Rape Fantasies by Margaret Atwood

The plot of Rape Fantasies by Margaret Atwood is all within the mind of Estelle, who talks to the reader as she might to a new friend. Estelle's personality becomes exposed to us through the narration of her fantasies and lunchtime work experiences.

We are told of Estelle's workplace where she is with her friends discussing their rape fantasies. Examining Estelle's world through her perspective of the conversation, we find she is a game player both outwardly in playing bridge and in her relationship with herself. "I like to guess a person's age and then look it up to see if I'm right. I let myself have an extra pack of cigarettes if I am." (31). This example of Estelle's competitiveness is expressed in three other ways in the story. First, in her critical interpretation of Greta's and Chrissey's fantasies. Estelle says to her friend/reader that she is aware that Greta's fantasy rapist came from a show that they both had seen and also compares him to Tarzan in a satirical, humorous way. Her comment to Chrissey's

bubble bath fantasy, "Anyway you might get bubbles up your nose... from all the heavy breathing," (32) appears to cause the other four women to become offended. Second, her thoughts and words will sometimes cut short the words of her co-workers as in this example: "Sondra was miffed too, by this time she finished her celery and she wanted to tell about hers, but she hadn't got in fast enough. 'All right, let me tell you one,' I said." (32). Third, this sort of personality domination is also seen in Estelle's rape fantasies themselves. In almost every fantasy that Estelle reveals to us, she overcomes the rapist with her cool head and creative thinking; otherwise, she mentions physical attacks or force. He...

... middle of paper ...

... possible with her fear of rape. She does not withdrawal

from human connection; she struggles to establish such connections in spite of vulnerability and fear. (Tyler, 4)

Bibliography

Perrine, Laurence: Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense, fourth edition; 1984:

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers; New York, NY.

Atwood, Margaret. "Rape Fantasies." Texts for English Composition. N.p.: McGraw-

Hill Primus, 2000. 30-37.

Tyler, Lisa. "Teaching Margaret Atwood's 'Rape Fantasies." I Just Don't Understand It. Dec. 2000: 2-3 Iris Proquest Direct. Rutgers University Library Camden. 1 Dec. 2000* http//www.Rutgers.edu/proquest/*.

Walter, Catherine. "The Unreliable Feminine Voice in Rape Fantasies". Oct. 1998: 1-5 Iris. Proquest Direct. Rutgers University Library Camden. 1 Dec. 2000* http//www.Rutgers.edu/proquest/*.