Tracing Trauma in Rape Fiction of the Long 1990s

Abstract

The 1990s rape novels depict contested stories of sexual assault by employing the rhetorical techniques of postmodernism and writing about trauma to eschew the linear narration of realism that imposes certain textual interpretations. The portrayal of rape and incest in these novels echoes the pattern of trauma experienced by their characters in their complicated narration and, often, lack of tidy resolution. This model of rape fiction offers a compelling explanation to readers for the varying portrayals of rape and sexual violence seen in contemporary society, countering those who dismiss charges of sexual abuse as exaggerated or untrue.