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Comparative Critical Studies 2, 3, pp. 337â48 © BCLA 2005 CHAPTER TWO I could not go quite naked; no, thoâ I had been inclined to it, which I was not, nor could I abide the thoughts of it, thoâ I was all alone. (Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe) To begin with, I would like to entrust myself to words that, were it possible, would be naked. (Jacques Derrida) Before Friday, why is Robinson Crusoe so hesitant to âgo nakedâ? What would it have meant for a man, alone on an island, to be ânakedâ? According to Crusoe, the reason for his reluctance to go without clothing had more to do with the delicate nature of his European skin than with any fear of impropriety: âI could not bear the heat of the sun so well when quite naked as with some cloaths onâ.1 But in providing this explanation, and given the fact that, were he âinclinedâ Crusoe could have gone naked, one wonders about that curious phrase, âwhich I was notâ. Why not? Why could he not even âabide the thoughts of itâ? The implicit answer is that it would not have been âproperâ to do so, since only
Comparative Critical Studies – Edinburgh University Press
Published: Oct 1, 2005
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