“Rape Fantasies,” a first person narrative, centers on five female coworkers during their usual lunch break card game. The women begin discussing an article about rape published in a magazine. They ask one another if any of them have rape fantasies.
The differing attitudes of the women illustrate a generational divide, as the young women recount rape fantasies that they’ve had. Estelle, the sarcastic narrator, is ambivalent about the concept, and she and an older colleague disagree with their younger coworkers. By the end of the story, though, Estelle questions whether she is normal for not having rape fantasies. When "Rape Fantasies" is republished in 1985, the definition of rape changes and the story is timely because it raises culturally relevant questions.
At the beginning of the story, Chrissy, a 20-something woman, asks her coworkers if they read the magazine article. She mentions the articles assumption that "all women have rape fantasies" (11). Before the 1980s, some individuals held the misguided view that women sometimes like being the victims. As the story progresses, the women reveal other attitudes about rape surface.
At one time, women are expected to give in when they are sexually assaulted. When Darlene, who is older, asks Greta, a younger woman, if she resists the attacker in her fantasy, Chrissy states that various articles “say it’s better not to resist, that way you don’t get hurt” (13). This section of the story demonstrates the difference between the younger women and the older women. Refusal to fight was thought to prevent women from harm.
“Rape Fantasies” talks about how rapists are supposed to look. In the young women’s fantasies, the men who enter their homes are always young and handsome. They believe a rapist is unattractive and has a weapon ant that “it’s not rape if he looks good” (13). Before the 1980s defined date rape, most people consider rapist these dark figures jumping out from behind trees, not a well-coiffed guy. However, people this attitude changes.
By the end of the story, Estelle begins questioning if she is normal because she does not have fantasies like the younger women. In her dreams, she somehow finds a way to avert the actions of her potential predator. In one fantasy, the man entering her home is sick and she actually nurses him to health. Estelle makes a valid point when she states that most rapist live normal lives most of the time (15).
Margaret Atwood’s “Rape Fantasies” is still relevant today, as some of the same issues raised by her female characters still continue to surface. Her story proves that sometimes ideas are divided by the ages of individuals answering the questions. In the end, she still doesn’t answer the question about the validity of rape fantasies. She wants readers to consider their own thoughts about connection between rape and sexual fantasies.
Source:
Atwood, Margaret. “Rape Fantasies.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 4th edition. 1990.
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