Dean Lily and Gender Roles

Paper Summary:

This paper considers of the character of Dean Lily in the novel "The Illusionist" by Dinitia Smith and discusses to what extent s/he may be said to subvert or reconfigure traditional gender roles. It also discusses whether all non-hegemonic groups are marginalised and whether gender transgression is dangerous.

From the Paper:

"Dean Lily became a performer, an entertainer, initially because it gave him some popularity at school. It gave him a form of status, and even though everyone thought he was strange, at least his peers more or less accepted him. As he grew older, Dean continued to play the magician, possibly as it gave him the freedom to hide behind the identity of entertainer. This averted the focus of his body. Tricks made it possible to hide any femininity that was left (the thin wrists [p 17], the long soft toes [p 29], the two faint mounds on his chest [p 30], the small body [p 14]) behind the hocus pocus of cards and magic. He liked to look, and did not like to be looked at."

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