Susceptible
Geneviève Castree
Nau Taufalele
Fall 2014
In the book, Susceptible by Geneviève Castree, the author focuses on coming of age. The
main character, Goglu, is stuck between her self-identity and meeting her mother’s expectations,
despite the ethical concerns though her mother’s expectations are unethical. Goglu cannot direct
her life because her mother is too concerned telling her how she should live her life. This
struggle is reflected in Elizabeth Povinelli’s Economies of Abandonment: Social Belonging and
Endurance in Late Liberalism, in which one of Povinelli’s main questions is to understand how
people survive in the face of unsupportive environments. This understanding of surviving in
complex contexts is built on concepts such as ethical substance and recognition and how it
creates barriers within certain social groups. Ethical substance is the moral conduct and what is
considered good human character (Povinelli 2011:106). Recognition correlates with substance
because it describes how specific social groups or social projects are underrepresented or
overlooked (Povinelli 2011:112). Theoretically, we can
use both concepts to highlight Goglu’s coming of age
story and how she struggles to find her self-identity,
under her mother’s power. Even though Goglu’s mother
blames her daughter for her poor choices, Goglu still tries
to find a way to fix things.
Described in her coming of age story, Goglu
struggles with developing a relationship with her mother
and experiences hardships regarding her self-identity. The
panels begin with Goglu questioning her existence
through different stages. One stage reveals Goglu as a
naked young girl and questioning if specific traits are
innate or acquired. The panel reveals how lost and
confused Goglu is as she asked herself, “I wonder if
depression is passed down from generation to the other”
(Castree 2012:6). In this section Goglu is confused,
depressed, and lonely throughout her childhood.
Moreover, this reveals Goglu’s effort to understand her coming of age. Goglu’s narrative focuses
on the relationship between her and her mother, the panels depict her mother as an alcoholic and
going through a number of relationships. Ultimately Goglu is stuck in between her mother, who
tends to blame Goglu for her poor choices, and the men that come in and out of her life.
Throughout the book the story develops ideas about entering adulthood, of being mindful
about the morals that are taught or structured by another person or experience. While the reader
may expect some people to be taught about the difference between right and wrong, Goglu’s
experiences describe people who are taught about greed and selfishness. We see Goglu’s mother
discipline her daughter based on how the outcome will benefit her needs, rather than how Goglu
is developing. One of the panels shows an argument between the mother and daughter and Goglu
responding with, “drunkard” (Castree 2012:42). Goglu’s mother was livid and sent her to her
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