A defining habit can characterize a person economically

Evidence

Harry reveals himself as a thorough-going pessimist; when he gets a new book he reads the last page first, in case he dies suddenly. … In his mouth, the simplest statement assumes the most fantastic complexity. Sally is a simpler, flatter creature. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 372

Categorization

• XREF: The device of a single telling habit (reading the last page first) is exactly the sketching technique Mantel uses to introduce characters in her fiction. — connects to: Persistent practices are held in place by conditional preferences about social costs — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 7322; Habit produces the plastic character making man both universal and individual. — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 596; Consumption history serves as shorthand for personal identity and biography — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 864
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 372