ABSTRACT
Colin Gordon’s essay on Foucault’s Histoire de la folie reminds us once again how enigmatic and seductive a writer Foucault was (Gordon 1990). One has the impression that at any given moment Foucault knew precisely what he wanted. Yet his directness often found manifestation in prose of a quite astonishing ambiguity. The combination has much to do with the appeal that Foucault’s writings had, and continue to have. To be sure, some readers cannot abide the style (Weightman 1989). But others take to it with passion, for the directness suggests that important insights are being conveyed, while the ambiguity allows the text to be received, and used, in a variety of ways.
