This essay proposes a theoretical model of sad-tale telling in total institutions. We explore two dimensions of sad tales: their reparative function in relation to behavior or status, and their telling by self or others. We contrast the types and functions of tales told during the institutional and ex-institutional phases of the stigmatized's moral career. Although our model is concerned with the micropolitics of sad tales in institutions, we note the importance of the macropolitics, or historical and structural determinants of sad-tale telling.
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