The Fatal Flaw: A Narrative of the Fragile Body-Self

Abstract

This article considers the way in which specific narrative forms can be utilized to explore the reflexive relationships between the body and self over time in ways that fuse the personal and the societal. It does so by providing moments from my own narrative of self that focus upon an interrupted body project and its impact upon my relationship to past, present, and future selves. In the telling, Iattempt to engage the reader by communicating the subjectivity of such moments in a provocative, disruptive, fragmented, and emotionally charged manner. My own narrative, its performative element, and its gendered nature are then considered in relation to the inevitable fragility of self-narratives in contemporary society. Finally, I discuss issues of access to specific narratives within a political economy of developmental opportunities, and the implications of this differential resourcing for who, and what, people can become.