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Illustrated portrait of The older sister

A character in A Boy's Own Story

The older sister

An athletic sibling whose mockery reinforces the narrator’s insecurity about masculinity.

What they want in White’s narrator’s account

To hold her place within the family’s competitive emotional order.

The book

Cover of A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White
A Boy's Own StoryEdmund White, 1982

A boy learns shame early and tries every available way to turn himself into someone else.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

The narrator remembers his older sister as a rival and frequent tormentor. Her physical confidence fits the family’s expectations more readily than his bookishness does.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • AthleticShe is physically at ease in ways her brother is not.
  • ConfidentHer directness contrasts with his private hesitation.
  • TeasingSibling mockery turns gender expectations into personal humiliation.
  • FavoredHer traits attract the paternal approval the narrator wants.

If you like A Boy's Own Story

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If you like Edmund White

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