“Shame and Its Sisters” by Silvan Tomkins
Throughout his essay, Tomkins distinguishes between shame, guilt, self-contempt, humiliation, disgust, and other related but different emotions. Tomkins recognizes that many of these emotions are often inflicted because of social expectations; they are also easily and clearly physically expressed and communicated to others. Because “the self lives in the face,” emotions that are felt are also expressed in the face, “increasing its visibility, and thereby generating the torment of self-consciousness.” The inability for people to hide the exposure and expression of their emotions make them feel vulnerable and ultimately transparent.
Silvan Tomkins perfectly captures many of the emotions felt by characters in both Oscar Wao and The Woman Warrior. The characters in these novels often felled shame, humiliation, and self-contempt, especially when it came to their culture and family tradition. They also were somewhat transparent throughout the novel, and this contributed to how society treated them and how they viewed themselves.