Significantly, the genealogical plot appears to reverse what literary critics have registered as a process of erasing that which is potentially repressive for the female subject: rather, such plots depict the difficult though rewarding task of negotiating the charted territory of a conservative familial system and the effects of reading the territory
disobediently.
When the Devil expresses dismay at the extent of Merlin's power and anger that his son should behave so
disobediently, Merlin explains with convoluted word play and logical inversions why his filial relationship to the Devil is nullified:
her mother told her to move and she
disobediently refused,' Mr Williams added.
Behavioural evidence is more objective, and it is remarkable how many men
disobediently joined the ranks as soon as Lucan approved the order.
What is revealed to the child as he emerges
disobediently from his bedroom?
Nancy, running around
disobediently while Dad put out the decoys.
