10. Who is behind the mask? Identity in literature

Abstract

In literature, we can find all aspects and dimensions of identity: identity through time, the mind–body problem, the identity of words and things, gender boundaries, identity crisis, divided loyalty, mistaken identity, split identity, and the demands of modernity for individuals to have a national, social, and gender identity. ‘Who is behind the mask? Identity in literature’ provides a range of illustrative examples. In addition to substantial questions of identity, the art of literature is also concerned with identity in two formal ways. Style expresses the identity of fictitious characters as well as of writers. Finally, by creating fictitious worlds, literature constructs identity puzzles in its own right.