Symbolism In The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

“For a time after its birth, the child does not differentiate between itself and the mother upon whose nurture it relies, or the blanket whose warmth it enjoys, or the pillow whose softness supports its head.” This excerpt from Kaja Silverman’s, The Subject of Semiotics, presents an interesting ideology that can be identified in many adolescent literatures. Some coming of age novels can contain an important character who may cause a disruption to the symbolic order within the text. That is the case with Stephen Chbosky's, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, because one of the main characters is a flamboyant boy by the name of Patrick. Silverman is eluding to a situation that can be twisted into a case of homosexuality since Patrick can be

seen as portrayed as a female through symbolic order. This is a difficult concept to grasp because the symbolic order holds that, “the female subject escapes that ‘castration’ which alone assures the male subject his symbolic potency.” With this in mind, Patrick can be positioned as a female in this symbolic order of the text because of how he is alienated, what he lacks, and how he is de-privileged.
Gender does not necessarily matter in the symbolic order because if you lack power within it you have the position of a female.

Patrick from this novel is so alienated, he is able to enjoy an unnatural relation to the real that other males do not. Homosexuality is an instance that occurs when a boy experienced so much love and care from his mother that when e enters the symbolic order, he looks to replace that same love with himself. That in turn, influences him to love other boys in the same way that he felt love from his mother. This idea shows how symbolically Patrick is a woman. His infatuation with the quarterback in Wallflower sheds light on how he is his alienated from the norms of society. Silverman notes that, “It must also be stressed that the mirror stage is one of those crises of alienation around which the Lacanian subject is organized, since to know oneself through an external image is to be defined through self-alienation.” The way Patrick does not fit into conventional society explains this self-alienation. While he is a great friend who brings out the best in his companion Charlie, he experiences an alienation due to his homosexuality. Patrick’s alienation allows him to take his place in the symbolic order in that of a female's. The way Lacan uses the term “phallus” shows how it is possible for Patrick to be positioned as a female in the symbolic order so when he discusses male and female it is not exclusively pertaining to the idea of

gender.
“Because both male and female sexuality are defined in relation to the phallus, and because the symbolic order provides a positive representation of male sexuality, but a negative one of female sexuality… the latter is censored rather than repressed.” Kaja Silverman’s is alluding to the intense analysis of the symbolic order that can be found in contemporary adolescent literature in that, it is not necessarily a representative of gender but rather one of power. With this observation it is important to understand that sex does not carry much weight when it comes to defining the symbolic order. In other words, it is possible to position a male as a female in the symbolic order due to certain aspects such as alienation and what the subject lacks. While the symbolic order extends from male to female due to its connection to the penis, it is important to realize that females can challenge the symbolic order in these texts in other ways. Symbolic potency shows that males alone are connected to the phallus but there are certain aspects that draw females to the real and not the symbolic.
The theme of sexuality in this novel is a heavy one throughout. With the main character Charlie’s intense interest in this idea, the world he lives in seems to revolve around it. Based on his curiosity of the subject throughout the novel, the reader sees it resonate through other characters in the story. “‘Phallus’ is a word used by Lacan to designate all of those values which are opposed to lack, and he is at pains to emphasize its discursive rather than its anatomical status.” In this passage, Silverman distinguishes between the idea that the penis is not specifically the phallus but rather the source of the power that men hold within the symbolic order. Due to this idea, women are not allowed to be fully in the real or the symbolic order. Men on the other hand are completely in the symbolic order which shows their symbolic potency. With that being said, women lack just like Patrick lacks in this novel. He is forced to keep his secret love with Brad a secret because Brad is not ready to come to terms with his sexuality. The great scrutiny Patrick receives for his sexuality shows that he is a female in the symbolic order but presents a great challenge to it as well. Since our lives are not based off of need but rather desire, Patrick exemplifies that his sexuality is an important aspect of the text. His new friend Charlie is struggling to find his place in the world but Patricks ability to allow him to see how special he is makes him a signifier of the text.