“We are disguised as ourselves,” was perhaps the singularly most penetrating line in  “Albert Nobbs,” a new movie filled with emotion and relevance.  While the fictional film, which stars Glenn Close, may be about a woman trapped by her circumstances and who must pass as a man in order to survive in 19th century Ireland, there are some important lessons we can bring into our 21st century non-fiction lives.

The movie is well worth seeing, so I won’t give away details about the plot or storyline.  The movie portrays the character of Albert Nobbs, who I’ll refer to as Albert, “he” or “him” with great circumspect.

Given the circumstances of Albert’s life, it makes total sense that Albert’s life decisions and daily actions would have been met with great consideration.

You first have to understand that by the time we meet Albert on the screen, he had long ago transformed himself from young female into a person possessing a manly disposition and garments.  We come to learn that it was in order to survive and to live a better life, living the life of a man.  It is revealed that as a youth, a gang of young men attacked Albert, and that Albert was abandoned by his parents and raised by another adult until “she” had to find a way to survive.  This is what gave birth to the creation of Albert Nobbs.

So this line in the movie, “we are disguised as ourselves,” hit me as such a wonderful line because it is a simple truth, both for Albert Nobbs, and for you, and for me.

In the case of Albert Nobbs, his disguise became his reality.  It was created with such a careful purpose so that he could survive, and even attain his greatest dreams.  He understood the risks and consequences that were at hand if it were learned that he is, in fact, a woman.  But this was all for survival, and, I believe Albert’s survival depended on being true to an emerging gender and sexual identity.

Sitting in my comfy theatre seat, though, I couldn’t help but think about how, as different as our circumstances may be from that of Albert Nobbs’, we all have one thing in common: we are disguised as ourselves.

Your identity, just like Albert’s is based on your life’s circumstances:  What kind of family life you had growing up; the exposure and experiences you had that led you to develop your interests and values; how you take care of yourself, and how others have taken care of you; your career ambition and the work you do; where you live and the social customs of your community.  These issues, and more play a role in shaping your identity.

So if we consider all of these things in the shaping of our identities, are we disguised as ourselves, or are we fully revealed as authentic?  It really depends upon whether you have something to hide that is not truthful.  Image shaping is all about rising above to be our best selves.  Like Albert Nobbs, we all have elements from our lives that bring us to the point of being in disguise.  Albert’s reasons for his disguise may have been borne of extreme circumstances that we may find hard to relate to.  But we all want to bury the past and leave it behind.  This is the reason for disguise.  Today, we make ourselves over to bring out the best in ourselves, and who we can be.  It’s to put distance between the people we once were and the people we have evolved to become.

Sometimes, the path to a better identity takes hard work and perseverance.  But if you weigh the risks and consequences of developing your identity, you will see that it is well worth the rewards.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps high-profile individuals revitalize, manage, and be secure in their personal visual brand. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

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