ABSTRACT
The recognition that all social behavior is to a certain extent "performed" and that different social relationships can be seen as "roles" is of course hardly a recent idea, and in certain periods of theatre history, such as the Renaissance and Baroque, this "theatrical" quality of regular social life appeared as a motif or a central subject in countless plays. It was not really until the twentieth century, however, that an exploration of the actual personal and social implications of this way of viewing human activity appeared, directed not toward the creation of an artistic product but toward the analysis and understanding of social behavior.
