Reconstructing Performative Subjectivity in Deborah Feldman’s Unorthodox

초록

This paper examines Deborah Feldman’s Unorthodox as a performative autobiographical narrative that explores how female subjectivity is constituted, disciplined, and reconstructed within a closed religious community. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of performativity and Michel Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power, the paper argues that the memoir represents femininity not as an innate identity but as a socially produced performance repeatedly enacted through communal norms, bodily discipline, emotional regulation, and self-surveillance. Within the Satmar Hasidic community, Deborah is compelled to perform the roles of the “good Hasidic girl,” “pious wife,” and “devoted mother,” revealing how religious and gendered power penetrate women’s bodies, desires, and affects. At the same time, the paper argues that Unorthodox reimagines performativity not only as a mechanism of oppression but also as a site of resistance and self-formation. Reading, English language acquisition, blogging, and autobiographical writing function as transformative practices through which Deborah gradually reconstructs herself beyond the interpretive authority of the community. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur, Sidonie Smith, and Julia Watson, the paper demonstrates how autobiographical narration becomes a performative process through which subjectivity is continually constituted through storytelling itself. Finally, the paper explores how the memoir ethically and affectively engages readers. Through autobiographical testimony, recurring questions, photographs, and representations of bodily discipline, Unorthodox transforms readers from passive observers into ethical participants. Incorporating Teresa Brennan’s theory of affect transmission and Sara Ahmed’s affective politics, the paper argues that the memoir produces an affective reading experience that compels readers to reconsider the social construction of identity, gender, freedom, and normative happiness.

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