But, as always, repressive essentialism contains within itself the possibility of its own defeat, because it's simply not true By insisting on things that aren't true and insisting we believe them, Victorian ideals actually make their own norms really easy to attack
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So these stories can *play with* identity -- with transness and similar concepts -- but never *get there*, the idea that Rochester could actually *change who he is permanently* by changing the way he dresses and acts is cut off, impossible -- the "real him" is always underneath
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There, I just gave, at much greater length than the original two paragraphs, my take on what I think they mean (as an only sort-of educated layperson)
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This is an absolute nonsense. There is no "true self". That is exactly the problem with this whole Butlerian discourse.
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Well, I don't believe that there is, and Butler's whole theory of performativity -- which you clearly don't understand -- doesn't believe that there is either I'm saying that *Victorian novels* believe that there are (You seem to have problems with reading)
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I'm reminded of Decoy Octopus in METAL GEAR SOLID who shaved his face bones, flattened his nose and removed his ears to make it easier to apply disguises. His devotion to method acting is so strong he has to be deprogrammed after each mission to turn him back into Octopus again.pic.twitter.com/NGLdekWwVy
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for what it's worth, i appreciate this (the "unpacking" of the text) very much. (also, academic writing *and* reading are hard, and taking the time to make your work accessible is a rare kindness - even if the person is an expert writing for a very specific audience)
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