``Is Alec a Rapist?' – Cultural Connotations of `Rape' and `Seduction' – A Reply to Professor John Sutherland |
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Authors: | Melanie Williams |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Law, University of Wales, Hugh Owen Building, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 2AX, UK, E-mail: |
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Abstract: | This article is a response to an essay written by an academic in English Literature, Professor John Sutherland. Through close
textual analysis,Sutherland purports to resolve a well-known literary question: whether the sexual encounter outlined in the
Victorian novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles should be classified as rape or seduction. The present article rejects his conclusion on the matter. An(equally) close analysis
of the fictional text in question and of Sutherland's gloss, demonstrates the partiality of his critique, both in literary-critical and critical-legal terms. In
addition, examination of the conceptual and historico-legal context regarding the notions of rape and seduction on both sides
of the Atlantic highlights parallels between Sutherland's own partiality and that of the law. In short, the apparent objectivity
of the textual analysis and subsequent critique undertaken by Sutherland is revealed as a continuation of legal and patriarchal
prejudices defining rape and seduction. The use of close textual analysis as the key critical device promotes the apparent
probity of his findings. Locating them in an essay collection designed for mass lay public consumption completes the circle
– from partisan scholarship to `informed' popular prejudice.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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Keywords: | feminine experience masculine readings narrative rape seduction |
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