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1 results

  • Chapter 8 - El Hombre Invisible

  • from Part II - Identities
  • Edited by Oliver Harris, Keele University, Davis Schneiderman, Lake Forest College, Alex Wermer-Colan, Temple University
  • Book:
    William Burroughs in Context
    Published online:
    02 July 2026
    Print publication:
    23 July 2026, pp 113-123

  • Summary

    This chapter focuses on the multiple identities performed by William Burroughs through the sign system of his distinctive fashion choices. It explores the paradox that Burroughs’ sartorial appearance made him both immediately recognizable and yet permanently elusive. In particular, it reads the many significations of his trademark choice of hat, arguing that it aligned Burroughs with identities ranging from gangsters to bankers as well as a specific past era at odds with his futuristic writing. The hat also had a psychological function as a mask for Burroughs’ emotional vulnerability and ambivalence about being an outsider. Miles makes a comparative analysis with such figures as David Bowie, to argue that in his fashion choices, “El Hombre Invisible” was at his most visible as a performance artist.