Abstract
This paper investigates the philosophical question of "who we are" evident in Edward Albee's work The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?: Notes toward a Definition of Tragedy. Dramatizing a(n) (extramarital) "love affair" between a human being (Martin) and a goat (Sylvia), Albee's play, I argue, asks a more important question, beyond that of "who is Sylvia," that is, "who are we." Taking the self-other issue to the larger context of the human and the nonhuman, the paper examines the dialogism of Emmanuel Levinas's ethical theory and the play, and further argues that the absolute alterity of the Other forces the Self to face itself, or its own conscience. Hence the Self 's decision regarding who the Other is simultaneously determines the limits and orientation as to who himself/herself may be. Understood in this light, Albee's awardwinning play poses in its depiction of a bestial affair fundamental questions concerning the Self and its world as we progress into the 21st century.