Herculine Barbin Essay examples - 1091 Words

Michelle Kim September 28, 2012 HIST 312 Response Paper on Foucault Upon reading Herculine Barbin, it helped me understand the difficulties in which Herculine had, living as a hermaphrodite living in his century, as it is still very difficult to lead such a life now. However, many parts of the reading were ambiguous because she never exactly mentions the condition of her body or what kind of sickness she is exactly suffering from. Although she always mentions the fact that she is suffering and in a great deal of pain, she only goes as far to describe the way she looks from the outside and how the others perceive her sickness. In the beginning of the novel, I can’t help but be confused about Herculine’s sexual identity. She†¦show more content†¦Herculine always feels guilty about what she is doing, whether it may be falling in love with Sara or feeling sick. She has to be self-conscious about what she does because it can ruin her reputation. She had to hide her identity in order to get what she wanted. As a child, Herculine had a small problem growing up with all girls, because she felt a different intimacy with a girl names Lea, and that is where it all had started. Herculine was unable to control her desires later on, especially with Madame P’s daughter, Sara. Their relationship was so intimate that it was becoming painful for Herculine. Herculine was unsure if the identity she was carrying was right or if she needed a change. But she knew that no one was to know about the change because it would condemn her from society and shun anyone around her. She could not just be cons iderate of herself but needed to think about everyone else around her, especially those who were offering and giving help to her. She possesses shame toward her body and its undergoing changes. When her body starts to grow hair, she tries to hide it and when she realizes she is becoming more masculine, she feels uncomfortable with the transformation. Her refusal to show off her body to the doctor shows us that she does regret and dislike the changes that are going on in her body. It shows off her feminine side. Although Herculine was