Not the news headline you were expecting? Me neither.
After all, why did we hear nothing about Jerome after he raped Calliope?
Seriously,
look up "rape" and then re-read the scene with Cal and Jerome
After all, readers are
able to view the entire event from Cal's point of view, where he never once
seems to give consent. Not verbally, not mentally, not emotionally, not
physically - literally no sign of Cal wanting anything from Jerome other than
his sister.
Furthermore, Cal had a
moment during this scene where he “realized how drunk [he] was” (Eugenides 375)
and everyone hates bringing up the complicating factor of alcohol, but it is
very clear that Cal’s intoxication was no accident. Indeed, it seems that
Jerome was waiting until the alcohol had taken plenty of time to affect Cal
before he sexually assaulted him.
I was worried, for a
good portion of the novel, that Cal never had time to realize that this
experience was in fact a rape. After all, he was so busy worrying about his
genitals and being discovered as intersex, that he never dwelled on what
happened that night. As the novel bounced back and forth between Cal’s
adolescent years and adult years, I began to worry that this experience was part
of what made him so distant with Julie; maybe it was part of the reason why he
could never get both emotionally and physically intimate with his lovers? Given
that it was his first sexual experience (at least technically), I worried that
he thought about it often and that even as an adult it was affecting his life
negatively.
Maybe I’m reading too
into the novel, but why wouldn’t I? If you took a good look at the rape culture that our
society promotes, then you too would worry about Cal as I did. Look at Brock
Turner, the Standford University swimmer who served only 6 months for his rape.
Look at Donald Trump, who actually has a shot at becoming the President of our
country.
Grab
her by the 'crocus'
Look at almost any major media outlet and watch how they cover
rape. Are they sensationalizing? Are they victim-blaming? Are they
manipulating? In almost all cases, the answer to one of those questions is yes.
Maybe
it’s just me that was worried about Cal after he got raped…but it shouldn’t
Not the news headline you were expecting? Me neither.
After all, why did we hear nothing about Jerome after he raped Calliope?
Whoa, rape?
Yeah, rape.
Rape is sexual activity where there is a lack of
consent, meaning that Cal and Jerome’s interaction in the swamp shack is a textbook
definition of rape.
 |
Seriously,
look up "rape" and then re-read the scene with Cal and Jerome
|
After all, readers are
able to view the entire event from Cal's point of view, where he never once
seems to give consent. Not verbally, not mentally, not emotionally, not
physically - literally no sign of Cal wanting anything from Jerome other than
his sister.
Furthermore, Cal had a
moment during this scene where he “realized how drunk [he] was” (Eugenides 375)
and everyone hates bringing up the complicating factor of alcohol, but it is
very clear that Cal’s intoxication was no accident. Indeed, it seems that
Jerome was waiting until the alcohol had taken plenty of time to affect Cal
before he sexually assaulted him.
I was worried, for a
good portion of the novel, that Cal never had time to realize that this
experience was in fact a rape. After all, he was so busy worrying about his
genitals and being discovered as intersex, that he never dwelled on what
happened that night. As the novel bounced back and forth between Cal’s
adolescent years and adult years, I began to worry that this experience was part
of what made him so distant with Julie; maybe it was part of the reason why he
could never get both emotionally and physically intimate with his lovers? Given
that it was his first sexual experience (at least technically), I worried that
he thought about it often and that even as an adult it was affecting his life
negatively.
Maybe I’m reading too
into the novel, but why wouldn’t I? If you took a good look at the rape culture that our
society promotes, then you too would worry about Cal as I did. Look at Brock
Turner, the Standford University swimmer who served only 6 months for his rape.
Look at Donald Trump, who actually has a shot at becoming the President of our
country.
 |
Grab
her by the 'crocus'
|
Look at almost any major media outlet and watch how they cover
rape. Are they sensationalizing? Are they victim-blaming? Are they
manipulating? In almost all cases, the answer to one of those questions is yes.
