Orientalism’s repetitive structure is itself a substantive symptom, not merely a formal flaw

Evidence

If we turn to a consideration of the first structural feature outlined earlier, we find that Said spends most of Orientalism discussing and finely elaborating on this feature. Indeed, the emphasis on the malevolent effects of distance preoccupies his text to such an extent that the theme of Orientalist misrepresentations turns into a never-ceasing and exhausting repetition that cuts across chapters and their sections and subsections. (In my estimate, the book would have averted some criticism and been more effective had it been streamlined into a little more than half of its published size.) The point about this technical deficiency is substantive, however, not merely formal; it is to say that the inordinate attention that this feature received from the author makes the book (at least) appear as a continuous register of various forms and styles of portraying the Orient in negative terms. — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 111

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes structuralist readings where a work’s formal redundancy signals its deeper burden — compare with critique that repetition masks absence of positive content.