"Rape Fantasies"

Paper Summary:

This article studies the book "Rape Fantasies" and the writer asks the question "Who is the victim when a woman is raped?" The writer maintains that the women of Margaret Atwood's short story "Rape Fantasies" suggest that women often cannot identify who is a victim and who is not a victim when they are raped. The story is told as a monologue in the first person voice of a woman named Estelle. It chronicles a group of women indulging in spoken fantasies about rape, specifically being raped by men. At first, the women's joking tones suggest that they are not really talking about being raped at all, but enjoying their sexuality. The women desire sex with strangers but use the word 'rape' as a way of discussing their unspoken and unacknowledged sexual desires in a culture that does not permit women to openly acknowledge their sexuality in a positive fashion. But at the end of the story, as Estelle is revealed to be speaking her monologue to a man she has met in a bar, Atwood suggests that ultimately, even when women are joking about rape, rape is still a very serious act against women in terms of female victimization.

From the Paper:

"In defiance of the warnings cited by the narrator from popular women's magazines, Chrissy says she fears men. But Chrissy is still a victim, because she cannot enjoy sex other than in terms of being forced to enjoy sex. In her daily life Chrissy dresses to attract men and to win male approval. In Chrissy's private life she uses the idea of forced sexuality as a way of enjoying male attentions without the pressures of the consenting to sex. Thus, Chrissy is still a victim of rape ideology.
Estelle, the office worker responds to Chrissy's comments by noting how popular the topic of rape has become in women's magazines, citing titles like "Rape: Ten Things To Do About It" is less open in her attitude. At first, Estelle pokes fun at the magazine's obsession, noting that the carefulness urged by the magazine on the part of women makes it seem like avoiding sexual assault is a step-by-step process ''like it was ten new hairdos or something," not a serious criminal and personal issue. The story evolves from Estelle's point of view. But there are hints that Estelle initially finds the conversation of her female colleagues uncomfortable, as is evidenced by her focus on the beginning pursuit of the women, a bridge game and by concentrating on her bidding."

More papers on "Rape Fantasies":

• Research Paper # 145690 : "Women's Rape Fantasies"
• Analytical Essay # 20735 : "Margaret Atwood "Rape Fantasies"
• Analytical Essay # 152 : "Margaret Atwood's "Rape Fantasies"

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