Gender Dynamics

I didn't write about gender dynamics in So Late in the Day, but certainly they are present. Indeed, I realize that I've recommended people skip a story reflecting a position of privilege, as that story represents a lived fear of an overly large portion of the population. I've always struggled with sexual violence, abuse, and rape--stories that include it, while being reflective of an actual lived experience, make me feel so uncomfortable I would like to turn myself inside out. And perhaps that is the point.

My reason for not writing about gender dynamics is simple though; Claire Keegan's heroines were much more relatable to me than her men, and her men as repulsive as they needed to be. One can understand the positions each woman takes opposite the man in the story, save for the last one, where neither character was particularly relatable to me, and I could not justify the ending as anything other than deeply disturbing and wholly undeserved.

• Previous: So Late in the Day
• Next: Shrinking the World