IDENTITY

In search of identity construction through the narrative of the pearl necklace

Lina Pihl

Can one reach an understanding of identity through the narrative of the pearl necklace?

The pearl necklace plays the role of the main character as well as the attribute in portraying identity in this dissertation.

By looking at the pearl necklace as an object through its social context, it is possible to open it up for an understanding of its relation and impact on the individual.

The world is not constructed of entities, but on relations. Thus it makes no sense to try to understand it through the notion of a predefined entity.

Through the investigation of the pearl necklace as a signified, and myth in the modern Western society, its relation to and affect on the subject when worn and the creation of a new context within the performance – a system for how we can see and look upon identity takes form, in which they both, myth and signified, play a part in the construction of identities. The myth of the pearl necklace makes it into a strong, signified that is used to manifest social belonging: by wearing the pearl necklace one becomes a part of the myth and its signified, which creates a new form, where the subject-object is the signified in action, a performance that makes the myth present and an active, living part of a society.

This proves that by taking an everyday object such as the pearl necklace and understanding it in a social context and in relation to the body and individuals, we can reach a deep and complex understanding of what identity is, how it is constructed and what potentials it possesses.