Ripley fears social unmasking more than the discovery of his murders

Evidence

What Tom does fear is unmasking; not merely the unmasking of himself as Dickie or even the unmasking of himself as a killer but the unmasking of his lack of a real self and therefore his self-perceived inadequacy in the face of others — there is no appreciable difference between fear of discovery for his tax scam or for his murders. His main fear is that of socially not quite making the grade. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 254

Categorization

• XREF: This precise distinction between social failure and moral failure — and its equalisation — reads like a dark inversion of the fear examined in White Noise about social standing. — connects to: Ripley is an improviser who kills reactively, not a premeditating schemer — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 242; Ripley’s revulsion at Dickie is the sudden loss of fantasy mediation — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 248

Broader Connections

• Ripley is an improviser who kills reactively, not a premeditating schemer #complicates (0.85) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 242
• Ripley’s revulsion at Dickie is the sudden loss of fantasy mediation #responds-to (0.75) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 248