THE BINARY OPPOSITION OF THE CONCEPTS "EAST/WEST" IN THE LIGHT OF WESTERN IDENTITY IN W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM'S SHORT STORY THE FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCE

In this article, the depiction of the binary conceptual opposition “East/West” in the short stories of W. Somerset Maugham is analyzed within moral and cultural contexts. The study examines the ways in which Western values are represented through the author’s distinct modality. Through the portrayal of characters, the stories construct the portrait of a new type of English identity—one born “on the edge of the empire” and possessing a typical history of marriage. The article extends the discussion of social issues beyond the mere phenomenon of misalliance, highlighting the future of children born from such marriages and their problems of identification, as well as the issues raised from the perspective of cultural and social differences between the characters.