What We Read: Lesbian, Gay, and Feminist Approaches to Fiction

Abstract

Scene from a novel: a man confronts a woman—someone he has pursued with passion throughout the story but who has turned her reputation for sexual aggressiveness to her own advantage in every instance. He is of ordinary qualities while she is talented and beautiful, and the disparity incites the male character toward evermore hostile urges to capture and conquer her. In a climactic scene he uses his knowledge of her sexual proclivities to trap and disable her. She is assaulted, raped, and dies in a hospital a few days later. Despite her dire injuries, including severe head trauma, her beauty and intelligence remain intact, and she dies with a knowing smile on her face.