First Impressions

"It's Janine, telling us about how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion. She told the same story last week. She seemed almost proud of it, while she was telling. It may not even be true. At Testifying, it's safer to make things up than to say you have nothing to reveal. But since it's Janine, it's probably more or less true.
But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one plump finger.
Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison.

Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us.

She did. She did. She did.

Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?

Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson."

(Atwood, 67)

Margaret Atwood's style of writing takes some getting used to. The way she writes in present tense and without quotation marks can be confusing at first. The main issues is the one of writing in present tense, as most authors don't do this, and thus I am unaccustumed to it. It's not that it makes the situations any less clear it's just not a writing style I'm used to interpreting.

Looking past that issue, which I'm sure will become less apparent as the book continues, it is clear in the very beginning of this novel that it will concern many taboos and issues of Western culture. This excerpt is from 'the Red centre', a place where women are being trained to carry children for other couples. I found this part of the chapter especially shocking. The idea that a woman can be blamed for something like rape is at first an atrocious one, but upon further reflection one must wonder how entirely wrong the Aunts can be. In the world we inhabit sex is everywhere, and no one attempts to put a stop to the constant stimulation, most shockingly the women who are often subject to the worst repercussions. Girls as young at grade 6 wear make-up on a regular basis, and have been known to develop eating disorders to match. This seems to be what is expected of these girls, to be like their 2-dimensional model idols. As these girls progress into adolescence it is not unlikely that the hemlines on their skirts will rise, while their necklines plunge. To plead innocence to the effect this image could have on the opposite sex is absurd, in many cases this effect is the desired one.

But to what extent is this 'invitation' to be taken literally? Where is the line between one's resposibility for themself and one's responsibility for another's actions? What responsibility does a society have to create images that cannot be blamed for the world's atrocities?