Courting Disaster - DE Book Club

In order to assess why a story is being told, one must examine three aspects of the discourse: what the story is, how it's told, and to whom. In Margaret Atwood's Rape Fantasies, many of Estelle's interests and anxieties are revealed through these three facets of her narration (or recollection): the "what" refers to the notion of rape and Estelle's consequent insecurities; the "how" addresses her concerns about its trivialisation; and the "whom" hints at her morbid curiosity, her true rape fantasy.

The "what" of Rape Fantasies is obvious. As the title suggests, the story is about one's perception of rape. Estelle's universe is saturated with the notion: "So at work, they all have to talk about it [rape] because no matter what magazine you open, there it is, staring you right between the eyes, and they're beginning to have it on the television, too." However, while the idea of rape seems new to her environment (like the flavour of the month), Estelle quickly establishes that she's a veteran of the rape fantasy: "The way they're going on about it in the magazines you'd think it [rape] was just invented [...] I mean, what's so new about it?" She gets indignant when her colleagues discuss their rape fantasies: "those aren't rape fantasies [...] Rape is when they've got a knife at you or something and you don't want to do." Throughout her anecdotes, Estelle always remains the most mature, the dominant personality:

"The fellow says he's hearing angel voices that're telling him he's got to kill me [...] I get control of myself and I say, [...] I hear the same angel voices and they've been telling me for some time that I'm going to give birth to the reincarnation of St. Anne who in turn has the Virgin Mary and right after that comes Jesus Christ and the end of the world, and he wouldn't want to interfere with that, would he? [...] he apologizes and climbs out of the coal chute again."

Every one of her rape fantasies ends with her gaining the upper hand on her assailant. Estelle is apparently choosing to only recall the memories and fantasies in which she's in control, thus hinting at her insecurities and feelings of impotence regarding the matter.

However, Estelle's selective memory isn't the only editing process taking place in her discourse. The manner in which the events are depicted, or the "how", is indicative of her detachment. Estelle has never been raped or known anyone who has. Though this is never mentioned, her lighthearted tone and her cynical yet often naīve reflections make it apparent: "I squirt him [the rapist] in the eye. I hope you don't think it's too vicious. Come to think of it, it is a bit mean, especially when he was so polite and all." In spite of herself, Estelle tends to trivialise the experience of rape: "In a real rape fantasy, what you should feel is this anxiety, like when you think about your apartment building catching on fire and whether you should use the elevator or the stairs." She commits the very sin for which she reproaches her friends and society as a whole: "RAPE, TEN THINGS TO DO ABOUT IT, like it was ten new hairdos or something."

Estelle may well be aware of her faults in this regard. Why else would such a carefree woman feel so strongly about this issue? She's denying her morbid fascination with rape. This is made apparent by the "whom": with whom does Estelle share these fantasies? Her audience consists of a man she's just met at a bar, as indicated by sentences such as the following: "But I guess it's different for a guy"; "Like here for instance, the waiters all know me"; "I don't know why I'm telling you all this, except I think it helps you get to know a person, especially at first." Estelle is courting disaster. Why else would she share her personal rape fantasies with a complete stranger? At the same time, she's rationalising that she's in fact ensuring her safety: "how could a fellow do that to a person he's just had a long conversation with?"

By analysing the subject, the tone, and the audience of Estelle's discourse, readers can uncover her true concerns and motivations, the conflict between her sense of caution and her morbid curiosity regarding rape. However, Margaret Atwood's Rape Fantasies is a dialogue in itself, one that occurs between the author and the readers. As such, the same methodology applies: the "what" consists of a woman trivialising the experience of rape and inviting its tragedy; the "how" refers to a female perspective full of denial; and the "whom" is we, the readers, contemporary men and women. All this brings us to an important social concern: our culture's denial in regards to the female condition, due in part to the mass trivialisation of women's issues.

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