Cognitive Confusion And Escape From Patriarchal Constraints In Play It As It Lays

Abstract

This research entitled “Cognitive Confusion and Escape from Patriarchal Constraints in Play It As It Lays,” focusing on cognitive confusion and the importance of flexibility in Play it As It Lays refers to the mental agony experienced by women due to the constrictive societal roles that are placed on them and their resultant attempts to escape from their suffocating domestic constraints. It is the act of escaping such responsibilities by separating oneself from them. The conceptions of flexibility emphasize freedom, independence, and access to possibilities for success; nevertheless, offer more limited experiences of flexibility in America and by the privileged upper middle-class white men. Didion’s writings thus paint a rather dismal picture of women’s mobility in the post-war era. Since even those who manage to break free from the mental constraints of traditional gender roles ultimately fail to succeed in achieving more concrete modes of journey, despite their best efforts. On the other hand, mental escape is a noteworthy feat. Indeed, the most significant accomplishment in these writings may be the realization of mental mobility. Cognitive confusion is a common reaction to loss of freedom or immobility in Didion’s female protagonist in Play It As It Lays.