“Born in the Wrong Body”: Fragmentation of the Self in Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis

Abstract

Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis depicts a fluid and elusive subjectivity that resists fixed gender norms and highlights the endless search for meaning and identity. According to Selina Busby and Stephen Farrier, “the majority of Kane’s work can be situated within a queer frame” (142). Busby and Farrier contextualize Kane’s theatrical oeuvre within the framework of queer theory and its societal implications, arguing that her plays emerged at a specific historical and cultural juncture. “This historical moment was the 1990s, the same period in which queer became increasingly powerful on the street as a form of protest and in the academy as a subject (Butler’s key text for queers, Gender Trouble was published in 1990)” (143) By examining Kane’s plays through a queer theoretical lens, Busby and Farrier highlight the theme of fluidity of identity that pervades her texts: