I want some new content, but am a little fatigued by the early stages of the Main Quest. Is it plausible to just go to Solstheim without 'triggering' the Dragonborn MQ (ie: being recognised as Dragonborn) or would it be awkward? To what extent is it just a new area of the game to go exploring independently?

I ask because, for better or for worse, I care about storyline and a sense plausible continuity.

I hear that you can, but I can't comment on it being awkward or not, as I've never tried it myself.

I have lots of characters that have been to solstheim without being..... the dragonborn.

It's just that I have heard, in unguarded spoilers moments, that the island is somehow enslaved to this First Dragonborn. I imagined that if that were the case, it might be a little incongruous to just go about my business.

You heard correct. Though at the stage your character is now, you would be unable to do anything about it. Furthermore, it's not that blatantly a crisis. The populace don't actually know what's going on. Only that they recognize his name, and find themselves attached to certain objects. So I imagine you could go about your business until later on, you discover you're Dragonborn and then everything else will unfold.

Sleeping and waking in the same place is impossible, but a character can do most of the miscellanious Quests in Solsthiem without being Dragonborn.

That said, I will warn you that Solstheim is very challenging for low-level players. So be sure to keep that in mind.

Maybe I will level a little bit first, go through the MQ motions... It feels really uncomfortable for a player like me to just get to a certain point for practical reasons, and then simply stop.

Still, I'm sure it will be worth it. Thankyou for your counsel.