ABSTRACT
Normal appearances have only an indirect relation to the notion of expectation, whether in the statistical or normative sense of that term. The relation suggested between normal appearances and proper appearances must be qualified. This chapter describes the maintenance of normal appearances over an extended period of time by means of concealing most of the operation and coercing small but crucial performances from persons for whom these acts are usually not merely acts. Normal appearances, then, will come to be suspected just at the time when those involved are the most dependent on them. In any case, what is a normal appearance for the subject becomes the cloak that his others must discern, tailor, and wear. Normal appearance becomes, as it is, a broad cover under which persons and agencies may try to monitor him, approach him for attack, conceal things vital to him, attempt to make secret contact with him, and the like.
