A Willfulness Archive

This essay assembles a willfulness archive by following the figure of the willful subject around: tracking where willfulness goes, and in what and in whom it is found. The figure of the willful subject appears in literature, fables, educational treatises and moral philosophy, becoming recognizable as a figure, one we recognize in an instant. The essay considers willfulness as a relation of part to whole: willful parts are not willing to support and carry the whole. The essay concludes by exploring willfulness as a style of politics, where parts in willing are not willing to support and carry the whole.