Intellectual figures are best read as archival praxis, not stable personalities
Evidence
Her life and work are fascinating because there were contradictions in her politics, in her sexuality, in everything she did and everything she was; in old age she spoke of the “distressing multiplicity” of the human personality. She was a rebel whose instincts were profoundly conservative, a proud outcast who loved the status quo. … It is her vices, as much as her virtues, that make her letters so compelling. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 529 (
#contradicts, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Contradictory personality traits make complex historical figures compelling to read — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 529; Archival productions should be read as ethnography, not just normative taxonomies.; Intellectuals are defined by social relations, not intrinsic activity. (+1 more)
Related
- Contradictory personality traits make complex historical figures compelling to read (similarity 0.92)
- Historians’ books remain literary constructions shaped by their values (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Contradictory personality traits make complex historical figures compelling to read
#contradicts(0.85) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 529 - Intellectuals are defined by social relations, not intrinsic activity.
#expands(0.80) - Archival productions should be read as ethnography, not just normative taxonomies.
#complicates(0.78)