Mar
2
Proposal
March 2, 2015 | 3 Comments
The Permissible Violation of Privacy: The Dilemma of the Inner Voice
- Mattheus Oliveira
The goal of this paper is to explore the implicit violation of privacy that the secondary/inner voice of character undergoes. In what ways does this violation of privacy allow a text to address complex, societal judgments on moral issues?
For the final paper of this class, I wish to do a literary study. As was noted previously, I was most intrigued by the “whisper” in “Cleaving.” The whisper is nothing new within literature. “Harry Potter” and the current sensation of “50 Shades of Gray” also adopt their own secondary voices/persona, the chest beast and goddess respectively. In the simplest terms, these secondary voices are windows into the minds of the character, adding a level of psychological complexity. They traditionally reveal a character’s inner desires or moral conflicts with whatever narrative development is at hand. And, in fact, that is what happens in all the above texts,
However, this secondary voice, while revealing some form of inner conflict or trait, is its own active force within the narrative. It is at odds with its attached character, and reveals to the reader private information. These revelatory moments, commonly accepted as credible pieces of information, fail to be regarded as a violation of privacy. Harry’s chest beast is his desire for Ginny, but it is also at odds with whatever duty he has as a friend of Ron. Yet the desires he hides are revealed to the reader. The goddess of 50 Shades is a complex image of female sexual empowerment that berates Ana who struggles in her wildly, new relationship. The whisper reminds the reader over and over about obsession.
At the same time as the violation of privacy, the secondary voice adopts an additional role. These dilemmas are not just examples of a problem that needs to be solved. As the secondary voices comes into conflict with the attached character, it begins to adopt an aspect of moral judgment. Harry Potter addresses, though certainly does not focus, questions of loyalty/duty in a friendship, while 50 Shades grapples with a complex idea of female sexual empowerment. In all stated cases, the secondary voice is at odds with its attached character. In this dilemma, the reader is given a private space, made possible by the initial violation to judge and weigh each side against the other.
Texts
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Cleaving
50 Shades of Grey
Sub-Themes/Questions/Concerns
Perhaps the most basic question: Am I missing some vocabulary to enter this conversation? Particuarly is there another term than “secondary voice.”
How do we determine the different roles in secondary voices?
What is the more detailed tradition of the secondary voice?
Is the secondary voice its own character? Does that impact the reading?
To what extent is the secondary voice a reflection of some moral judgment?
Comments
3 Comments so far
Just some thoughts. The topic of oversharing probably has more to do with the primary voice than the secondary voice. The primary voice pertains more to communication with other people, whereas the secondary voice has more to do with privacy and one’s individual conscience (probably the opposite of oversharing). I do agree with your belief that the secondary voice is an underrated aspect of a person’s (either real or fictional) character. But I guess the issue of the formation of the second voice’s character must also be addressed. On top of that, through what means is the character of the secondary voice formed? I would imagine that there would be some tension between those who view that it is formed partly by societal input and those who believe that it is solely shaped through one’s individual conscience.
Also, I’d imagine that Cleaving would have to do more with oversharing than Harry Potter and 50 Shades. 50 Shades seems to be about a discreet and intense relationship, whereas Harry Potter seems to be about the tension in Harry’s conscience. Julie, on the other hand, overshares details about her job and her secret liaisons to the reading public.
But if you want to write a paper about a secondary voice, maybe you can write about the dialectic between the secondary voice (filtered through the primary voice) and the characters who the subject/protagonist in the paper comes into contact with. Perhaps you can write a paper about the processual formation of the secondary voice’s character as the subject comes into contact with others and receives societal input about her third-person character/demeanor from others. Since you have to relate this to oversharing, you probably have to relate all this to the divulging of ‘secret information’ on the part of just one person to other(s).
That’s an interesting distinction I hadn’t thought of. Thank you for that.
I think John Paul’s suggestion makes a lot of sense…and the idea of relating the “inner voice” more directly to the concept of oversharing…or at minimum the tensions between the private voice and the public persona. I look forward to brainstorming in class!