On Superfciality: Truman Capote and the Ceremony of Style Bede Scott Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Tis article explores the quality of lightness in Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tifany’s. Precisely what kind of lightness do we fnd in the novel, what are some of its defning characteristics and what are the key strategies by which this efect is achieved? I begin by discussing the narrative’s readability, its linguistic transparency and its deliberate attenuation of supplementary meaning. Tis transparency, I would like to suggest, ultimately impedes our standard interpretative procedures, frustrating any attempt to reinstate (plausible) symbolic meaning. I then address in greater detail the “depthless- ness” of the novel, its emphasis on surfaces and immediate legibility. Finally, I ofer an analysis of Holly Golightly herself, making the argument that as a character she shares (and indeed determines) many of the novel’s lighter qualities — attaching supreme value to “the surface of things,” privileging the signifer over the signifed and actively pursuing the freedom and mobility of non-meaning. Keywords: Truman Capote / lightness / readability / superfciality / Roland Barthes “And when all these weighty matters are of my hands,” said Genji at last, “I hope I shall have a little time left for things which I really enjoy — fowers, autumn leaves, the sky.” — Murasaki Shikibu, THE TALE OF GENJI, 11th Century How admirable he is who does not think “Life is ephemeral” when he sees a fash of lightning. — Matsuo Basho, 17th Century