Observing the Other

Judith Butler introduces Freudian psychic mimetism and the exploration of the "Other" when she mentions the statement, "Consider that identifications are always made in response to loss of some kind, and that they involve a certain mimetic practice that seeks to incorporate the lost love within the very 'identity' of the one who remains." This loss is not exactly understood in terms of a tangible or necessarily identifiable, singular loss, a force that seeks out an alternative to the individual's being, represented by the aforementioned "Other." But also, mimetism can come before any dramatic loss, as a premature attempt that precedes any tangible desire. And so, the "Other" can exist within the self before the self even identifies with the Other, which by the time it is acknowledged would have already existed. With the constant reminder of the prospect of attainment , the individual has the constant possibility of being something else available, one that can never be achieved as long as the acceptance of the Other remains.

The story of "Uncle" implicates the incorporation of the Other in the protagonist Jake, formed by both the physicality of the older 13-year-old brother and the Uncle. Jake feels confusion but nonetheless quiet acquiescence while playing barber with his brother. It is revealed intermittently throughout the story, an example being when the younger broher experiences pride when the Uncle praises him, that Jake has perhaps found the "Other" brought about by his brother's dominance. Exemplified mainly by the unattainability of the elder's physical status, the mystery and jealousy of the body is overturned by the physicality of the Uncle; "The first thing I think is how much bigger Uncle Paul is without his clothes on," reaffirming the idea that the larger, more powerful being suppresses those weaker to it.