ephone rather than the
intercom, say, or wri te your message on i note you can hand over
i nstead of speaki ng your pi ece in publ i c. 2
A vi si tor who is expected shoul d be announced i mmedi atel y. If you
are cl oseted wi th another person your secretary i nterrupts you to say
somethi ng l i ke, q Your three ocl ock appoi ntment i s here. I thought
youd l i ke to know, (She doesn't mention the vi si tors name in the
heari ng of an outsi der. I f you arc not li kel y to remember who your
three ocl ock appoi ntment i s, she wri tes the name on a sl i p of papet
and hands it to you, or uses your pri vate phone i nstead of the l oudspeaker
system.) 3
Staging cues have been suggested as one main type of
team col l usi on; another type i nvol ves communicati ons which
functi on chi efly to confirm for the performer the fact that he
i Dal e, op. ci t., pp. M8-149.
2 Esqui re Et i quet t e, op. ci f., p. 7. El l i psi s dots the authors.
* Esquire Eti quett e, op. cit. , pp. 22-23.
118
does not real l y hold with the working consensus, thac the
show he puts on i s only a show, thereby providing himself
with at l east a pri vate defence agai nst the cl ai ms made by the
audi ence. We may l abel thi s acti vi ty 'deri si ve col l usi on;' it
typi cal l y i nvol ves a secret derogation of the audi ence although
someti mes concepti ons of the audi ence may be conveyed that
are too complimentary to fit within the working consensus.
We have here a furtive public counterpart of what was descri bed
in the seccion cal l ed 'Treatment of the Absent.
Derisive col l usi on occurs most frequentl y, perhaps, between
a performer and hi nisei f. School chi ldren provide examples of
thi s when they cross their fingers whi l e tel l i ng a l i e or sti ck
out their tongues when the teacher momentarily moves to a
posi ti on where she cannot see the tribute. So, too, employees
will often grimace at their boss, or gesti cul ate a si l ent curse,
performing these acts of contempt or insubordination at an
angl e such that those to whom these acts are directed cannot
see them. Perhaps the most timid form of thi s kind of col l usi on
i s found in the practi ce of 'doodl i ng1 or of going away to
imaginary pl easant pl aces, while sti l l maintaining some show
of performing the part of l i stener.
Deri si ve col l usi on al so occurs between members of a
team when they are presenti ng a performance. Thus, while a
secret code of verbal i nsul ts may perhaps be employed only
on the l unati c fringe of our commerci al life, there i s no
commerci al establ i shment so reputabl e that i ts cl erks do not
cast each other knowing looks when in the presence of an
undesi rabl e cl i ent or a desi rabl e cl i ent who conducts himself
in an undesi rabl e way. Similarly, in our soci ety it i s very
di ffi cult for a husband and wife, or two cl ose friends, to spend
an evening in convi vial i nteracti on with a third person without
at some time l ooking at each other in such a way as to
contradi ct secretl y the atti tude they are offi ci al l y maintaining
toward the third person.
A more damaging form of thi s kind of aggressi on agai nst
the audi ence i s found in si tuati ons where one member of a
team performs his part for the speci al and secret amusement
of his team-mates; for example, he may throw himself into
hi s part with an affecti ve enthusi asm that i s at once exaggerated
and preci se, but so cl ose to what the audi ence expects that
they do not qui te real i ze, or are not sure, that fun i s being
made of them. 1 A somewhat si mi l ar form of col l usi on occurs
Suggested by Howard S. Beckcr in a personal communi cati on. Mr Becker
srates rliat j azz musi ci ans obli ged to pl ay corny musi c wil l someti mes
pl ay it a l i ttl e more corny than necessary, the sl i ght exaggerati on servi ng
ns a means by whi ch the musi ci ans can convey to each other thei r contempt
for the audi ence.
119
when one team member attemtps to tease another while both
are engaged in a performance. The immediate obj ect here
will be to make ones team-mate al most burst out l aughing,
or al most trip, or al most l ose hi s poi se in other ways. For
example, in the i sl and touri st hotel studi ed by the writer, the
cook would someti mes stand at the ki tchen entrance to the
front regi ons of the hotel and sol emnl y answer with dignity
and in standard Engl i sh the questi ons put to him by hotel
guests, whi l e from within the kitchen the maids, strai ght-faced,
would secretl y but persi stentl y goose him. By mocking the
the audi ence or teasi ng a team-mate, the performer can show
not only that he i s not bound by the offi ci al i nteracti on but
al so that he has thi s i nteracti on so much under control that
he can toy wirh i t at will.
A final form of deri si ve by-play may be mentioned. Often
when an indivi dual i s i nteracti ng with a second indivi dual
who i s offensi ve in some way, he will try to catch the eye
of a third i ndi vi dual one who i s defi ned as an outsi der
to the i nteracti onand in thi s way confirm that he i s not to
be held responsi bl e for the character or behaviour of the second
indi vi dual . I t may be noted in concl usi on that al l of these
forms of deri si ve col l usi on tend to ari se al most i nvoluntarily,
by cues that are conveyed before they can be checked.
Reoligning Actions
I t has been suggested that when i ndi vi dual s come together
for the purpose of interacti on, each adheres to the part that
has been cast for him within his teams routine, and each
j oi ns with hi s team-mates in mai ntaining the appropri ate mixture
of formality and informality, of di stance and inti macy, toward
the members of the other team. Thi s does not mean that team
mates will openl y treat one another in the same way as they
openl y treat the audi ence, but i t does usual l y mean that team
mates will treat one another differentl y from the way that would
be most 'natural 1 for them. Col l usi ve communicati on has been
suggested as one way in which team-mates can free themsel ves
a l i ttl e from the restri cti ve requi rements of i nteracti on between
teams; it i s a kind of devi ati on from type which the audi ence
i s meant to remain unaware of, and i t tends, therefore, to l eave
the status quo i ntact. However, performers rarely seem content
with safe channel s for expressi ng di scontent with the working
consensus. They often attempt to speak out of character in
a way that will be heard by the audi ence but will not openl y
threaten ei ther the i ntegrity of the two teams or the soci al
120
di stance between them. These temporary unofficial, or
control l ed realignments, often aggressi ve in character, provide
an i nteresti ng area for study.
When two teams establ i sh an official working consensus
as a guarantee for safe soci al i nteracti on, we may usually
detect an unofficial l i ne of communication which each team
di rects at the other. Thi s unofficial communication may be
carri ed on by innuendo, mimicked accents, well -pl aced jokes,
si gni fi cant pauses, vei l ed hi nts, purposeful kidding, expressi ve
overtones, and many other si gn practi ces. Rul es regarding
thi s l axity are quite stri ct. The communicator has the right to
deny that he 'meant anythi ng1 by hi s acti on, shoul d hi s
reci pi ents accuse him to his face of havi ng conveyed something
unacceptabl e, and the reci pi ents have the right to act as if
nothing, or only something i nnocuous, has been conveyed.
In many kinds of soci al i nteracti on, unofficial communication
provides a way in which one team can extend a defi ni te but non
compromising i nvi tati on to the other, requesti ng that soci al
di stance and formality be i ncreased or decreased, or that both
teams shift the i nteracti on to one i nvolvi ng the performance
of a new set of rol es. Thi s i s someti mes known as 'putti ng
out f eel ers and invol ves guarded di scl osures and hinted
demands. By means of statements that are careful l y ambiguous
or that have a secret meaning to the i ni ti ate, a performer i s
abl e to di scover, without dropping his defensi ve stand, whether
or not i t i s safe to di spense with the current defini tion of the
si tuati on. For example, si nce it i s not necessary to retain
soci al di stance or be on guard before those who are ones
col l eagues in occupati on, ideology, ethni ci ty, cl ass, etc., it
i s common for col l eagues to devel op secret si gns which seem
i nnocuous to non-col l eagues while at the same time they convey
to the i ni ti ate that he i s among his own and can relax the
pose he mai ntai ns toward the public. Thus the murderous
Thugs of ni neteenth-century I ndia, who hid thei r annual
depredati ons behind a nine-month show of ci vic-minded acti ons,
possessed a code for recogni zi ng one another. As one writer
suggests:
When Thugs meet, though strangers, there i s somethi ng in thei r
manner whi ch soon di scovers i tsel f to each other, and to assure the
surmi se thus exci ted, one excl ai ms 'A l ee K han!' whi ch, on bei ng
repeated by the other party, a recogni ti on of each others habi t takes
pl ace . . . *
Similarly, men of the Briti sh working cl ass can be found who
sti l l ask a stranger 'how far E ast i s he; fellow Freemasons
Col . [.L .Sl eeman, Tkugs or a Million Murders (L ondon: Sampson Low,
n. d.), p. 79.
121
know how to answer thi s password and know that after they
do answer it those present can rel ax into i ntol erance for
Cathol i cs and the effete cl asses. In Anglo-American soci ety
the surname and the appearance of persons to whom one i s
introduced serve a si mi l ar function, tel l i ng one which of the
segments of the population i t will be i mpol i ti c to cast
aspersi ons agai nst.
The guarded di scl osure by which two members of an inti mate
soci ety make themsel ves known to each other i s perhaps the
l east subtl e version of di scl osi ve communication. In everyday
l i fe, where i ndi vi dual s have no secret soci ety to di scl ose
thei r membership in, a more del i cate process i s involved.
When i ndi vi dual s are unfamiliar with each others opi ni ons
and statuses, a feeling-out process occurs whereby one
indivi dual admits his vi ews or statuses to another a l i ttl e at
a ti me. After dropping hi s guard j ust a l i ttl e he wai ts for the
other to show reason why i t i s safe for him to do thi s, and
after thi s reassurance he can safel y drop hi s guard a l i ttl e
bi t more. By phrasi ng each step i n the admi ssi on in an
ambiguous way, the i ndivi dual i s in a posi ti on to halt the
procedure of dropping hi s front at the point where he gets no
confirmation from the other, and at thi s point he can act as if
hi s l ast di scl osure were not an overture at al l . Thus when
two persons in conversati on are attempti ng to di scover how
careful they are going to have to be about stati ng thei r true
pol i ti cal opinions, one of them can halt hi s gradual di scl osure
of how far left or how far right he i s j ust at the point where
the other has come to the furthest extreme of his actual bel i efs.
I n such cases, the person with the more extreme vi ews will
tactful l y act as if his views are no more extreme than the
others.
Thi s process of gradual guarded di scl osure i s al so
i l l ustrated by some of the mythology and a few of the facts
associ ated with sexual li fe in our soci ety. The sexual relation
i s defined as one of inti macy with i ni ti ati ve superordination
for the male. In fact, courti ng practi ces involve a concerted
aggressi on agai nst the al ignment between the sexes on the
part of the male, as he attempts to manoeuvre someone for
whom he must at fi rst show respect into a posi ti on of
subordi nate i nti macy. However, an even more aggressi ve action
agai nst the al ignment between the sexes i s found in si tuati ons
where the working consensus i s defi ned in terms of super-
ordination and di stance on the part of a performer who happens
to be a woman and subordination on the part of a performer
who happens to be a man. The possi bi l i ty ari ses that the
122
male performer will redefi ne the sicuation to emphasi ze hi s
sexual superordi nati on as opposed to hi s socio-economic
subordi nati on. 1 In our prol etari an l i terature, for example,
i t i s the poor man who i ntroduces thi s redefi ni ti on in regard
to a rich woman; Lady Chatterley's J^over, as has often been
remarked, i s a cl ear-cut example. And when we study servi ce
occupati ons, especi al l y lowly ones, i nevi tabl y we find that
practi ti oners have anecdotes to tel l about the time they or
one of thei r col l eagues redefined the servi ce relacion inco
a sexual one (or had i t redefi ned for them). Tal es of such
aggressi ve redefi ni ti ons are a si gni fi cant part of the myth
ology not only of parti cul ar occupati ons but al so of the male
subcul ture generally.
Temporary realignments through which i i recti on of the
interacti on may be sei zed in an unofficial way by a subordinate,
or unoffi ci al l y extended by a superordi nate, attai n some kind
of stabi l i ty and i nsti cuti onal i zati on in what i s sometimes
cal l ed ' doubl e-tal k. 2 By thi s communication techni que two
indi vi dual s may convey informati on to one another in a manner
or on a matter chat i s i nconsi stent with thei r official rel ati on
ship. Double-talk i nvol ves the kind of innuendo that can
be conveyed by both si des and carried on for a sustai ned period
of time. It i s a kind of col l usi ve communication differenc
from other types of col l usi on in thac the characters agai nst
whom the col l usi on i s sustai ned are projecced by the very
persons who enter into the col l usi on. Typi cal l y double-talk
occurs during i nteracti on between a subordi nate and a super
ordi nate concerni ng matters which are offi ci al l y outsi de the
the competence and juri sdi cti on of the subordinate buc which
actual l y depend on him. By employing double-talk the sub
ordi nate can i ni ti ate l i nes of acti on without giving open
recognition to the expressi ve i mpl ication of such i ni ti ati on
and without putting into jeopardy the status di fference between
hi msel f and hi s superordi nate. Barracks and j ai l s apparently
abound in double-talk. I t i s al so commonly found in si tuati ons
Perhaps because of respect for the Freudi an ethi c, some soci ol ogi sts
seem to act as i f it woul d be i o bad taste, impi ous, or sel f-revel atory to
defi ne sexual i ntercourse as part of the ceremoni al system, a reci procal
ri tual performed to confi rm symbol i cal l y an excl usi ve soci al rel ati onshi p.
Thi s chapter draws heavi l y on Kenneth Burke, who cl earl y takes the
soci ol ogi cal vi ew in defi ni ng courtshi p as a pri nci pl e of rhetori c through
whi ch soci al estrangements are transcended. See Burke, A Grammar
o f Mot i ves, p. 208 ff. and pp. 267-268.
2 In everyday speech the term 'doubl e-tal k' i s al so used in two other senses :
i t i s used to refer to sentences in whi ch sounds have been i nj ected which
seem as i f they mi^ht be meaningful but real l y are not; i t i s used to refer
to protecti vel y ambi guous answers to questi ons for whi ch the asker desi red
a cl earcut reply.
123
where the subordi nate has had l ong experi ence with the job
whereas the superordi nate has not, as in the spl i t which occurs
in government offi ces between a 'permanent deputy mi ni ster
and a pol i ti cal l y appoi nted mini ster, and in those cases where
the subordi nate speaks the l anguage of a group of empl oyees
but hi s superordi nate does not. We may al so find double-talk
in si tuati ons where two persons engage in i l l i ci t agreements
with each other, for by thi s techni que communication may
occur and yet nei ther parti ci pant need pl ace hi msel f in the
hands of the other. A si mi l ar form of col l usi on i s sometimes
found between two teams which must maintain the i mpression
of being rel ati vel y hosti l e or rel ati vel y di stant toward each
other and yet find i t mutually profi tabl e to come to an agreement
on certai n matters, providing thi s does not embarrass the
opposi ti onal stand they are obl i ged to be ready to maintain
toward each other. 1 I n other words, deal s can be made without
creati ng the mutual -sol i dari ty rel ati onshi p which deal i ng
usual l y l eads to. More important, perhaps, double-talk regularly
occurs in i nti mate domesti c and work si tuati ons, as a safe
means of making and refusi ng requests and commands that
coul d not be openl y made or openl y refused without al tering
the rel ati onshi p.
I have consi dered some common real i gni ng acti onsmove
ments around, or over, or away from the l i ne between the teams;
processes such as "noffi ci al grumbling, guarded di scl osures,
and doubl e-tal k were given as i nstances. 1 would l i ke to
add a few more types to the pi cture.
When the working consensus establ i shed between two teams
i s one i nvolvi ng avowed opposi ti on, we find that the di vi si on
of l abour within each team may ulti mately l ead to momentary
real i gnments of the kind that make us appreci ate that not only
armi es have the problem of fraterni zati on. A speci al i st on
one team may find that he has a great deal in common with
hi s opposi te number on the other team and that together they
tal k a l anguage which tends to al ign them together on a si ngl e
team in opposi ti on to al l the remaining parti ci pants. Thus,
during labour-management negoti ati ons, opposi ng lawyers
may find themsel ves exchangi ng col l usi ve l ooks when a layman
on ei ther team makes a patent legal gaffe. When the speci al i sts
are not permanentl y part of a parti cul ar team but rather hire
themsel ves out for the duration of negoti ati ons, they are l ikely
to be more loyal in some sense to thei r catl i ng and thei r
l See Dal e, op. ci t . , pp. 182-183, foe an i l l ustrati on of taci t compromises
between two teams offi ci al l y opposed to each other. See al so Melville
Dal ton, 'Unoffi ci al Uaion-Management Rel ati ons, Ameri can Soci ol ogi cal
Revi ew, XV, pp. 611-619.
124
col l eagues chan to rhe team they happen at the time to
be servi ng. I f, then, the i mpressi on of opposi ti on between
che teams i s to be maintai ned, the cross-cutti ng l oyal ti es of
speci al i sts will have to be suppressed or expressed surrep
ti ti ousl y. Thus American l awyers, in sensi ng that thei r cl i ents
want them to be hosti l e to the opposi ng l awyer, may wait
until a backstage recess before havi ng a friendly col l egi al
chat about the case in progress. In di scussi ng the role that
ci vil servants play in parliamentary debates, Dale makes a
si mi l ar suggesti on:
A sec debate on one subj ect . . . . as a rule takes only one day.
I f a Department i s so unlucky as to have a long and contenti ous BUI in
Committee of the whol e House, the Mi ni ster and the ci vi l servants in
charge of it must be there from 4 p.m. ti l l 11 p.m. (someti mes much l ater
if the 1! o' cl ock rule i s suspended), perhaps day after day from Monday
ti l l Thursday every week. . . . However, the ci vi l servants get one
compensati on for thei r sufferi ngs. I t i s at thi s time that they are most
li kel y to renew and extend thei r acquai ntances in the House. The sense
of pressure i s l ess both amon Members and among offi ci al s than during
a set debate of one day : i t i s l egi ti mate to escape ftom the debati ng
chamber to the smoking*room ot the terrace and engage in cheerful
conversati on whi l e a notorious bote i s moving an amendment which
everyone knows to be i mpossi bl e. A certai n camaraderie ari ses among
al l engaged ni ght after ni ght upon a Bi l l , Government Oppositi on, and
ci vi l servants al i ke. 1
I nteresti ngl y enough, in some cases even backstage frater
ni zati on may be consi dered too much of a threat to the show.
Thus basebal l pl ayers whose teams will represent opposing
si des of fans are required by l eague ruling to refrain from
convi vi al conversati on with one another j ust before the game
starts.
Thi s i s a readi l y understandabl e rul e. I t woul d not be seeml y to
see pl ayers chi nni ng as i f they were at an afternoon tea, and then hope
to support the poi nt chac they go after each other hel l -bent for l eather,
whi ch they do, as soon as the game begi ns. They have to act li ke
opponents al l the ti me. 2
In all of these cases involvi ng fraterni zati on between opposing
speci al i sts, the point i s not that the secrets of the teams will
be di scl osed or their i nterests made to suffer (although thi s
may occur and may appear to occur) but rather that the im
pressi on of opposi ti on that i s fostered between the teams may
be di scredi ted. The contri bution of the speci al i st must appear
to be a spontaneous response to the facts of the case, i nde
pendentl y pl aci ng him in opposi ti on to the other team; when
he fraterni zes with hi s opposi te number the techni cal val ue
of hi s contri bution may not suffer, but, dramaturgi cal l y speaki ng,
it i s shown up for what it i sthe purchased performance of
a routine task.
I do not mean to imply by thi s di scussi on that fraternizati on
1 UUe, op. cit., p. 150.
-Pi nell i , op cif., p. 169
125
occurs only between speci al i sts temporarily taki ng si des
agai nst each other. Whenever l oyal ti es cross-cut, a set of
i ndi vi dual s may loudly form one pai r of teams while quietly
forming another.
Often, when two teams enter soci al i nteracti on, we can
i denti fy one as havi ng the lower general presti ge and the other
team the higher. Ordi narily, when we think of real i gni ng
acti ons in such cases, we think of efforts on the part of the
l ower team to al ter the basi s of i nteracti on in a directi on more
favourabl e to them or to decrease the soci al di stance and
formality between themsel ves and the higher team. I nteresti ngl y
enough, there are occasi ons when it serves the wider goal s
of the higher team to l ower barri ers and admit the lower team
to greater i nti macy and equal i ty with it. Granti ng the con
sequences of extendi ng backstage fami l i ari ty to ones l essers,
i t may be in ones long-range i nterest to do so momentarily.
Thus, in order to prevent a stri ke, Mr Barnard tel l s us he
del i beratel y swore in the presence of a committee representi ng
unemployed workers and al so tel l s us that he i s aware of the
si gni fi cance of thi s:
In my j udgment, confi rmed by others whose opi ni on I respect,
i t i s as a general rul e exceedi ngl y bad practi ce fot one In a superi or
posi ti on to swear at or in the presence of those of subordi nate or i nferior
status even though the l atter have no obj ecti on to oaths and even
though they know the superi or i s accustomed to cursi ng. I have known
very few men who could do it wi thout adyerse reacti ons on rhelr i nfl uence.
I suppose the reason is that whatever l owers the di gni ty of a superi or
posi ti on makes it more di ffi cul t to accept di fference of posi ti on. Al so,
where a si ngl e organi zati on i s invol ved in whi ch the superi or posi ti on
i s symbol i c of the whol e organi zati on, the presti ge of the l atter i s
thought to be i nj ured. I n the present case, an excepti on, the oath was
del i berate and accompani ed by hard poundi ng of the tabl e. 1
A si mi l ar si tuati on i s found in those mental hospi tal s
where milieu therapy i s practi sed. By bringing the nurse and
even attendants into what are usual l y sacrosanct staff con
ferences, these non-medi cal staff persons can feel that the
di stance between themsel ves and the doctors i s decreasi ng
and may show more readi ness to take the doctors point of
view toward the pati ents. By sacri fi ci ng the excl usi veness
of those at the top, it i s fel t that the morale of those at the
bottom can be i ncreased. A stai d report of thi s process i s
given us by Maxwell J ones in hi s report on Engl i sh experi ence
with mil ieu therapy:
1 Chester I. Barnard, Organi zat i on and Management (Cambri dge, Mass.:
Harvard Uni versi ty Press, 1949), n. pp. 73-74. Thi s kind of conduct must
be cl earl y di sti ngui shed from the rough language and behavi our employed
by a superordi oate who stays withi n the team made up of hi s empl oyees
and 'ki ds' them i nto work.
126
In che unit we have attempted co devel op the role of the doctor to meer
our l i mi ted treatment goat and have tried to avoi d ptei ence. Thi s has
meant a consi derabl e break from hospi tal tradi ti on. Vic do not dress
to conform co the usual concept of the professi onal man. Vt'e have
avoi ded the whi te coat, prominent stethoscope, and aggressi ve percussi on
hammer as excensi ons of our body i mage. 1
Actually, when we study the interacti on between two
teams in everyday si tuati ons we find that often the super
ordi nate team will be expected to unbend j ust a l i ttl e. For one
thing, such rel axati on of front provides a basi s for barter;
the superordi nate recei ves a servi ce or good of some kind,
while the subordi nate recei ves an indulgent grant of inti macy.
Thus, the reserve which upper-cl ass peopl e in Britain maintain
during i nteracti on with tradesmen and petty offi ci al s has been
known to give way momentarily when a parti cul ar favour must
be asked of these subordi nates. Also, such relaxati on of
di stance provides one means by which a feel i ng of spontanei ty
and involvemenc can be generated in the i nteracti on. In any
case, i nteracti on between two teams often i nvol ves the taking
of very small l i berti es, i f only as a means of testi ng the ground
to see i f unexpected advantage might not be taken of the
opposing si de.
When a performer refuses to keep his pl ace, whether it
i s of higher or lower rank than the audi ence, we may expect
that the director, i f there i s one, and the audi ence may well
become i l l -di sposed toward him. In many cases, the rank
and fi l e are al so l i kel y to obj ect to him. As previousl y
suggested in reference to ratebusters, any extra concessi on
to the audi ence on the part of one member of the team i s a
threat to the stand the others have taken and a threat to the
securi ty they obtain from knowing and control ling the stand
they will have to take. Thus, when one teacher in a school
i s deepl y sympatheti c to her charges, or enters into thei r play
during recess, or i s willing to come into cl ose contact with
the l ow-status ones among them, the other teachers will find
that the i mpressi on they are trying to mai ntai n of what
consti tutes appropriate work i s threatened. 1 In fact, when
parti cul ar performers cross the l i ne that separates the teams,
when someone becomes too inti mate, or too indulgent, or too
antagoni sti c, we may expect a ci rcui t of reverberati ons to be
set up which affects the subordi nate team, the superordi nate
team, and the parti cul ar transgressors. ___________
1 Maxwell J ones, The Therapeut i c Communit y (New Y ork: Basi c Books,
1953), p. 40.
2 Personal communication ftom Hel en Biaw, school teacher.
127
A hint of such reverberati ons may be ci ted from a recent
study of merchant seamen, in which the author suggests that
when offi cers quarrel in matters regarding ship duty, the seamen
will avai l themsel ves of the breach by offering thei r commiser
ati ons to the offi cer chey feel has been wronged:
In doi ng thi s (pl ayi ng up to one of the di sputants) the crewmen
expected the offi cer to rel ax in hi s superi or atti tude and to all ow the
men a certai n equal i ty whi l e di scussi ng the si tuati on. Thi s soon led
to thei r expecti ng certai n pri vi l egessucn as standi ng in the wheel -house
i nstead of on the wi ngs of the bri dge. They took advantage of the
mates' di spute to ease thei r subordi nate status. 1
Recenc trends in psychi atri c treatment provi de us with other
exampl es; I would l i ke to mention some of these.
One i nstance may be taken from the Maxwell J ones report,
al though hi s study purports to be an argumenc for easi ng status
di fferences between staff l evel s and between pati ents and staff:
The i ntegri ty of the nurses group can be upset by the i ndi screti on
of any one member: a nutse who al l ows her sexual needs to be met in
an overt way by the pati ent al ters the pati ents atti tude towards the
whole nursi ng group and makes the nurse's therapeuti c role a l ess
effecti ve one. 2
Another i l l ustrati on i s found in Bettel hei ms comments on hi s
experi ence in constructi ng a therapeuti c mil ieu at the Sonia
Shankman Orthogeni c School at the Uni versi ty of Chi cago:
Within the total setti ng of the therapeuti c mi l i eu, personal securi ty,
adequate i nsti nctual grati fi cati on and group support all sensi ti ze the
chi l d to incer-personal rel ati ons. I t would, of course, defeat the putposes
of mi l i eu therapy i f the chi l dren were not al so safeguarded from the
ki nd of di si l l usi onment they have al ready experi enced in thei r original
setti ngs. Staff coherency i s therefore an important source of personal
securi ty to the chi l dren as the staff members remain i mpervious to the
chi l drens attempts to pl ay off one staff member agai nst another.
Ori gi nal l y, many chi l dren win the affecti on of one parent onl y at the
cost of affecti onate cl ai ms on the other. A chi l ds means of control l i ng
the family sicuarion by pi tti ng one parent agai nst the other i s often
devel oped on thi s basi s, but gi ves him no more than a rel ati ve securi ty.
Chi l dren who have used thi s techni que wi th parti cul ar success are
especi al l y handi capped in thei r abi l i ty to form unambi val ent rel ati onshi ps
l ater on. I n any case, as the chi l dren recreate oedi pal si tuati ons in the
school they al so form posi ti ve, negati ve or ambi val ent attachments to
vari ous staff members. I t i s essenti al that these rel ati onshi ps between
chi l dren and i ndi vi dual staff members do not affect the rel ati onshi ps of
staff members to each other. Without coherence in thi s area of the
total mi l i eu such attachments might deteri orate into neuroti c rel ati onshi ps
and destroy the basi s of i denti fi cati on and sustai ned affecti onate
attachments. 3
A final i l l ustrati on may be taken from a group therapy project,
in which suggesti ons are sketched in for handl i ng recurrent
interacti on di ffi cul ti es caused by troubl esome pati ents:
Attempts are made to establ i sh a speci al rel ati onshi p with the
doctor. Pati ents often attempt to cul ti vate the i l l usi on of a secret
understandi ng wi th the doctor by, for exampl e, tryi ng to catch hi s eye
Beatti e, op. ci l . , pp. 25-26.
2Maxwell J ones, op. ciU, p. 38.
3 Bruno Betrel hei m and Emmy Syl vester, Milieu Therapy, Psychoanal yt i c
Revi ew, XXXVI , 65.
128
if one pati ent bri ngs up somethi ng that sounds 'crazy.' I f they succeed
in getti ng a response from the doctor which they can i nterpret as
i ndi cati ng a speci al bond, i t can be very di srupti ng to the group. Si nce
thi s type of dangerous by-play i s characteri sti cal l y non-verbal, the
doctor must especi al l y control hi s own non-verbal acti vi ty. 1
Perhaps these ci tati ons tel l us more about the parriy hidden
soci al senti ment? of the wri ters than about the general
processes that can occur when someone steps out of l ine, but
recentl y, in the work of Stanton and Schwartz, we have been
given a fairly detai l ed report of the ci rcui t of consequences
which ari ses when the l ine between two teams i s crossed. 2
It was suggested that at ti mes of cri si s l i nes may
momentarily break and members of opposi ng teams may moment
aril y forget thei r appropri ate pl aces with respect to one another.
I t was al so suggested that certai n purposes can someti mes be
served, apparently, when barri ers between teams are lowered,
and . that to achi eve these purposes superordi nate teams may
temporarily join with the l ower ranks. I t must be added, as a
kind of limiting case, that i nteracti ng teams sometimes seem
to be prepared to step out of the dramatic framework for their
acti ons and give themsel ves up for extended peri ods of time
to a promiscuous orgy of cl i ni cal , rel i gi ous, or ethi cal anal ysi s.
We can find a lurid version of thi s process in evangel i cal
soci al movements which employ the open confessi on. A sinner,
sometimes admittedly not of very high status, stands up and
tel l s to those who are present thi ngs he would ordinarily attempt
to conceal or rati onal i ze away; he sacri fi ces hi s secrets and
hi s sel f-protecti ve di stance from others, and thi s sacri fi ce
tends to induce a backstage sol i dari ty among all present.
Group therapy affords a si mi l ar mechanism for the building up
of team spi ri t and backstage sol i dari ty. A psychi c si nnet
1Fl orence B. Powdermaker and others, 'Prel i mi nary Report for the Nati onal
Research Counci l : Group Thetapy Research Proj ect, p. 26. (Thi s research
has si nce been reported by Powdermaker and' J erome D. Frank, Group
Psychot herapy (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Uni versi ty Press, 1953).)
Defrayal of one's team by catchi ng the eye of a member of the other
team i s, of course, a common occurence. I t may fee noted that in everyday
l i fe refusal to enter i nto momentary col l usi ve communication of thi s ki nd
when one has been i nvired to do so i s i tsel f a minor affront ro the i nvi ter.
One may find oneseLf in a dil emma as to whether to betray the obj ect of
the requested col l usi on or to affront the person requesti ng the col l usi on.
An exampl e i s provi ded by I vy Compton-Burnett, A Fami l y and a Fortune
(London: Eyre & Sp oeti swoode, 1948), p. 13*
" B ut 1 was not snori ng," sai d Bl anche, i n the easi er tone of l osi ng
grasp of a si tuati on. * 1 shoul d have known i t myself. I t woul d not be
possi bl e to be awake and make a noi se and not hear i t. 71
J usti ne gave an arch l ook at anyone who woul d recei ve i t. Edgar
did so as a duty and rapi dl y wi thdrew hi s eyes as another. 1
2Alfred H. Stanton and Morris S. Schwartz, 'T he Management of a Type of
I nsti tuti onal Parti ci pati on in Mental I l l ness, 1 Ps ychi at r y, XII, 13-26.
in thi s paper the wri ters descri be nurse-sponsorshi p of parti cul ar pati ents
in terms of i ts effects upon other pati ents, the staff, and the transgressors.
129
stands up and tal ks about hi msel f and i nvi tes others to talk
about him in a way that would be i mpossi bl e in ordinary i nter
acti on. I ngroup sol i dari ty tends to result, and thi s 'soci al
support, as i t i s cal l ed, presumably has therapeuti c val ue.
(By everyday standards, the only thing a pati ent l oses in thi s
way i s hi s sel f-respect.) Perhaps an echo of thi s i s al so to
be found in the nurse-doctor meeti ngs previ ousl y mentioned.
I t may be that these shi fts from apartness to intimacy
occur at ti mes of chroni c strai n. Or perhaps we can view them
as part of an anti-dramaturgical soci al movement, a cul t of
confessi on. Perhaps such lowering of barri ers represents
a natural phase in the soci al change which transforms one
team into another: presumably opposi ng teams trade secrets
so that they can start at the beginning to col l ect a new set
of skel etons for a newly shared cl oset. I n any case, we find
that occasi ons ari se when opposi ng teams, be they i ndustri al ,
mari tal, nati onal , etc., seem ready not only to tel l thei r secrets
to the same speci al i st but al so to perform thi s di scl osure in
the enemys presence. 1
I n concl usi on I would l i ke to suggest that one of the most
fruitful pl aces to study real i gni ng acti ons, especi al l y temporary
betrayal s, may not be in hi erarchi cal l y organi zed establ i shments
but during informal convi vi al i nteracti on among rel ati ve equal s.
In fact, the sancti oned occurrence of these aggressi ons seems
to be one of the defini ng characteri sti cs of our convi vial l ife.
It i s often expected on such occasi ons that two persons will
engage each other in a sparri ng conversati on for the benefit
of l i steners and that each will attempt, in an unseri ous way,
to di scredi t the posi ti on taken by the other. Fl i rti ng may
occur in which mal es will try to destroy the femal es pose
of virginal unapproachabi l i ty, while femal es may attempt to
force from mal es a commitment of concern without at the same
ti me weakening thei r own defensi ve posi ti on. (Where those
who flirt are at the same time members of different connubi al
teams, rel ati vel y unseri ous betrayal s and sel l -outs may al so
occur.) In conversati onal ci rcl es of five or six, basi c al i gn
ments as between one conj ugal pair and another, or between
hosts and guests, or between men and women, may be light-
heartedl y set asi de, and the parti ci pants will stand ready to
shift and reshi ft team al i gnments with l i ttl e provocation,
j oki ngl y joining their previ ous audi ence agai nst thei r previ ous
'An exampl e may be seen in the cl ai med role of the Tavi stock group as
therapi sts for working through' the antagoni sm of labour and management
in i ndustri al establ i shments. See the consul tati on records reported in
El i ot J aques, The Changi ng Cult ure of a Fact ory (London: Tavi stock Ltd.,
1951).
130
team-mates by means of open betrayal of them or by mock
col l usi ve communicati on agai nst them. I t may al so be defined
as fi tti ng i f someone present of high status be made drunk and
made to drop hi s front and become inti mately approachabl e by
hi s somewhaC-lessers. The same aggressi ve tone i s often
achi eved in a l ess sophi sti cated way by pl ayi ng games or
j okes in which the person who i s the butt will be led
unseri ousl y, into taki ng a posi ti on that i s l udi crousl y untenable.
QJOOOUJXU
I n thi s chapter I have consi dered four types of communi
cati on out of character: treatment of the absent; stagi ng tal k;
team col l usi on; and real i gni ng acti ons. Each of these four
types of conduct di rects attenti on to the same poi nt: the
performance given by a team i s not a spontaneous, immediate
response to the si tuati on, absorbing al l of the teams energi es
and consti tuti ng thei r sol e soci al real i ty; the performance i s
something the team members can stand back from, back far
enough to imagine or pl ay out si mul taneousl y other ki nds of
performances attesti ng to other real i ti es. Whether the performers
feel thei r official offeri ng i s the real i st real i ty or not,
they will give surrepti ti ous expressi on to multiple versi ons
of real i ty, each tendi ng to be incompatible with the others.
131
CHA PT ER VI
THE ARTS OF IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
I n thi s chapter I would l i ke to bring together what has
been sai d or i mpl ied about the attri butes that are required of
a performer for the work of successful l y stagi ng a character,
by referri ng briefly to some of the techni ques of i mpressi on
management in which these attri butes are expressed. As an
i ntroducti on to thi s attempt, it may be well to suggest, in
some cases for the second ti me, some of the princi pal types
of performance di srupti ons, for i t i s these di srupti ons which
the techni ques of i mpressi on management functi on to avoid.
In the begi nning of thi s report, in consi deri ng the general
characteri sti cs of performances, it was suggested that the
performer must act with expressi ve responsi bi l i ty, si nce many
minor, i nadvertent acts happen to be well desi gned to convey
i mpressi ons i nappropri ate at the time. These events were
cal l ed 'unmeant gestures. Ponsonby gi ves an i l l ustrati on
of how a di rectors attempt to avoid an unmeant gesture led
to the occurrence of another.
One of the Attachs from the L egati on was to cany the cushi on on
whi ch the i nsi gni a were pl aced, and in otder to prevent thei r fal l i ng off
I stuck the pi n at the back of the Star through the vel vet cushi on. The
Attach', howevet, was not content with thi s, but sccured the end of
the pi n by the catch to make doubl y sure. The resul t was that when
Pri nce Al exander, havi ng made a sui tabl e spcech, tried to get hol d of
the Star, he found it firmly fi xed to the cushi on and spent some rime
in getti ng it l oose. Thi s rather .spoilt the most i mpressi ve moment of
the ccrcmony. 1
It should be added that the i ndivi dual hel d responsi bl e for
contri buti ng an unmeant gesture may chi efl y di scredi t hi s
own performance by thi s, a team-mates performance, or the
performance bei ng staged by hi s audi ence.
When an outsi der acci dental l y enters a region in which a
performance i s bei ng given, or when a member of the audi ence
i nadvertentl y enters the backstage, the i ntruder i s li kel y to
catch those present flagrante delicto. Through no ones
intenti on, the persons present in the region may find that
they have patentl y been wi tnessed in acti vi ty that i s qui te
i ncompati bl e with the i mpressi on that they are, for wider soci al
reasons, in a posi ti on to maintain to the intruder. We deal
here with what are someti mes cal l ed 'i nopportune i ntrusi ons.
'Ponsonby, op. eft., p. 351.
132
The past rife and current round of acti vi ty of a given
performer typi cal l y contai n at l east a few facts which, if
introduced during the performance, would di scredi t or at l east
weaken the cl ai ms about sel f that the performer was attempti ng
io proj ect as part of the defi ni ti on of the si tuati on. These
f acts may i nvol ve wel l -kept dark secrets or negati vel y-val ued
characteri sti cs that everyone can see but no one refers to.
When such facts are introduced, embarrassment i s the usual
resul t. These f acts can, of course, be brought to ones attenti on
by unmeant gestures or inopporcune i ntrusi ons. However, they
are more frequentl y introduced by i ntenti onal verbal statements
cr non-verbal acts whose full si gni fi cance i s not appreci ated
by :he i ndi vi dual who contri butes them co the i nteracti on.
Fol l owi ng common usage, such di srupti ons of proj ecti ons may
be cal l ed 'f aux pas. Where a performer unthi nki ngl y makes
ari i ncenti onal contri buti on which destroys hi s own teams
inv-'.e we may speak of gaf f es or : boners. Where a performer
jecps-fdi zes the i mage of sel f proj ected by the other team, we
may speak of 'bri cks or of the performer havi ng 'put his
foot in i t.' :
Unmeant gestures, inopporcune i ntrusi ons, and faux Das
are sources of embarrassment and di ssonance whi ch are
typi cal l y uni ntended by the- person who i s responsi bl e for
making them and which woa.lo be avoi ded were the i ndi vi dual
tc <now in advance the coascquences of hi s acti vi ty. However
the:? are si tuati ons, often cal l ed 'scenes,' in which an
i ndi vi dual acts in such a way as to destroy or seri ousl y threaten
the pol i te appearance of consensus, and whi l e he may not act
si.~:.;ly in order to create suci? di ssonance, he acts wich the
knowl edge that thi s kind cf di ssonance i s l i kel y to resul t.
Tne common-sense phrase, 'creati ng a scene, i s apt because,
in ii ifect, a new scene i s created by such di srupti ons. The
previ ous and expected i nterpl ay between the teams i s suddenl y
forced asi de and a new drama forcibly takes i ts pl ace.
Si o.i i fi cantl y, thi s new scene often invol ves a sudden reshuffl i ng
1 I vri quette manual s provi de cl assi c warni ngs agai nst such i ndi screti ons.
*'or exampl e, 2"he Laws o f Et i quet t e (Phi l adel phi a: Carey, L ee &
ol anchard, 1336), p*. 1 0 1 :
K there i s any one in the company whom you do not know, be careful
how you J et off any epi grams or pl easant l i ttl e sarcasms. You might be
very wi tty upon hal ters to a man whose father had been hanged. The
first requi si te for successful conversati on i s to know your company wel l .
Another exampl e occurs in The Canons o f Good Breedi ng, op. c i t , t p. 80 : .
I n meeti ng a friend whom you have not seen for some ti me, and of the
state and hi story of whose family you have not been recentl y or parti cul arl y
informed, you shoul d avoi d maki ng enqui ri es or al l usi ons in respect to
parti cul ar i ndi vi dual s of hi s fami lyt unti l you have possessed yoursel f of
knowl edge respecti ng them. Some may be dead; others may have mi s
behaved, separated themsel ves, or fal l en under some di stressi ng cal ami ty.
133
and reapporti oni ng of the previ ous team members into two
new teams.
Some scenes occur when team-mates can no l onger
countenance each others i nept performance and blurt out
i mmedi ate publ i c cri ti ci sm of the very i ndi vi dual s with whom
they ought to be in dramaturgi cal co-operati on. Such mi sconduct
i s often devastati ng to the performance which the di sputants
ought to be presenti ng; one effect of the quarrel i s to provi de
the audi ence with a backstage view, and another i s to l eave
them with the feel i ng that somethi ng i s surel y suspi ci ous
about a performance when those who know it best do not agree.
Another type of scene occurs when the audi ence deci des i t
can no l onger play the game of pol i te i nteracti on, or that it
no l onger wants to do so, and so confronts the performers
with f acts or expressi ve acts which each team knows will be
unacceptabl e. T hi s i s what happens when an i ndi vi dual screws
up hi s soci al courage and deci des to 'have i t out with another
or 'real l y tel l him off. Crimi nal tri al s have i nsti tuti onal i zed
thi s kind of open di scord, as have the l ast chapters of murder
mysteri es, where an i ndi vi dual who has theretofore mai ntai ned
a convi nci ng pose of i nnocence i s confronted in the presence
of others with undeni abl e expressi ve evi dence that hi s pose
i s onl y a pose. Another kind of scene occurs when the i nter
acti on between two persons becomes so loud, heated, or
otherwi se attenti on-getti ng, that nearby persons engaged in
thei r own conversati onal i nteracti on are forced to become
wi tnesses or even to take si des and enter the fray. A final
type of scene may be suggested. When a person acti ng as a
one-man team commits hi msel f in a seri ous way to a cl ai m or
request and l eaves hi msel f no way out shoul d thi s be deni ed
by the audi ence, he usual l y makes sure that hi s cl ai m or request
i s the ki nd that i s l i kel y to be approved and granted by the
audi ence. I f hi s moti vati on i s strong enough, however, an
i ndi vi dual may find hi msel f making a cl ai m or an assumpti on
which he knows the audi ence may well rej ect. He knowingly
l owers hi s def ences in thei r presence, throwing hi msel f, as
we say, on thei r mercy. By such an act the i ndi vi dual makes
a pl ea to the audi ence to treat themsel ves as part of hi s team
or to al l ow him to treat hi msel f as part k>( thei r team. Thi s
sort of thi ng i s embarrassi ng e'nough, but when the unguarded
request i s refused to the i ndi vi dual s face, he suffers what we
can cal l humi l i ati on.
We have consi dered some major forms of performance
di srupti onunmeant gestures, inopportune i ntrusi ons, faux
pas, and scenes. T hese di srupti ons, in everyday terms, are
134
often cal l ed 'i nci dents. When an i nci dent occurs, the real i ty
sponsored by the performers i s threatened. The persons present
are l i kel y to react by becomi ng fl ustered, ill at ease, em
barrassed, nervous, and the l i ke. Qui te l i teral l y, the
parti ci pants may find themsel ves out of countenance. When
these fl usteri ngs or symptoms of embarrassment become per
cei ved, the real i ty that i s supported by the performance i s
l i kel y to be further j eopardi zed and weakened, for these si gns
of nervousness in most cases are an aspect of the i ndi vi dual
who presents a character and not an aspect of the character
he proj ects, thus forci ng upon the audi ence an i mage of the
man behi nd the mask.
I n order to prevent the occurrence of i nci dents and the
embarrassment consequent upon them, i t will be necessary
for al l the parti ci pants in the i nteracti on, as wel l as those
who do not parti ci pate, to possess certai n attri butes and to
express these attri butes in practi ces empl oyed for savi ng the
show. These attri butes and practi ces wi l l be revi ewed under
three headi ngs: the defensi ve measures used by performers
to save thei r own show; the protecti ve measures used by
audi ence and outsi ders to assi st the performers in savi ng the
performers show; and, fi nal l y, the measures the performers
must take ill order to make i t possi bl e for the audi ence and
outsi ders to employ protecti ve measures on the performers
behalf.
Defensive Attributes and Practices
1. DRAMATURGICAL LOY ALTY . I t i s apparent that i f
a team i s to sustai n the l i ne it has taken, the team-mates
must act as i f they have accepted certai n moral obl i gati ons.
They must not vol untari l y betray the secrets of the team,
whether from sel f-i nterest or pri nci pl e. They must not expl oi t
thei r presence in the front regi on in order to stage thei r own
show, as do, for exampl e, marri ageabl e stenographers who
someti mes encumber thei r offi ce surroundi ngs with a l ush
undergrowth of high fashi on. Nor must they use thei r perform
ance time as an occasi on to denounce thei r team. They must
be wi l l i ng to accept minor parts with good grace and perform
enthusi asti cal l y whenever, wherever, and for whomsoever the
team as a whole chooses. And they must be taken in by thei r
own performance to the degree that i s necessary to prevent
them from soundi ng hol l ow and fal se to the audi ence.
Perhaps the key problem in mai ntai ni ng l oyal ty of team
members (and apparentl y with members of other types of
135
col l ecti vi ti es, too) i s to prevent the performers from becoming
so sympatheti cal l y attached to the audi ence that the performers
di scl ose co them the consequences for chem of the i mpressi on
they are bei ng gi ven, or in other ways make the team as a
whole pay for thi s attachment. I n small communi ti es in Bri tai n,
for exampl e, the managers of stores will often be l oyal to the
establ i shment and will defi ne the product bei ng sol d to a
customer i n gl owi ng terms l i nked by fal se advi ce, but cl erks
can frequentl y be found who not onl y appear to take the rol e
of the customer in gi vi ng buyi ng-advi ce but actual l y do so. 1
So, too, fi l l i ng stati on managers someti mes di sapprove of
ti ppi ng because i t may l ead attendants to give undue free
servi ce to the chosen few whi l e other customers are l eft waiting.
One basi c techni que the team can employ to defend i tsel f
agai nst such di sl oyal ty i s to devel op high ingroup sol i dari ty
wi thi n the team, whi l e creati ng a backstage i mage of the
audi ence which makes the audi ence suffi ci entl y i nhuman to
al l ow the performers to cozen them with emoti onal and moral
immunity. To the degree that team-mates and thei r col l eagues
form a compl ete soci al community which offers each performer
a pl ace and a source of moral support regardl ess of whether
or not he i s successf ul in mai ntai ni ng hi s front before the
audi ence, to that degree i t would seem that performers can
protect themsel ves from doubt and guilt and practi se any kind
of decepti on. Perhaps we are to understand the heartl ess
arti stry of the Thugs by reference to the rel i gi ous bel i efs and
ri tual practi ces i nto which thei r depredati ons were i ntegrated,
and perhaps we are to understand the successful cal l ousness
of con men by reference to thei r soci al sol i dari ty in what they
cal l the 'i l l egi t world and thei r well -formul ated deni grati ons
of the l egi ti mate world. Perhaps chis noti on al l ows us to
understand in part why groups that are al i enated from or not
yet i ncorporated i nto the community are so abl e to go into
dirty-work trades and i nto the kind of servi ce occupati ons
whi ch i nvol ve routi ne cheati ng.
A second techni que for counteracti ng the danger of affecti ve
ti es between performers and audi ence i s to change audi ences
peri odi cal l y. Thus fi l l i ng stati on managers used to be shi fted
peri odi cal l y from one stati on to another to prevent the formation
of strong personal ti es with parti cul ar cl i ents. I t was found
that when such ti es were al l owed to form, the manager
l In the i sl and community referred to in thi s report, I heard a cl erk say to a
customer as the cl erk was handi ng over a bottl e of cherry pop to him, <( I
do not see how you can dri nk that stuff. No one present consi dered thi s
to be surpri si ng frankness, and si mi l ar comments coul d be heard every
day in the shops on the i sl and.
136
someti mes pl aced the i nterests of a friend who needed credi t
before the i nterests of the soci al establ i shment. 1 Bank
managers and mi ni sters have been routi nel y shi fted for si mi l ar
reasons, as have certai n col oni al admi ni strators. Some female
professi onal s provi de another i l l ustrati on, as the following
reference to organi zed prosti tuti on suggests:
The Syndi cate handl es that these days. The gi rl s dont stay in one
pl acc l ong enough to real l y pet on speaki ng terms wi th anybody- There^
not so much chance of a girl fal l i ng in love wi th some guyyou know,
and causi ng a squawk. Anyway, the hustl er who's in Chi cago thi s
week i s in St. L oui s nextt or movi ng around to hal f a dozen pl aces in
town before bei ng sent somewhere el se. And they never know where
they're goi ng unti l they're tol d. 2
2. DRAMATURGICAL DI SCI PL I NE. I t i s crucial for the
mai ntenance of the teams performance that each member of
the team possess dramaturgi cal discipli ne,, and exerci se it in
presenti ng hi s own part. I refer to the fact that while the
performer i s ostensi bl y immersed and gi ven over to the acti vi ty
he i s performing, and i s apparentl y engrossed in hi s acti ons
in a spontaneous, uncal cul ati ng way, he must none the l ess
be affecti vel y di ssoci ated from hi s presentati on in a way that
l eaves him free to cope with dramaturgi cal conti ngenci es as
they ari se. He must offer a show of i ntel l ectual and emotional
i nvol vement in the acti vi ty he i s pi esenti ng, but must keep
hi msel f from actual l y bei ng carri ed away by hi s own show
l est thi s destroy hi s i nvol vement in the task of putti ng on a
successful performance.
A performer who i s di sci pl i ned, dramaturgi cal l y speaki ng,
i s someone who remembers hi s part and-does not commit unmeant
gestures or faux pas in performing it. He i s someone with
di screti on: he does not gi ve the show away by i nvol untari l y
di scl osi ng i ts secrets. He i s someone with 'presence of
mi nd who can cover up on the spur of the moment for
i nappropri ate behavi our on the part of hi s team-mates, while
all the time mai ntai ni ng the i mpressi on that he i s merely pl ayi ng
hi s part. And i f a di srupti on of the performance cannot be
avoi ded or conceal ed, the di sci pl i ned performer will be prepared
to offer a pl ausi bl e reason for di scounti ng the di srupti ve event,
a joki ng manner to remove i ts i mportance, or deep apol ogy
and sel f-abasement to rei nstate those hel d responsi bl e for it.
The di sci pl i ned performer i s al go someone with 'sel f -control .'
'Of course thi s betrayal i s systemati cal l y faked in some commerci al
establ i shments where the customer i s gi ven a ' speci al * cut pri ce by a
cl erk who cl ai ms to be doi ng thi s in order to secure the buyer as a steady
personal customer.
2Charl es Hamil ton, Men o f t he Underworld (New Y ork: Macmi ll an, 1952),
p. 222.
137
He can suppress hi s emoti onal response to hi s pri vate problems,
to hi s team-mates when they make mi stakes, and to the audi ence
when they i nduce untoward affecti on or hosti l i ty in him. And
he can stop hi msel f from l aughi ng about matters which are
defi ned as seri ous and stop hi msel f from taki ng seri ousl y
matters defi ned as humorous. I n other words, he can suppress
hi s spontaneous f eel i ngs in order to gi ve the appearance of
sti cki ng to the affecti ve l i ne, the expressi ve status quo,
establ i shed by hi s teams performance, for a di spl ay of pro
scri bed affect may not only l ead to i mproper di scl osures and
offence to the working consensus but may al so i mpl i ci tl y
extend to the audi ence the status of team member. And the
di sci pl i ned performer i s someone with suffi ci ent poi se to move
from pri vate pl aces of informal i ty to publ i c ones of varying
degrees of formality, without al l owi ng such changes to confuse
him. 1
Perhaps the focus of dramaturgi cal di sci pl i ne i s to be
found in the management of ones face and voice. Here i s the
cruci al test of ones abi l i ty as a performer. Actual affecti ve
response must be conceal ed and an appropri ate affecti ve
response must be di spl ayed. Teasi ng, i t often seems, i s an
informal i ni ti ati on devi ce employed by a team to trai n and
test the capaci ty of i ts new members to 'take a j oke, that
i s, tn sustai n a fri endl y manner whi l e perhaps not feel i ng it.
When an i ndi vi dual passes such a test of expressi on-control ,
whether he recei ves it from hi s new team-mates in a spi ri t of
j est or from an unexpected necessi ty of pl ayi ng in a seri ous
performance, he can thereafter venture forth as a pl ayer who
can trust hi msel f and be trusted by others. A very ni ce
i l l ustrati on of thi s i s gi ven in a forthcoming paper by Howard
S. Becker on mari j uana smoki ng. Becker reports that the
i rregul ar user of the drug has a great fear of finding himself,
while under the i nfl uence of the drug, in the immediate presence
of parents or work associ ates who will expect an i nti mate
undrugged performance from him. Apparently the irregul ar
user does not become a confirmed regul ar user until he l eams
he can be ' high and yet carry off a performance before non-
smokers without betrayi ng hi msel f. The same i ssue ari ses,
perhaps in a l ess dramati c form, in ordinary family l i fe, when
a deci si on has to be reached as to the poi nt in thei r trai ni ng
at which young members of the team can be taken to publ i c
and semi -publ i c ceremoni es, for onl y when the chi l d i s ready
to keep control of hi s temper will he be a trustworthy parti ci pant
on such occasi ons.
1 For an exampl e sec Page, op. ci l . , pp. 91-92.
138
3. DRAMATURGICAL CI RCUMSPECTION- L oyal ty and
di sci pl i ne, in the dramaturgi cal sense of these terms, are
attri butes requi red of team-mates i f the show they put on i s
to be sustai ned. In addi ti on, i t will be useful i f the members
of the team exerci se foresi ght and desi gn in determi ni ng in
advance how best to stage a show. Prudence must be exerci sed.
When there i s l i ttl e chance of bei ng seen, opportuni ti es for
rel axati on can be taken; when there i s l i ttl e chance of bei ng
put to a test, the col d facts can be presented in a glowing
li ght and the performers can pl ay thei r part for al l it i s worth,
i nvesti ng ic with full di gni ty. I f no care and honesty are
exerci sed, then di srupti ons are l i kel y to occur; i f rigid care
and honesty are exerci sed, then the performers are not l i kel y
to be understood ' onl y too well but they may be misunderstood,
i nsuffi ci entl y understood, or greatl y limi ted in what they can
build out of the dramaturgi cal opportuni ti es open to them. I n
other words, in the i nterests of the team, performers will be
required to exerci se prudence and ci rcumspecti on in stagi ng
the show, prepari ng m advance for l i kel y conti ngenci es and
expl oi ti ng the opportuni ti es that remain. The exerci se or
expressi on of dramaturgi cal ci rcumspecti on takes well-known
forms; some of these techni ques for managing i mpressi ons
will be consi dered hert.
Obvi ousl y, one such techni que i s for the team to choose
members who are l oyal and di sci pl i ned, and a second one i s
lor the team to acqui re a cl ear i dea as to how much l oyal ty
and di sci pl i ne i t can rely on from the membership as a whole,
for the degree to which these attri butes are possessed will
markedly affect the l i kel i hood of carryi ng off a performance
and hence the safety of i nvesti ng the performance with
seri ousness, weight, and digni ty.
We will al so find that the ci rcumspect performer will attempt
to sel ect the kind of audi ence that will gi ve a minimum of
troubl e in terms of the show the performer wants to put on
and the show he does not want to have to put on. Thus it i s
reported that teachers often favour nei ther l ower-cl ass pupi l s
nor upper-cl ass ones, because both groups may make it di ffi cul t
to mai ntai n in the cl assroom the ki nd of defi ni ti on of the
si tuati on which affirms the professi onal teacher role. 1
Teachers will transfer to mi ddl e-cl ass school s for these
dramaturgi cal reasons. So, too, it i s reported that some nurses
l i ke to work in an operati ng room rather than on a ward because
in the operati ng room measures are taken to ensure that the
audi ence, who numbers only one, i s soon obl i vi ous to the
1 Becker, 'Soci al Cl ass Vari ati ons . . op. ci t . , pp. 461-462.
139
weaknesses of the show, permi tti ng the operati ng team to
rel ax and devote i tsel f to the technol ogi cal requi rements of
acti ons as opposed to the dramaturgi cal ones. 1 Once the
audi ence i s asl eep it i s even possi bl e to bring in a 'ghost
surgeon to perform the tasks that others who were there will
l ater cl ai m to have done. 2 Similarly, given the fact that
husband and wife are required to express mari tal sol i dari ty
by both showi ng the same regard for those whom they entertai n,
i t i s necessary to excl ude from thei r guests those persons
about whom husband and wife feel di fferentl y. 3 So al so, if a
man of i nfl uence and power i s to make sure that he can take
a fri endl y rol e in offi ce i nteracti ons, then it will be useful
for him to have a pri vate el evator and protecti ve ci rcl es of
recepti oni sts and secretari es so that no one can get in to see
him whom he might have to treat in a heartl ess or snobbi sh
fashi on.
I t will be apparent that an automati c way of ensuri ng that
no member of the team or no member of the audi ence acts
improperly i s to l imit the si ze of both teams as much as
possi bl e. Other thi ngs bei ng equal , the fewer the members,
the l ess possi bi l i ty of mi stakes, di f f i cul ti es, and treacheri es.
Thus sal esmen l i ke to sel l to unaccompani ed customers, si nce
i t i s general l y thought that two persons in the audi ence are
much more di ffi cul t to 1sel l than one. So, too, in some school s
there i s an informal rul e that no teacher i s to enter the room
of another teacher whi l e the other i s hol di ng a cl ass;
apparentl y the assumpti on i s that it will be l i kel y the new
performer will do somethi ng that the wai ti ng eyes of the student
audi ence will see as i nconsi stent with the i mpressi on fostered
by thei r own teacher. 4 However, there are at l east two reasons
why thi s devi ce of l i mi ti ng the number of persons present has
l i mi tati ons i tsel f . Fi rst, some performances cannot be presented
wi thout the techni cal assi stance of a si zeabl e number of team
mates. Thus, al though a general staff appreci ates that the
more offi cers there are who know the pl ans for the next phase
of acti on, the more l i kel i hood that someone will act in such a
'Unpubl i shed research report by Edi th L entz. I t may be noted that the
pol i cy someti mes fol lowed of pi pi ng musi c by earphones to the pati ent who
i s undergoi ng an operati on wi thout a general anestheti c i s a means of
effecti vel y removi ng him as an audi ence for the spoken word.
2 Solomon, op. ci t . , p. 108.
3 Thi s poi nt has been devel oped in a short story by Mary McCarthy, ' A
Fri end of the Fami l y, repri nted in Mary McCarthy, Cast A Col d Eye (New
Y otk: Harcourt Brace, 1950).
4 Becker, 'T he Teachet i n the Authori ty System of the Publ i c School ,
op. ci t . , p. 139.
140
way as to di scl ose strategi c secrets, the staff will sti l l have
to l et enough men in on the secret to pl an and arrange the
event. Secondl y, it appears that i ndi vi dual s, as pi eces of
expressi ve equi pment, are more effecti ve in a certai n sense
than non-human parts of the setti ng. If, then, an indi vi dual
i s to be gi ven a pl ace of great dramati c promi nence, it may
be necessary to employ a si zeabl e court-fol l owi ng to achi eve
an effecti ve i mpressi on of adul ati on around him.
1 have suggested that by keepi ng cl ose to the f acts it may
be possi bl e for a performer to safeguard hi s show but thi s
may prevent him from stagi ng a very el aborate one. I f an
el aborate show i s to be safel y staged i t may be more useful
to remove onesel f from the facts rather than sti ck to them. It
i s feasi bl e for an offi ci al of a rel i gi on to conduct a solemn,
awesome presentati on, because there i s no recogni zed way
by which these cl ai ms can be di scredi ted. Similarly, the
professi onal takes the stand that the servi ce he performs i s
not to be j udged by the resul ts i t achi eves but by the degree
to which avai l abl e occupati onal ski l l s have been profi ci entl y
appl i ed; and, of course, the professi onal cl ai ms that only the
col l eague group can make a judgment of thi s kind. It i s there*
fore possi bl e for the professi onal to commit hi msel f fully to
hi s presentati on, with al l hi s weight and di gni ty, knowing
that onl y a very fool i sh mi stake will be capabl e of destroyi ng
the i mpressi on created. Thus we can understand the effort of
tradesmen to obtai n a professi onal mandate as an effort to
gai n control over the real i ty they present to thei r customers;
and in turn we can see that such control makes it unnecessary
to be prudentl y humble i n the ai rs one assumes in performing
ones trade.
There would appear to be a rel ati on between the amount
of modesty empl oyed and the temporal l ength of a performance.
I f the audi ence i s to see only a brief performance, then the
l i kel i hood of an embarrassi ng occurrence will be rel ati vel y
smal l , and it will be rel ati vel y safe for the performer, especi al l y
in anonymous ci rcumstances, to mai ntai n a front that i s rather
fal se. 1 In American soci ety there i s what i s cal l ed a
tel ephone voi ce,' a cul ti vated form of speech not employed
in face-to-face tal k because of the danger of doi ng so. In
Bri tai n, i n the ki nds of contact between strangers that are
1 I n bri ef anonymous servi ce rel ati ons, servers become ski l l ed at detecti ng
what they see as affectati on, and si nce thei r own posi ti on i s made cl ear
by thei r servi ce role they cannot return affectati on wi th affectati on. At
the same ti me, customers who are what they cl ai m to be often sense that
the server may not appreci ate thi s, and so the customer may feel ashamed
because he feel s as he woul d feel were he as fal se as he appears to be.
141
guaranteed to be very bri efthe ki nds i nvol vi ng 'pl ease,*
thank you, 'excuse me, .and 'may I speak to one hears
many more Publ i c School accents than there are Publ i c School
peopl e. So al so, in Angl o-Ameri can soci ety, the majority of
domesti c establ i shments do not possess suffi ci ent stagi ng
equi pment to mai ntai n a show of pol i te hospi tal i ty for guests
who stay more than a few hours; only in the upper-middle
and upper cl asses do we find the i nsti tuti on of the week-end
guest, for i t i s onl y here that performers feel they have enough
si gn equi pment to bring off a l engthy show. 1
The performer who i s to be dramaturgi cal l y prudent will
have to adapt hi s performance to the informati on condi ti ons
under which it must be staged. Obvi ousl y, he will have to
take i nto consi derati on the i nformati on the audi ence al ready
possesses about him. The more informati on the audi ence has
about the performer, the l ess l i kel y it i s that anythi ng they
l eam during the i nteracti on will radi cal l y i nfl uence them. On
the other hand, where no prior informati on i s possessed, it
may be expected that the i nformati on gl eaned duri ng the i nter-
acti on will be of rel ati vel y great i mportance. Hence, on the
whol e, we may expect i ndi vi dual s to rel ax the stri ct main
tenance of front when they are with those they have known
for a l ong time, and we may expect performers to ti ghten thei r
front when among persons who are new to them. With those
whom one does not know, careful performances are requi red.
Another condi ti on associ ated with communi cati on may be
ci ted. The ci rcumspect performer will have to consi der tht
audi ences access to informati on sources external to the i nter
acti on. For exampl e, members of the Thug tri be of I ndi a are
sai d to have given the fol l owi ng performances duri ng the earl y
ni neteenth century:
As a general rul e chcy ptetended to be merchants or sol di ers,
travel l i ng wi thout weapons i n order co di sarm suspi ci on, whi ch gave
them an excel l ent excuse for seeki ng permi ssi on co accompany travel l ers,
for chere was nothi ng to exci te al arm in thetr appearance. Mosc Thugs
were mi l d l ooki ng and pecul i arl y courteous, for thi s camoufl age formed
part of cheir stock-i n-ttade, and wel l -armed travel l ers fel t no fear in
al l owi ng these kni ghts of che road co join them. T hi s fi rst step
successf ul l y accompl i shed, che Thugs gradual l y won the confi dence of
chei r i ntended vtcci ms by a demeanour of humilicy and grati tude, and
fei gned i ncercst in thei r affai rs unti l fami l i ar wich detai l s of thei r
homes, whether they were l i kel y to be mi ssed i f murdered, and i f they
knew anyone in the vi ci ni ty. Someti mes they travel l ed l ong di stances
together before a sui tabl e opportunicy foe treachery occurred; a case is
on record where a gang j ourneyed wi th a family of el even persons for
1 On the i sl and studi ed by the wricer, some crofcers felc they coul d suscai n
a mi ddl e-cl ass show for the durati on of a tea, in some cases a meal , and
in* one or two cases even a week-end; but many i sl anders fel t it only
saf e to perform for mi ddl e-cl ass audi ences on che front porch or, betcer
sti l l , in che communi ty hal l , where (he efforts and responsi bi l i ti es of the
show coul d be shared by many team-mates.
142
twenty days, coveri ng 200 mi l es, before they succeeded in murderi ns
the whol e parry wi thout detecti on. 1 0
Thugs coul d gi ve these performances in spice of the fact that
thei r audi ences were constantl y on the watch for such per-
formers (and quickly put to death those i denti fi ed as Thugs)
partl y because of the i nformati onal condi ti ons of travel ; once
a party set out for a di stant desti nati on, there was no way for
them to check the i denti ti es cl ai med by those whom they en
countered, and i f anythi ng befell the party on the way i t would
be months before they would be consi dered overdue, by which
time the Thugs who had performed for and then upon them
would be out of reach. But in thei r nati ve vi l l ages, the members
of the tribe, bei ng known, fixed, and accountabl e for thei r
si ns, behaved in an exemplary fashi on. Similarly, ci rcumspect
Ameri cans who would ordinarily never chance a mi srepresent
ation of thei r soci al status may take such a chance while
stayi ng for a short time at a summer resort.
I f sources of i nformati on external to the i nteracti on
consti tute one conti ngency the ci rcumspect performer must
take into consi derati on, sources of information i nternal to the
i nteracti on consti tute another. Thus the ci rcumspect
performer will adj ust hi s presentati on accordi ng to the
character of the props and tasks out of which he must build
hi s performance. For example, cl othi ng merchants in the
United States are requi red to be rel ati vel y ci rcumspect in
making exaggerated cl ai ms, because customers can test by
si ght and touch whar i s shown for them, but furniture sal es
men need not be so careful , because few members of the*
audi ence can j udge what l i es behind the front of varnish and
veneer that i s presented to them. 2 Similarly, i f a housewi fe
i s concerned with showi ng that she mai ntai ns cl eanl i ness
standards, she i s l i kel y to focus her attenti on upon the gl ass
surfaces in her livi ng room, for gl ass shows dirt al l too cl earl y;
she will gi ve l ess attenti on ro the darker and l ess reveal i ng
rug, whi ch may well have been chosen in the bel i ef that 'dark
col ours do not show the di rt. So, too, an arti st need take
l i ttl e care with the decor of hi s studi oin fact, the arti sts
studi o has become stereotyped as a pl ace where those who
work backstage do not care who sees them or the condi ti ons
in whi ch they are seenpartl y because the full val ue of the
arti sts product can, or ought to be, immediately avai l abl e
to the senses; portrai t pai nters, on the other hand, must promi se
to make the si tti ngs sati sf actory and tend to use rel ati vel y
l Sl eeman, op. ci l . , p. 25.
2 Conant, op. ci t . , makes thi s poi nt.
143
prepossessi ng, ri ch-l ooki ng studi os as a kind of guarantee
for the promi ses they make. Similarly, we find that confi dence
men must employ el aborate and meti cul ous personal fronts
and often engi neer meti cul ous soci al setti ngs, not so much
because they l i e for a l i vi ng but because, in order to get away
with a l i e of that di mensi on, one must deal with persons who
have been and are going to be scrangers, and one has to
termi nate the deal i ngs as qui ckl y as possi bl e, L egi ti mate
busi nessmen who would promote .n venture under these
ci rcumstances would have to be j ust as meti cul ous in
expressi ng themsel ves, for it i s under j ust such ci rcumstances
that potenti al i nvestors scruti ni ze the character of those who
would sel l to them. I n short, si nce a con merchant must swi ndl e
hi s cl i ents under those ci rcumstances where cl i ents appreci ate
that a confi dence game coul d be employed, the con man must
careful l y forestal l the i mmedi ate i mpressi on that he might be
what in fact he i s, j ust as the l egi ti mate merchant, under the
same ci rcumstances, would have to forestal l careful l y the
i mmedi ate i mpressi on that he might be what he i s not.
I t i s apparent that care will be great in si tuati ons where
i mportant consequences for the performer will occur as a resul t
of hi s conduct. The j ob-i ntervi ew i s a cl ear example. Often
the i ntervi ewer will have to make deci si ons of far-reachi ng
imporrance for the i ntervi ewee on the sol e basi s of informati on
gai ned from the i ntervi ewees intervi ew-performance. The
i ntervi ewee i s l i kel y to feel, and with some j usti ce, that hi s
every acti on will be taken as highly symbol i cal , and he will
therefore gi ve much preparati on and thought to hi s performance.
We expect at such ti mes that the i ntervi ewee will pay much
attenti on to hi s appearance and manner, not merely to create
a favourabl e i mpressi on, but al so to be on the safe si de and
forestal l any unfavourabl e i mpressi on that might be unwi tti ngl y
conveyed. Another exampl e may be suggested: those who
work in the fiel d of radi o broadcasti ng and, especi al l y, tel e
vi si on keenl y appreci ate that the momentary i mpressi on they
gi ve will have a l asti ng effect on the view the audi ence takes
of them, and it i s in thi s part of the communi cati on i ndustry
that great care i s taken to gi ve the ri ght i mpressi on and great
anxi ety i s fel t that the i mpressi on gi ven might not be right.
The strength of thi s concern i s seen in the i ndi gni ti es that
hi gh-pl aced performers are will i ng to suffer in order to come
off well : Congressmen al l ow themsel ves to be made up and
to be tol d what to wear; professi onal boxers abase themsel ves
by gi vi ng a di spl ay, in the manner of wrestl ers, i nstead of a
bout. 1
1 See J ohn L ardner's weekl y col umn in Ne ws we e k , February 22, 1954, p. 59.
*44
Ci rcumspecti on on the part of performers will al so be
expressed in the way they handl e rel axati on of appearances.
When a team i s physi cal l y di stant from i ts i nspectori al audi ence
and a surpri se vi si t i s unl i kel y, then great rel axati on becomes
f easi bl e. Thus we read that smal l American Navy i nstal l ati ons
on Paci f i c i sl ands duri ng the l ast war coul d be run qui te
i nformall y, whereas a readj ustment in the di recti on of spit
and pol i sh was requi red when the outfi t moved to pl ates that
members of the audi ence were more l i kel y to frequent. 1 When
i nspectors have easy access to the pl ace where a team carri es
on i ts work, then the amount of rel axati on possi bl e for the
team will depend on the effi ci ency and rel i abi l i ty of i ts warning
system. I t i s to be noted that thorough-goi ng rel axati on requi res
not only a warning system but al so an appreci abl e time l apse
between warning and vi si t, for the team will be abl e to rel ax
only to the degree that can be corrected duri ng such a ti me
l apse. Thus, when a school teacher l eaves her cl assroom for
a moment, her charges can rel ax into sl ovenl y postures and
whi spered conversati ons, for these transgressi ons can be
corrected in the few seconds' warning the pupi l s will have
that the teacher i s about to re-enter, but it i s unl i kel y that it
will be f easi bl e for the pupi l s to sneak a smoke, for the smell
of smoke cannot be got rid of qui ckl y. I nteresti ngl y enough,
pupi l s, l i ke other performers, will test the l i mi ts, gl eeful l y
moving far enough away from thei r seats so that when the
warning comes they will have to dash madly back to thei r
proper pl aces so as not to be caught off-base.
I would l i ke to mention a final way in which, dramaturgical
ci rcumspecti on i s exerci sed. When teams come into each
other's immediate presence, a host of minor events may occur
that are acci dental l y sui tabl e for conveyi ng a general i mpressi on
that i s i nconsi stent with the fostered one. Thi s expressi ve
treacherousness i s a basi c characteri sti c of face-to-face i nter
acti on. One way of deal i ng with thi s problem i s, ^as previ ousl y
suggested, to sel ect team-mates who are di sci pl i ned and will
not perform thei r parts in a cl umsy, gauche, or sel f-consci ous
fashi on. Another method i s to prepare in advance for all
possi bl e expressi ve conti ngenci es. One appl i cati on of thi s
strategy i s to settl e on a compl ete agenda before the event,
desi gnati ng who i s to do what and who i s to do what after
that. In thi s way confusi ons and l ul l s can be avoi ded and
hence the i mpressi ons that such hi tches in the proceedi ngs
might convey to the audi ence can be avoi ded too. Another
appl i cati on of thi s programming techni que i s to accept the
fact that pi cayune events such as who i s to enter a room fi rst
1Page, op. cit ., p. 92.
145
or who i s to si t next to the hostess, etc., will be taken as
expressi ons of regard and to apporti on these favours consci ousl y
on the basi s of pri nci pl es of judgment to which no one present
will take offence, such as age, gross seni ori ty in rank, sex,
temporary ceremoni al status, etc. Thus in an i mportant sense
protocol i s not so much a devi ce for expressi ng val uati ons
duri ng i nteracti on as a devi ce for 'groundi ng* potenti al l y
di srupti ve expressi ons in a way that will be acceptabl e (and
uneventful ) to al l present. A third appl i cati on i s to rehearse
the whole routi ne so that the performers can become practi sed
i n thei r parts and so that conti ngenci es that were not predi cted
will occur under ci rcumstances in which they can be safel y
attended to. A fourth i s to outl i ne beforehand for the audi ence
the l i ne of response they are to take to the performance. When
thi s ki nd of bri efi ng occurs, of course, it becomes di ffi cul t to
di sti ngui sh between performers and audi ence. Thi s type of
col l usi on i s especi al l y found where the performer i s of highly
sacred status and cannot trust hi msel f to the spontaneous
tact of the audi ence. For exampl e, in Bri tai n, women who
are to be presented at court (whom we may thi nk of as an
audi ence for the royal performers) are careful l y school ed before
hand as to what to wear, what ki nd of l i mousi ne to arri ve in,
how to curtsey, and what to say.
Protective Practices
I have suggested three attri butes that team members must
have i f thei r team i s to perform in safety; l oyal ty, di sci pl i ne,
and ci rcumspecti on. Each of these capaci ti es i s expressed
in many standard defensi ve techni ques through which a set of
performers can save thei r own show. Some of these techni ques
of i mpressi on management were revi ewed. Others, such as
the practi ce of control l i ng access to back regi ons and front
regi ons, were suffi ci entl y di scussed in earl i er chapters. In
thi s secti on I want to stress the fact that most of these
defensi ve techni ques of i mpressi on management have a counter
part in the tactful tendency of the audi ence and outsi ders to
act in a protecti ve way in order to hel p the performers save
thei r own show. Si nce the dependence of the performers on
the tact of the audi ence and outsi ders tends to be under
esti mated, I shal l bring together here some of the several
protecti ve techni ques that are commonly empl oyed al though,
anal yti cal l y speaki ng, each protecti ve practi ce might better
be consi dered in conj uncti on with the correspondi ng defensi ve
practi ce.
146
Fi rst, i t shoul d be understood that access to the back
and front regi ons of a performance i s control l ed not only by
the performers but by others. I ndi vi dual s vol untari l y stay
away from regi ons into which they have not been i nvi ted.
(Thi s ki nd of tact in regard to pl ace i s anal agous to
'di screti on, which has al ready been descri bed as tact in
regard to facts.) And when outsi ders find they are about to
enter such a regi on, they often give those al ready present
some warning, in the form of a message, or a knock, or a cough,
so that the i ntrusi on can be put off if necessary or the setti ng
hurriedly put in order and proper expressi ons fixed on the
f aces of those present. 1 Thi s kind of tact can become ni cel y
el aborated. Thus, in presenti ng onesel f to a stranger by means
of a l etter of introducti on, it i s thought proper to convey the
l etter to the addressee before actual l y coming into hi s immedi ate
presence; the addressee then has time to deci de what kind of
greeti ng the indi vi dual i s to recei ve, and time to assembl e
the expressi ve manner appropri ate to such a greeti ng. 2
We often find that when i nteracti on must proceed in the
presence of outsi ders, outsi ders tactful l y act in an uni nterested,
uni nvol ved, unpercei vi ng fashi on, so that if physi cal cl osure
i s not obtai ned by wal l s or di stance, effecti ve cl osure can at
l east be obtai ned by conventi on. Thus when two sets of persons
find themsel ves in nei ghbouri ng booths in a restaurant, i t i s
expected that nei ther group will avail i tsel f of the opportuni ti es
that actual l y exi st for overheari ng the other.
Eti quette as regards tactful i nattenti on, and the effecti ve
pri vacy it provi des, vari es, of course, from one soci ety and
subcul ture to another. I n mi ddl e-cl ass Anglo-American soci ety,
when in a publ i c pl ace, one i s supposed to keep ones nose
out of other peopl es acti vi ty and go about ones own busi ness.
I t i s onl y when a woman drops a package, or when a fell ow-
motori st gets stal l ed in the middl e of the road, or when a
baby l eft al one in a carri age begi ns to scream, that mi ddl e-cl ass
peopl e feel it i s all right to break down momentaril y the wal l s
which effecti vel y i nsul ate them. I n the rural i sl and cul ture
studi ed by the writer, di fferent rul es obtai ned. I f any man
happened to find hi msel f in the presence of others who were
engaged in a task, it was expected that he would lend a hand,
1 Mai ds are often trai ned to enter a room wi thout knocki ng, or to knock and
go ri ght in, presumabl y on the theory that they arc non-persons before
whom any pretence or i nteracti on readi ness on the part of those in the
room need not be mai ntai ned. Fri endl y housewi ves wi l l enter each others
ki tchens with si mi l ar l i cence, as an expressi on of havi ng nothi ng to
hi de from each other.
* Esqui re Et i quet t e, op. ci t., p. 73-
147
especi al l y i f the task was rel ati vel y bri ef and rel ati vel y
strenuous. Such casual mutual ai d was taken as a matter of
course and was an expressi on o f nothi ng cl oser than fell ow-
i sl ander status.
Once the audi ence has been admi tted to a performance,
the necessi ty of bei ng tactful does not cease. We find that
there i s an el aborate eti quette by which i ndi vi dual s guide
them sel ves in thei r capaci ty as members of the audi ence.
Thi s i nvol ves: the giving of a proper amount of attenti on and
i nterest; a wi l l i ngness to hold in check one's own performance
so as not to i ntroduce too many contradi cti ons, i nterrupti ons,
or demands for attenti on ; the i nhi bi ti on of al l acts or statements
that might create a faux pas; the desi re, above *li el se, to
avoi d a scene. Audi ence tact i s so general a thi ng that we
may expect to find i t exerci sed even by i ndi vi dual s, famous
for thei r mi sbehavi our, who are pati ents in mental hospi cal s.
Thus one research group reports:
Ac another ti me, the staff, wi thout consul ti ng the pati ents, deci ded
to gi ve them a Val enti ne party. Many of the pati ents di d not wi sh to
go, but di d so anyway as they felc that they shoul d not hurt the feel i ngs
of che student nurses who had organi zed the party. The games i ntroduced
by the nurses were on a very chi l di sh l evel ; many of che paci encs felt
si l l y pl ayi ng them and were gl ad when the party was over and they
coul d go back to acti vi ti es of thei r own choosi ng. 1
We al so find that when performers make a sl i p of some
kind, cl earl y exhi bi ti ng a di screpancy between the fostered
i mpressi on and a di scl osed real i ty, the audi ence may tactful l y
'not see the sl i p or readi l y accept the excuse that i s offered
for i t. Further, we find that at moments of cri si s for the
performers, the whole audi ence may come i nto taci t col l usi on
with the performers in order to hel p them out. Thus we l earn
that in mental hospi tal s when a pati ent di es in such a way as
to refl ect upon the i mpressi on of useful treatment that the
staff i s attempti ng to mai ntai n, the other pati ents, ordi nai i l y
di sposed to give the staff troubl e, will tactful l y ease up their
warfare and with much del i cacy hel p sustai n the qui te fal ^e
i mpressi on that they have not absorbed the meaning of what
has happened. 2 Similarly, at ti mes of i nspecti on, whether in
school , in barracks, in the hospi tal , or at home, the audi ence
i s l i kel y to behave i tsel f in a model way so that the performers
who are bei ng i nspected may put on an exemplary show. At
'Wi l l i am Caudi l l , Frederi ck C. Redli cl i , Hel en R. Gi l more and Kugene B.
Brody, Soci al Strucrure and I nteracti on Processes on a Psychi atri c
Ward, Ameri can Journal o f Ort hopsychi at ry, XXI I , 321-322.
2See Taxel , op. ci t . , p. 118. Vl'hen two teams know an embarrassi ng fact,
and each team knows the other team knows it, and yet ncMi er team openl y
admi ts i ts knowl edge, we get an i nstance of what Robert bubi n has cal l ed
'organi zati onal f i cti ons.' See Dubi n, op. ci t . , pp. 341-3^5-
148
such ti mes, team l i nes are apt to shi ft sl i ghtl y and momentaril y
so that the i nspecti ng superi ntendent, general , di rector, or
guest will be faced by performers and audi ence who are in
col l usi on.
A l i nal i nstance of tact in handl i ng the performer may be
ci ted. When the performer i s known to be a begi nner, and
more subj ect than otherwi se to embarrassi ng mi stakes, the
audi ence, frequentl y shows extra consi derati on, refrai ni ng
from causi ng the di ffi cul ti es it might otherwi se create.
I would l i ke to add a concl udi ng fact about tact. Whenever
the audi ence exerci ses tact, the possi bi l i ty will ari se that
the performers wi l l l earn that they are bei ng tactful l y protected.
When thi s occurs, the further possi bi l i ty ari ses that the audi ence
will learn that the performers know they are bei ng tactful l y
protected. And then, in turn, i t becomes possi bl e for the
performers to l earn that the audi ence knows that the performers
know they are bei ng protected. Now when such states of
i nformati on exi st, a moment in the performance may come
when the separateness of the teams will break down and be
momentari l y repl aced by a communion of gl ances through which
each team openl y admi ts to the other i ts state of informati on.
At such moments the whole dramaturgi cal structure of soci al
i nteracti on i s suddenl y and poi gnantl y l ai d bare, and the l i ne
separati ng the teams momentaril y di sappears. Whether thi s
cl ose vi ew of thi ngs bri ngs shame or l aughter, the teams are
l i kel y to draw rapi dl y back i nto thei r appoi nted characters.
Tact Regarding Tact
I t has been argued that the audi ence contri butes in a
si gni fi cant way to the mai ntenance of a show by exerci si ng
tact or protecti ve practi ces on behal f of the performers. I t i s
apparent that i f the audi ence i s to employ tact on the performers
behal f, the performer must act in such a way as to make the
renderi ng of thi s assi stance possi bl e. T hi s will requi re
di sci pl i ne and ci rcumspecti on, but of a speci al order. For
exampl e, i t was suggested that tactful outsi ders in a physi cal
posi ti on to overhear an i nteracti on may offer a show of
i nattenti on. I n order to assi st in thi s tactful wi thdrawal , the
parti ci pants who feel i t i s physi cal l y possi bl e for them to be
overheard may omit from thei r conversati on and acti vi ty anything
that would tax thi s tactful resol ve of the outsi ders, and at
the same time i ncl ude enough semi -confi denti al f acts to show
that they do not di strust the show of wi thdrawal presented by
the outsi ders. Similarly, it a secretary i s to tel l a vi si tor
149
tactful l y that the man he wi shes to see i s out, i t will be wi se
for the vi si tor to step back from the inter-offi ce tel ephone so
that he cannot hear what the secretary i s bei ng told by the
man who i s presumabl y not there to tel l her.
I would l i ke to concl ude by menti oni ng two general
strategi es regardi ng tact with respect to tact. Fi rst, the
performer must be sensi ti ve to hi nts and ready to take them,
for it i s through hi nts that the audi ence can warn the performer
that hi s show i s unacceptabl e and that he had better modify
i t quickly i f the si tuati on i s to be saved. Secondl y, if the
performer i s to mi srepresent the f acts in any way, he must do
so in accordance with the eti quette for mi srepresentati on; he
must not l eave hi msel f in a posi ti on from which even the l amest
excuse and the most co-operati ve audi ence cannot extri cate
him. In tel l i ng an untruth, the performer i s enj oi ned to retai n
a shadow of j est in hi s voi ce so that, should he be caughc
out, he can di savow any cl aim to seri ousness and say that he
was only joking. In mi srepresenti ng hi s physi cal appearance,
the performer i s enj oi ned to use a method which al l ows of an
i nnocent excuse. Thus bal di ng men who affect a hat i ndoors
and out are more or l ess excused, si nce i t i s possi bl e that
they have a col d, chat they, merely forgot to take their hat off,
or that rai n can fall in unexpected pl aces; a toupee, however,
offers the wearer no excuse and the audi ence no excuse for
excuse. In fact there i s a sense in which the category of
impostor, previ ousl y referred co, can be defi ned as a person
who makes it i mpossi bl e for hi s audi ence to be tactful about
observed mi srepresentati on.
aranniD
I n spi te of the fact that performers and audi ence employ
al l of these techni ques of i mpressi on management, and many
others as well, we know, of course, that i nci dents do occur
and that audi ences are i nadvertantl y given gl i mpses behind
the scenes of a performance. When such an i nci dent occurs,
the members of an audi ence someti mes l earn an important
l esson, more i mportant to them than the aggressi ve pl easure
they can obtai n by di scoveri ng someones dark. PQf'i^red.
i nsi de, or scrategi c secrets. The members of the audi ence
may di scover a fundamental democracy that i s usual l y well
hidden. Whether the character that i s being presented i s sober
or carefree, of high stati on or low, the i ndi vi dual who performs
the character will be seen for what he largel y i s, a sol i tary
pl ayer i nvolved in a harri ed concern for hi s producti on. Behind
150
many masks and many characters, each performer tends to
wear a si ngl e look, a naked unsoci al i Eed look, a look of con
centrati on, a look of one who i s pri vatel y engaged in a di ffi cult,
treacherous task. De Beauvoi r, in her book on women, provi des
an i l l ustrati on:
And in spi ce of al l her prudence, acci dents wil l happen; wine i s
s D i l i e d on her dress, a ci garette burns i t; thi s marks the di sappearance
of the l uxuri ous and festi ve creature who bore hersel f wi th smi l i ng
ori de in the ball room, fot she now assumes the seri ous and severe
l ook of the housekeeper; it becomes al l at once evi dent that her toi l ette
was not a set pi ece l i ke fi reworks, a transi ent burst of spl endor, i ntended
for the l avi sh i l l umi nati on of a moment. I t i s rather a ri ch possessi on,
capi tal goods, an i nvestment; i t has meant sacri f i ce; i ts l oss i s a real
di saster Spots, rents, botched dressmaki ng, bad hai rdos are cata
strophes sti l l more seri ous than a burnt roast or a broken vase; for not
onl v does the woman of fashi on proj ect hersel f into thi ngs, she has
chosen to make hersel f a thi ng, and she feel s di rectl y threatened i n
rhe worl d Her rel ati ons with dressmaker and mi l l i ner, her fi dgeting,
her stri ct demands-al l these mani fest her seri ous att.tude and her
sense of i nsecuri ty. 1 _______________ __________________
i de Beauvoi r, op. ci l . , p. 536.
151
CHAPTER Vil
CONCLUSION
The Framework
A soci al establ i shment i s any pl ace surrounded by fixed
barri ers to percepti on in which a parti cul ar kind of acti vi ty
regul arl y takes pl ace. I have suggested that any soci al
establ i shment may be studi ed profi tabl y from the point of
vi ew of i mpressi on management. Within the wal l s of a soci al
establ i shment we find a team of performers who co-operate to
present to an audi ence a given defi ni ti on of the si tuati on.
Thi s will i ncl ude the concepti on of own team and of audi ence
and assumpti ons concerni ng the ethos that i s to be mai ntai ned
by rul es of pol i teness and decorum. We often find a di vi si on
i nto back region, where the performance of a routi ne i s prepared,
and front regi on, where the performance i s presented. We
find that access to these regi ons i s control l ed in order to
prevent the audi ence from seei ng backstage and to prevent
outsi ders from coming into a performance that i s not addressed
to them. Among members of the team we find that fami l i ari ty
prevai l s, that sol i dari ty i s l i kel y to devel op, and that secrets
that coul d gi ve the show away are shared and kept. A taci t
agreement i s mai ntai ned between performers and audi ence to
act as if a gi ven degree of opposi ti on and of accord exi sted
between them. Typi cal l y, but not al ways, agreement i s stressed
and opposi ti on i s underpl ayed. We find that the resul ti ng
worki ng consensus tends to be contradi cted by the atti tude
toward the audi ence which the performers express i n the
absence of the audi ence aijd by careful l y control l ed communi ca
ti on out of character conveyed by the performers while the
audi ence i s present. We find that di screpant rol es devel op:
some of the i ndi vi dual s who are apparentl y team-mates, or
audi ence, or outsi ders acqui re informati on about the performance
and rel ati ons to the team whi ch are not apparent and which
compl i cate the problem of putti ng on a show. We find that
someti mes di srupti ons occur through unmeant gestures, faux
pas, and scenes, thus di scredi ti ng or contradi cti ng the
defi ni ti on of the si tuati on that i s bei ng mai ntai ned. We find
that the mythol ogy of the team will dwell upon these di srupti ve
events. We find that performers, audi ence, and outsi ders al l
152
uti l i ze techni ques for savi ng the show, whether by avoi ding
l i kel y di srupti ons or by correcti ng for unavoi ded ones, or by
making i t possi bl e for others to do so. Tc ensure that these
techni ques will be employed, we find that the team will tend
to sel ect members who are l oyal , di sci pl i ned, and ci rcumspect,
and to sel ect an audi ence that i s tactful . These features and
el ements, then, compri se the framework 1 cl ai m to be character
i sti c of much soci al i nteracti on as it occurs in natural setti ngs
in our soci ety.
Thi s framework i s formal and abstract in the sense that it
can be appl i ed to any soci al establ i shment; i t i s not, however,
merely a stati c cl assi fi cati on. The framework bears upon
dynamic i ssues created by the moti vati on to sustai n a defi ni ti on
of the si tuati on which has been proj ected before others.
The Analytical Context
Thi s report has been chi efl y concerned with soci al
establ i shments as rel ati vel y cl osed systems. I t has been
assumed that the rel ati on of one establ i shment to others i s
i tsel f an i ntel l i gi bl e area of study and ought to be treated
anal yti cal l y as part of a di fferent order of factthe order of
i nsti tuti onal i ntegrati on. It might be well here to try to pl ace
the perspecti ve taken in thi s report in the context of other
perspecti ves which seem to be the ones currentl y employed,
i mpl i ci tl y or expl i ci tl y, in the study of soci al establ i shments
as cl osed systems. Four such perspecti ves may be tentati vel y
suggested.
An establ i shment may be viewed ' techni cal l y, in terms
of i ts effi ci ency and i neffi ci ency as an i ntenti onal l y organi zed
system of acti vi ty for the achi evement of pre-defi ned obj ecti ves.
An establ i shment may be viewed pol i ti cal l y, in terms of the
acti ons which each parti ci pant (or cl ass of parti ci pants) can
demand of other parti ci pants, the ki nds of depri vati ons and
i ndul gences which can be meted out in order to enforce these
demands, and the ki nds of soci al control s which guide thi s
exerci se of command and use of sancti ons.
An establ i shment may be vi ewed 'structural l y, in terms
of the horizontal and verti cal status di vi si ons and the ki nds
of soci al rel ati ons which rel ate these several groupi ngs to
one another. Fi nal l y, an establ i shment may be viewed
'cul tural l y, in terms of the moral val ues which i nfl uence
acti vi ty in the establ i shmentval ues pertai ni ng to fashi ons,
customs, and matters of taste, to pol i teness and decorum, to
ul ti mate ends and normative restri cti ons on means, etc. I t i s
153
t' Se noted that all the f acts that can be di scovered about an
e^abl i shment are rel evant to each of the four perspecti ves
but that each perspecti ve gi ves i ts own priority and order to
these facts.
I t seems to me tbat the dramaturgi cal approach may
consti tute a fifth perspecti ve, to be added to the techni cal ,
pol i ti cal , structural , and cul tural perspecti ves. 1 The drama
turgi cal perspecti ve, l i ke each of the other four, can be
empl oyed as the end-poi nt of anal ysi s, as a final way of order
i ng facts. Thi s would l ead us to descri be the techni ques of
i mpressi on management empl oyed in a given establ i shment,
the pri nci pal probl ems of i mpressi on management in the
establ i shment, and the i denti ty and i nterrel ati onshi ps of the
several performance teams which operate in the establ i shment.
But, as with the f acts uti l i zed in each of the other perspecti ves,
the facts speci f i cal l y pertai ni ng to i mpressi on management
al so pl ay a part in the matters that are a concern in al l the
other perspecti ves. I t may be useful to i l l ustrate thi s briefly.
The techni cal and dramaturgi cal perspecti ves i ntersect
most cl earl y, perhaps, in regard to standards of work. I mportant
for both perspecti ves i s the fact that one set of i ndi vi dual s
will be concerned with testi ng the unapparent characteri sti cs
and qual i ti es of the work-accompl i shments of another set of
i ndi vi dual s, and thi s other set will be concerned with givi ng
the i mpressi on that thei r work embodi es these hidden attri butes.
The pol i ti cal and dramaturgi cal perspecti ves i ntersect cl earl y
i n regard to the capaci ti es of one i ndi vi dual to di rect the
acti vi ty of another. For one thi ng, if an i ndi vi dual i s to di rect
another, or others, he will often find it useful to keep strategi c
secrets from them. Further, if one i ndivi dual attempts to
di rect the acti vi ty of others by means of example, enl i ghtenment,
persuasi on, exchange, mani pul ati on, authori ty, threat, puni sh
ment, or coerci on, it will be necessary, regardl ess of hi s
power posi ti on, to convey effecti vel y what he wants done and
what he i s prepared to do to get it done arid what he will do
if i t i s not done. Power of any kind must be cl othed in effecti ve
means of di spl ayi ng i t, and i t will have di fferent effects depend
i ng upon how it i s dramati zed. (Of course, the capaci ty to
convey effecti vel y a defi ni ti on of the si tuati on may be of
l i ttl e use i f one i s not in a posi ti on to give example, exchange,
puni shment, etc.) Thus the most obj ecti ve form of naked
power, i .e., physi cal coerci on, i s often nei ther obj ecti ve nor
Compare the posi ti on taken by Oswal d Hal l i n regard to possi bl e
perspecti ves for the study of cl osed systems in hi s ' Methods and
Techni ques of Research in Human Rel ati ons' (Apri l , 1952), reported in
E. C- Hughes et al ., Ca s e s on Fi e l d Work, forthcoming.
154
naked but rather functi ons as a di spl ay for persuadi ng the
audi ence; i t i s often a means of communicati on, not merely a
means of acti on. The structural and dramaturgi cal perspecti ves
seem to i ntersect most cl earl y in regard to soci al di stance.
The i mage that one status grouping i s abl e to maintain in the
eyes of an audi ence of other status groupi ngs will depend
upon the performers capaci ty to restri ct communi cati ve contact
with the audi ence. The cul tural and dramaturgi cal perspecti ves
i ntersect most cl earl y in regard to the mai ntenance of moral
standards. The cul tural val ues of an establ i shment will
determi ne in detai l how the parti ci pants are to feel about
many matters and at the same time establ i sh a framework of
appearances that must be mai ntai ned, whether or not there i s
feel i ng behi nd the appearances.
Personolity-lnteroction-Sociefy
I n recent years there have been el aborate attempts to
bring into one framework the concepts and fi ndi ngs derived
from three di fferent areas of i nqui ry: the i ndi vi dual personal i ty,
soci al i nteracti on, and soci ety. I would l ike to suggest here
a simple addi tion to these i nter-di sci pl i nary attempts.
When an i ndi vi dual appears before others, he wittingly
and unwitti ngl y proj ects a defi ni ti on of the si tuati on, of which
a concepti on of hi msel f i s an important part. When an event
occurs which i s expressi vel y i ncompati bl e with thi s fostered
i mpressi on, si gni fi cant consequences are si mul taneousl y felt
in three l evel s of soci al real i ty, each of which i nvol ves a
different point of reference and a di fferent order of fact.
Fi rst, the soci al i nteracti on, treated here as a dial ogue
between two teams, may come to an embarrassed and confused
hal t; the si tuati on may cease to be defi ned, previ ous posi ti ons
may become no l onger tenabl e, and parti ci pants may find
themsel ves without a charted course of acti on. The parti ci pants
typi cal l y sense a fal se note in the si tuati on and come to feel
awkward, fl ustered, and, l i teral l y, out of countenance. In
other words, the minute soci al system created and sustai ned
by orderly soci al i nteracti on becomes di sorgani zed. These
are the consequences that the di srupti on has from the point
of view of soci al i nteracti on.
Secondl y, in addi ti on to these di sorgani zi ng consequences
for acti on at the moment, performance di srupti ons may have
consequences of a more far-reachi ng kind. Audi ences tend to
accept the sel f projecced by the i ndivi dual performer during
any current performance as a responsi bl e representati ve of
155
hi s col l eague-groupi ng, of hi s team, and of hi s soci al
establ i shment. Audi ences al so accept the i ndi vi dual s
parti cul ar performance as evi dence of hi s capaci ty to perform
the routi ne and even as evi dence of hi s capaci ty to perform any
routine. In a sense these l arger soci al uni tsteams, establ i sh
ments, etc.become commi tted every time the i ndi vi dual
performs hi s routi ne; with each performance the l egi ti macy of
these uni ts will tend to be tested anew and thei r permanent
reputati on put at stake. Thi s kind of commitment i s especi al l y
strong duri ng some performances. Thus, when a surgeon and
hi s nurse both turn from the operati ng tabl e and the anestheti zed
pati ent acci dental l y rol l s off the tabl e to hi s death, not only
i s the operati on di srupted in an embarrassi ng way, but the
reputati on of the doctor, as a doctor and as a man, and al so
the reputati on of the hospi tal may be weakened. These are
the consequences that di srupti ons may have from the point of
view of soci al structure.
Fi nal l y, we often find that the i ndi vi dual may deepl y involve
hi s ego in hi s i denti fi cati on with a parti cul ar role, establ i sh
ment, and group and in hi s sel f-concepti on as someone who
does not di srupt soci al i nteracti on or let down the soci al
uni ts which depend upon that i nteracti on. When a di srupti on
occurs, then, we may find that the sel f-concepti ons around
which he has built hi s personal i ty may become di scredi ted.
These are consequences that di srupti ons may have from the
poi nt of view of indi vi dual personal i ty.
Performance di srupti ons, then, have consequences at
three l evel s of abstracti on: personal i ty, i nteracti on, and soci al
structure. While the l i kel i hood of di srupti on will vary widely
from i nteracti on to i nteracti on, and whi l e the soci al importance
of l i kel y di srupti ons will vary from i nteracti on to i nteracti on,
sti l l i t seems that there i s no i nteracti on in which the parti ci
pants do not take an appreci abl e chance of bei ng sl i ghtl y
embarrassed or a sl i ght chance of bei ng deepl y humi l i ated.
L i fe may not be much of a gamble, but i nteracti on i s. Further,
in so far as i ndi vi dual s make efforts to avoi d di srupti ons or
to correct for ones not avoi ded, these efforts, too, will have
si mul taneous consequences at the three l evel s. Here, then,
we have one si mpl e way of arti cul ati ng three l evel s of
abstracti on and three perspecti ves from which soci al life has
been studi ed.
Comporisons and Study
I n thi s report, use has been made of i l l ustrati ons from
soci eti es other than our Anglo-American one. In doing thi s I
156
did not mean to imply that the framework presented here i s
cul ture-free or appl i cabl e in the same areas of soci al li fe in
non-Western soci eti es as in our own. We l ead an i ndoor soci al
l i fe. We speci al i ze in fixed setti ngs, in keepi ng strangers
out, and in givi ng the performer some pri vacy in whi ch to
prepare hi msel f for the show. Once we begi n a performance,
we are i ncl i ned to fi ni sh it, and we are sensi ti ve to jarring
notes which may occur during it. I f we are caught out in a
mi srepresentati on we feel deepl y humi l i ated. Given our general
dramaturgi cal rul es and i ncl i nati ons for conducti ng acti on,
we must not overl ook areas of life in other soci eti es in which
other rul es are apparentl y followed. Reports by Western
travel l ers are filled with i nstances in which thei r dramaturgical
sense was offended or surpri sed, and i f we are to general i ze
to other cul tures we must consi der these i nstances as well
as more favourabl e ones. We must be ready to see in Chi na
that whi l e acti ons and decor may be wonderful ly harmoni ous
and coherent in a pri vate tea-room, extremel y el aborate meal s
may be served in extremel y plain restaurants, and shops that
look l i ke hovel s staffed with surly, fami l i ar cl erks may contai n
within thei r recesses, wrapped in old brown paper, wonderfully
del i cate bol ts of si l k. 1 And among a peopl e sai d to be careful
to save each others face, we must be prepared to read that:
1ortunni el y the Chi nese do not bel i eve in the pri vacy of a home as
we do. They do not mind havi ng the whol e detai l s of thei r dai l y exper
i ence seen by everyone that cares to look. How they l i ve, what they
cat, and even the family j ars that we try 10 hush up from the publ i c are
thi ngs th.it seem to be common property, and not to bel ong excl usi vel y
to thi s parti cul ar family who are most concerned. 2
And we must be prepared to see that in soci eti es with settl ed
i nequal i tari an status systems and strong rel i gi ous ori entati ons,
i ndi vi dual s are someti mes l ess earnest about the whole ci vic
drama than we are, and will cross soci al barri ers with brief
gestures that give more recogni ti on to the man behi nd the
mask than we might find permi ssi bl e.
Furthermore, we must be very cauti ous in any effort to
characteri ze our own soci ety as a whole with respect to drama
turgi cal practi ces. For example, in current management-labour
rel ati ons, we know that a team may enter j oi nt consul tati on
meeti ngs with the opposi ti on with the knowl edge that i t may
be necessary to gi ve the appearance of stal ki ng out of the
meeti ng in a huff. Diplomatic teams are someti mes required
to stage a si mi l ar show. I n other words, while teams m our
soci ety are usual l y obl i ged to suppress thei r rage behi nd a
working consensus, there are ti mes when teams are obl i ged
1Macflowan, np. c i t t> pp. 178-179
3//n</ , pp. 180-181.
157
to suppress even the appearance of sober opposi ti on behind
a demonstrati on of outraged feel i ngs. Similarly, there are
occasi ons when i ndi vi dual s, whether they wi sh to or not, will
feel obl i ged to destroy an i nteracti on in order to save thei r
honour and thei r face. I t would be more prudent, then, to
begi n with smal l er uni ts, with soci al establ i shments or cl asses
of establ i shments, or with parti cul ar statuses, . and document
compari sons and changes in a modest way by means of the
case-hi story method. For exampl e, we have the following
ki nd of informati on about the shows that busi nessmen are
l egal l y al l owed to put on:
The l ast hal f-ccntury has seen a marked change in the atti tude of
the courts toward the questi on of j usti fi abl e rel i ance- Earl i er deci si ons,
under the i nfl uence of the preval ent doctri ne of ' cavcat emptor,' lai d
great stress upon the pl ai nti ffs * duty to protect hi msel f and di strust
hi s antagoni st, and hel d that he was not enti tl ed to rely even upon
posi ti ve asserti ons of f ad made by one wi th whom he was deal i ng at
arms l ength. I t was assumed that anyone may be expected to overreach
another in a bargai n i f he can, and that only a fool wil l expect common
honesty. Therefore the pl ai nti ff must make a reasonabl y i nvesti gati on,
and form hi s own judcment. The recogni ti on of a new standard of
busi ness ethi cs, demandi ng that statements of fact be at l east honestl y
and careful l y made, and in many cases that they be warranted to be
true, has l ed to an al most compl ete shi ft in thi s poi nt of view.
I t i s now hel d that asserti ons of fact as to the quanti ty or qual i ty
of l and or goods sol d, the fi nanci al status of the corporati ons, and
si mi l ar matters i nduci ng commerci al transacti ons, may j usti fi abl y be
rel i ed on wi thout i nvesti gati on, not only where such i nvesti gati on
would be burdensome and di ffi cul t, as where land whi ch i s sol d l i es
at a di stance, but l i kewi se where the fal si ty of the representati on
might be di scovered with l i ttl e effort by means easi l y at hand. 1
And while frankness may be i ncreasi ng in busi ness rel ati ons,
we have some evi dence that marri age counsel l ors are i n
creasi ngl y agreed that an i ndi vi dual ought not to feel obl i ged
to tell hi s or her spouse about previ ous 'af f ai rs,1 as thi s
might only l ead to needl ess strai n. Other exampl es may be
ci ced. We know, for exampl e, that up to about 1830 pubs in
Bri tai n provi ded a backstage setti ng for workmen, l i ttl e
di sti ngui shabl e from thei r own ki tchens, and that after that
date the gin pal ace suddenl y burst upon the scene to provi le
much the same cl i entel e with a fanci er front region than chey
coul d dream of. 2 We have records of the soci al hi story of
parti cul ar American towns, tel l i ng us of the recent decl i ne in
the el aborateness of domesti c and avocati onal fronts of the
l ocal upper cl asses. I n contrast, some material i s avai l abl e
which descri bes the recent i ncrease in el aborateness of the
setti ng that union organi zati ons empl oy,3 and the i ncreasi ng
1Prosser, op. c i t . t pp. 749-750.
2M. Gorham and H. Dunnett, I nsi de t he Pub (L ondon: The Archi tectural
Press, 1950), pp. 23-24.
3 See, for exampl e, Hunter, op. ci l , , p. 19.
158
tendency to 'stock the setti ng with academi cal l y-trai ned
experts who provide an aura of thought and respectabi l i ty. 1
We can trace changes in the pl ant l ayout of speci fi c i ndustri al
and commercial organi zati ons and show an i ncrease in front,
both as regards the exteri or of the head-offi ce bui l di ng and
as regards the conference rooms, main hal l s, and waiting
rooms of these bui l di ngs. We can trace i n a parti cul ar crofti ng
community how the barn for ani mal s, once backstage to the
ki tchen and accessi bl e by a small door next the stove, has
l atel y been removed a di stance from the house, and how the
house i tsel f, once set down in an unprotected way in the midst
of garden, croft equi pment, garbage, and grazi ng stock, i s
becoming, in a sense, publ i c-rel ati ons ori ented, with a front
yard fenced off and kept somewhat cl ean, presenti ng a dressed-
up si de to the community while debri s i s strewn at random in
the unfenced back regi ons. And as the connected byre
di sappears, and the scul l ery i tsel f starts to become l ess
frequent, we can observe the up-grading of domesti c establ i sh
ments, wherei n the ki tchen, which once possessed i ts own
back regi ons, i s now coming to be the l east presentabl e region
of the house while at the same time becomi ng more and more
presentabl e. We can al so trace that pecul i ar soci al movement
which led some factori es, shi ps, restaurants, and househol ds
to cl ean up thei r backstages to such an extent that, l i ke monks,
Communi sts, or German al dermen, thei r guards are al ways up
and there i s no pl ace where thei r front i s down, while at the
same time members of the audi ence become suffi ci entl y
entranced with the soci etys id to expl ore the pl aces that
had been cl eaned up for them. Pai d attendance at symphony
orchestra rehearsal s i s onl y one of the l atest exampl es. We
can observe what Mr Hughes cal l s col l ecti ve mobility, through
which the occupants of a status attempt to al ter the bundle of
tasks performed by them so that no act will be requi red which
i s expressi vel y i nconsi stent with the image of sel f that these
i ncumbents are attempti ng to establ i sh for themsel ves. And
we can observe a paral l el process, which might be cal l ed
'rol e enterpri se, within a parti cul ar soci al establ i shment,
whereby a parti cul ar member attempts not so much to move
into a hi gher posi ti on al ready establ i shed as to create a new
posi ti on for himself, a posi ti on invol vi ng duti es .which sui tabl y
express attri butes that are congeni al to him. We can examine
the process of speci al i zati on, whereby many performers come
1See \Wlcnsky, op. c i t . 7 chap. i vt for a di scussi on of the 'wi ndow-dressi ng
functi on of staff experts. For reference to the busi ness counterpart ol
thi s movement see Ki esman, op. ci t . , pp. 138-139.
159
to make bri ef communal use of very el aborate soci al setti ngs,
bei ng content to sl eep al one in a cubi cl e of no pretensi on.
We can follow the di ffusi on of cruci al frontssuch as the
l aboratory compl ex of gl ass, stai nl ess steel , rubber gl oves,
whi te ti l e, and l ab coatwhich al low an i ncreasi ng number of
persons connected with unseeml y tasks a way of sel f
puri fi cati on. And, fi nal l y, starti ng with the tendency in highly
authori tari an organi zati ons for one team to be required to
spend i ts ti me i nfusi ng a ri gorousl y ordered cl eanl i ness in
the setti ng the other team will perform in, we can trace, in
establ i shments such as hospi tal s, Air Force bases, and l arge
househol ds, a current decl i ne in the hypertrophi c stri ctness
of such setti ngs.
The Role of Expression is conveying
Impressions of Self
Perhaps a moral note can be permi tted at the end. In
thi s report the expressi ve component of soci al li fe has been
treated as a source of i mpressi ons given to or taken by others.
I mpressi on, in turn, has been treated as a source of information
about unapparent facts and as a means by which the reci pi ents
can gui de thei r response to the informant without havi ng to
wait for the full consequences of the informants acti ons to
be felt-. Expressi on, then, has been treated in terms of the
communi cati ve rol e it pl ays duri ng soci al i nteracti on and not,
for example, in terms of consummatory or tensi on-rel ease
functi on i t might have for the expresser. 1
Underl yi ng all soci al i nteracti on there seems to be a
fundamental di al ecti c. When one i ndi vi dual enters the presence
of others, he will want to di scover the f acts of the si tuati on.
Were he to possess thi s informati on, he coul d know, and make
al l owances for, what will come to happen an-.l he coul i gi ve
the others present as much of thei r due as i s consi stent with
hi s enl i ghtened sel f-i nterest. To uncover fully the factual
nature of the si tuati on, it would be necessary for the i ndivi dual
to know al l the rel evant soci al data about the others. I t would
al so be necessary for the i ndi vi dual to know the actual outcome
or end-product of the acti vi ty of the others during the i nter
acti on, as well as thei r i nnermost feel i ngs toward him. Ful l
informati on of thi s order i s rarel y avai l abl e; in i ts absence,
the i ndi vi dual tends to employ substi tutescues, tests, hi nts,
J A recent treatment of thi s kind may be found in Tal cott Parsons, Robert K.
Bal es, and Edward A. Shi l s, Working Papers in t he Theory o f Act i on
(Gl encoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1953). chap. i i , 'T he Theory of Symboli sm
in Rel ati on to Acti on.
160
expressi ve gestures, status symbol s, etc.as predi cti ve
devi ces. In short, si nce the real i ty that the indi vi dual i s
concerned with i s unpercei vabl e at the moment, appearances
must be rel i ed upon in i ts stead. And, paradoxi cal l y, the
more the i ndi vi dual i s concerned with the real i ty that i s not
avai l abl e to percepti on, the more must he concentrace hi s
attenti on on appearances.
The indi vi dual tends to treat the others present on the
basi s of the i mpressi on they gi ve now about the past and the
future. I t i s here that communi cati ve acts are transl ated into
moral ones. The i mpressi ons that the others give tend to be
treated as cl ai ms and promi ses they have impl i ci tl y made,
and cl ai ms and promi ses tend to have a moral character. In
hi s mind the indi vi dual says: "I am usi ng these i mpressi ons
of you as a way of checki ng up on you and your acti vi ty, and
you ought not to l ead me astray. The pecul i ar thi ng about
thi s i s that the i ndi vi dual tends to take thi s stand even though
he expects the others to be unconsci ous of many of thei r
expressi ve behavi ours and even though he may expect to expl oi t
the others on the basi s of the information he gl eans about
them. Si nce the sources of i mpressi on used by the observi ng
i ndi vi dual i nvol ve a mul ti tude of standards pertai ni ng to pol i te
ness and decorum, pertai ni ng both to soci al i ntercourse and
task-performance, we can appreci ate afresh how dai l y l i fe i s
enmeshed in moral l i nes of di scri mi nati on.
L et us shi ft now to the point of vi ew of the others. I f
they are to be gentl emanl y, and pl ay the i ndi vi dual s game,
they will gi ve l i ttl e consci ous heed to the fact that i mpressi ons
are bei ng formed about them but rather act wi thout gui l e or
contri vance, enabl i ng the i ndi vi dual to recei ve val i d i mpress
i ons about them and thei r efforts. And i f they happen to gi ve
thought to the fact that they are bei ng observed, they will not
al low thi s to i nfl uence them unduly, content in the bel i ef
that the i ndi vi dual will obtai n a correct i mpressi on and give
them thei r due because of it. Should they be concerned with
i nfl uenci ng the treatment that the i ndi vi dual gi ves them, and
thi s i s properly to be expected, then a gentl emanl y meanj
will be avai l abl e to them. They need only gui de thei r acti on
in the present so that i ts future consequences will be the
kind that would l ead a j ust i ndi vi dual to treat them now in a
way they want to be treated; once thi s i s done, they have
only to rely on the percepti veness and j ustness of the i ndivi dual
who observes them.
Someti mes those who are observed do, of course, employ
these proper means of i nfl uenci ng the way in which the observer
161
treats them. But there i s another way, a shorter and more
effi ci ent way, i n whi ch the observed can i nfl uence the observer.
I nstead of al l owi ng an i mpressi on of thei r acti vi ty to ari se as
an i nci dental by-product of thei r acti vi ty, they can reori ent
thei r frame of reference and devote thei r efforts to the creati on
of desi red i mpressi ons. I nstead of attempti ng to achi eve
certai n ends by acceptabl e means, they can attempt to achi eve
the i mpressi on that they are achi evi ng certai n ends by
acceptabl e means. I t i s al ways possi bl e to mani pul ate the
i mpressi on the observer uses as a substi tute for real i ty because
a si gn for the presence of a thi ng, not bei ng that thing, can
be empl oyed in the absence of it. The observers need to
rel y on representati ons of thi ngs i tsel f creates the possi bi l i ty
of mi srepresentati on.
There are many sets of persons who feel they coul d not
stay in busi ness, whatever thei r busi ness, i f they limited
themsel ves to the gentl emanl y means of i nfl uenci ng the
indi vi dual who observes them. At some point or other in the
round of thei r acti vi ty they feel it i s necessary to band together
and di rectl y mani pul ate the i mpressi on that they give. The
observed become a performing team and the observers become
the audi ence. Acti ons which appear to be done on obj ects
become gestures addressed to the audi ence. The round of
acti vi ty becomes dramati zed.
We come now to the basi c di al ecti c. In thei r capaci ty as
performers, i ndi vi dual s will be concerned with mai ntai ni ng
the i mpressi on that they are l i vi ng up to the many standards
by which they and thei r products are j udged. Because these
standards are so numerous and so pervasi ve, the i ndi vi dual s
who are performers dwell more than we might think in a moral
world. But, qua performers, i ndi vi dual s are concerned noc
with the moral i ssue of real i zi ng these standards, but with
the amoral i ssue of engi neeri ng a convi nci ng i mpressi on that
these standards are bei ng real i zed. Our acti vi ty, then, i s
l argel y concerned with moral matters, but as performers we
do not have a moral concern i n these moral matters. As
performers we are merchants of moral ity. Our day i s given
over to i nti mate contact with the goods we di spi ay and our
mi nds are fi l l ed with i nti mate understandi ngs of them; but it
may well be that the more attenti on we give to these goods,
the more di stant we feel from them and from those who are
bel i evi ng enough to buy them. To use a di fferent imagery,
the very obl i gati on and profi tabl i l i ty of appeari ng al ways in
a steady moral l i ght, of bei ng a soci al i zed character, forces
us to be the sort of person who i s practi ced in the ways of
the stage.
T HE KND
7' p i t! -I /;:/ * n; . I . >i<.* t,1//
Ti1 L piV rr.M A .V W tH V '
.1 i ' *i>ph-M' r t**jvi,*lr I