Motivations Behind Rape

[exnihilo]

Hi all! Long time, no c. Please forgive any redundancy of this post.

I have always thought that TC's motivations for raping Lena have never really been explained. Usually it is said that he was overwhelmed by the sensations of healing he experienced in the Land, with the idea that it made him *crazy* in some sense, at least temporarily -- such that he was dissociated from himself during the actual act of rape. I guess I have never really found this very satisfying, as it tends to let him off the moral hook. I think there has got to be something more to it.

Sexuality (particularly male sexuality) is often seen as related to aggression and dominance. In one particular book I read, "On Killing" by Lt. Col. David Grossman, the author argues that there is a sexual element to aggression, and an aggressive element to certain forms of sexuality. For instance (warning adult content)

Spoiler

he equates the pornographic institution of male ejaculation on the female's face as a symbolic form of murder -- the ultimate form of dominance

. Conceptually this makes some sense to me, although I do not see such a brutal connection as the rule among individuals, more an exception that serves as a highly distorted version of the norm. It is indisputable that the issue of dominance and submission lies at the core of human sexuality. Some individuals turn the issue into the central fetish of their sexual lives.

I wonder how this applies to Covenant. I suppose I am inclined to see his rape of Lena as an act of aggression more than an act of insanity. If you think about his betrayal by Joan, his rejection by society (which, I believe, has a symbolically female aspect), his ill treatment at the hands of Mother Nature in the form of leprosy, and the twin insults of the perfect natural health of the Land and its denizens together with the illusion of healing conducted by the (female) forces of nature that are present both in body and in spirit (Lena as agent of The Land, which must be seen as feminine), leads to a rage and resentment that drives him to strike back at the feminine in a way that is fundamental. Murder may harm nature, but rape despises it: not only is the individual attacked, but the entire natural structure of life is destroyed. In particular, the social fabric is shredded: husband is set against wife, mother against child, clan against mother and child. What ought to be joyful is instead filled with resentment and pain. In essence, rape is the most explicit and comprehensive rejection of society that is possible. Seen this way, Covenant has been raped by fate; in revenge he rapes back in the form of Lena.

I think Covenant's rape of Lena is motivated by revenge for the cruelty of his fate. When presented with how life ought to be in the forms of Lena and The Land (can't help noticing some similarities between the spelling and sounds of "Lena" and "Land" here) -- nurturing, kind, and beautiful -- Covenant, who knows this to be a lie, is outraged beyond endurance, and he strikes back at the cruel lie in front of him. Nature is not just nurturing, kind, and beautiful: it is also cruel and wantonly destructive.

Nature makes lepers.

[Zarathustra]

Wow, good post. I think much of your analysis is correct. So I'm setting out my position not so much to argue with you, but to get it all straight in my own mind in my own words.

I think his motivation is multifaceted. His rape is at the same time an expression of resentment at his own disease state, an act of desperation in wanting to connect with others, and an act of possession. He wants to possess Lena, possess the beauty and health she embodies, make it his own. He is overwhelmed by desire for what he can't have and rage at the seductive beauty being dangled before him. As with all possession, his desire for health, beauty, and connection is paradoxical--he both wants it for himself, but also wants to destroy it because, ultimately, he can't have it.

In narrative terms, SRD has said that the rape is important to show that TC was on the knife edge between despair and hope, to show that he could plausibly go either way. Without the rape, it wouldn't be as believable that he could become what the Despiser wants him to be.

[exnihilo]

Malik, I do not doubt that you are correct. Covenant is obviously multifaceted, and you raise some good points about the dualism of rape; it is, after all, an act that is equal parts creation and destruction. Something else occurs to me now, regarding the irony of Covenant's "healing" by hurtloam. The irony is, of course, that his illusory "healing" is actually the gravest threat to his *real world* existence that can be imagined. The discipline of leprosy requires absolute hopelessness, while the "healing" he experiences tempts him with the strongest possible incentives to abandon this discipline. The land stretches before him in its lushness like a beautiful woman (literally and figuratively) beckoning him to the oblivion of sensuous caresses. Covenant could want nothing more than this, and yet realizes immediately that the Land is itself an invitation to suicide. Thus the beauty of the Land itself is an aspect of Covenant's self-despite, and he is no doubt reacting to this when he rapes Lena. Perhaps, in a small way, this rape is also a form of defiance to the forces of fate that are trying to destroy him.

[iQuestor]

Much of what I think are the motivations for the rape of Lena coincide with what you two have already said. I read back over the chapter in LFB where the rape occurs.

TC was struggling that night, and it was the struggle beween embracing the land and the health and acceptance of the people and reckoning that with the fact of his Leprosy. His impotence, which also had been a fact, was also gone, along with the effects of Leprosy, and the rejection of society had flipped and now he was a hero. Everything about his world had changed 180 degrees. It was too much.

Obviously he was unbalanced from all of this, as well as this nubile young girl who basically has flirted with him the whole time, led him out of the stonedown art his request, asked him if he was married as they walked, and, when she has led him away, she asks:

"Shall I leave?", her eyes downcast.

I think the actual rape, what put him over the edge was denial of what was happening to him. To rape Lena was to vigoruosly deny and refuse to acknowledge the Land and everything with it. It was his attempt to state that he did not accept what was so plainly real and to do something which would put things back into the right perspective, at least for him -- it would certainly lead to flipping the world back right again, in whatever deranged mindset TC was in that night, anyway.

And since he could not just go away, he did the most vile thing he could to what he saw as the Land incarnate - Lena, who had first met and succored him.

[Zarathustra]

I can see everything you two have said as being supported by the text. SRD is the man! I think he meant all the above.

I especially liked:

To rape Lena was to vigoruosly deny and refuse to acknowledge the Land and everything with it.

Also:

The irony is, of course, that his illusory "healing" is actually the gravest threat to his *real world* existence that can be imagined. . . .tempts him with the strongest possible incentives to abandon this discipline. . . the Land is itself an invitation to suicide. Thus the beauty of the Land itself is an aspect of Covenant's self-despite, and he is no doubt reacting to this when he rapes Lena. Perhaps, in a small way, this rape is also a form of defiance to the forces of fate that are trying to destroy him.

It's unbelievable how Donaldson could pack that much meaning into one action.

[wayfriend]

I have always thought that TC's motivations for raping Lena have never really been explained. ... I think Covenant's rape of Lena is motivated by revenge for the cruelty of his fate.

I answered this once before, and my answer is still applicable, so let me steal it and use it again. (For the whole, large, worthwhile thread, go here.)

Why does Covenant rape Lena?... Maybe all the build up hate that he's been feeling for himself, the world, the people around him and his town who despise him, because of that hate, he felt compelled to imflict the same style of hate on someone else, someone pure, virginal, happy, he wanted to inflict the same pain he's recieved on someone who was like him. ...

Really? I would not go even close to that far.

Hormones are a powerful thing. Their sudden reassertion would be overwhelming, especially when you don't see it coming. It takes away reason and judgement. Imagine going from 6 years old to 18 in an instant, from a physiological, not intellectual, point of view. Bam!

If you need more of an excuse to that, consider, then, Covenant's absolute need to have it be a dream. It didn't feel like a dream. But it had to be, or else he was crazy. I'm not saying that rape becomes okay in a dream. I'm saying that when you feel like your sanity is shredding, and you cannot trust your mind or your senses, you're not running on all cylinders. Your not ready to handle that rush of male hormones; your already askew.

Pile on that the pressure of being a savior. This was telegraphed by Donaldson very effectively in the previous pages. On top of intellectual insanity and hormonal insanity, there's feelings of being manipulated and pressured and unknowns all around.

It doesn't have to be about, "I'm dreaming so I can rape someone". It can be about "I'm all screwed up and this girl is trigging things I cannot control in this state".

I really do not think that Covenant is trying to pay anyone back. He's not trying to hate anyone for how someone hated him. At the most, what we have is a man whose driven to the edge by, in part, Lena's willingness to treat him as hero, and allow him anything he wants. In a way, he has power over this girl. So in his anger he puts this power on and tries it out for size. "Oh yeah, am I great now?!?! Huh?!?!"

He doesn't want to be a hero. So in his passion he acts the scoundrel. It's an act of rebellion against a Land he doesn't want.

[Marv]

Covenant didn't feel oppressed by fate or nature, he had become a fatalist. His flaws had come to define him and he managed to go on living because he learned to accept them. His first experiences in The Land shattered everything he knew, or thought he knew about himself. Covenant raped Lena for the same reasons men rape women the world over. He felt inadequate and those inadequacies manifested in an uncontrolable rage. Lena was The Land incarnate so he took it out on her in the way that would bring him most gratification.

[iQuestor]

I agree -- SRD did pack a lot of genius into this one action..

edited as an afterthought --

The Ramen (i think) had a saying: Accepting a gift returns honor to the giver. TC's rape of Lena I guess could be viewed as a refusal of the Lands gift of heath, beauty and acceptance. another instance of how the Land was contrary to TC's world-view.

[lucimay]

i just thought the hurtloam made him horny.

[exnihilo]

I guess this discussion just reinforces that we are dealing with a great work of art, one that can be pondered for a very long time.

Although Wayfriend seems to be more inclined to excuse the rape, which puts Covenant's atonement into the realm of heroic -- or stoic -- self-sacrifice, there is a lot of merit to his point of view, particularly the last couple of paragraphs. I do think of the rape as an act of defiance to a degree.

After all, doesn't Covenant's experience of The Land itself serve as a cruelly cast exercise in forced suicide? It is easy to see a degree of malice in the act of putting The Land in front of someone like Covenant. The Land is the perfect avatar of all his desires, which is everything he can never have on earth -- health, beauty, love. It beckons with the siren's call for him to abandon the ship of discipline that keeps him afloat on earth. (Can't resist a metaphor... sorry!) But on earth, at least he is not tormented by the constant presence of transcendent beauty, love, and health. Yet this bitter life of his is little more than walking death.

At the same time, The Land is also a challenge to transform the hate and despair that Covenant initially needs for his survival into something transcendent -- and we all know that he ultimately finds salvation from his inner hell through his experience of The Land and its denizens (Foamfollower in particular).

I guess you might say that the knife plunging at his heart which The Land represents is either going to kill him or save him -- by draining the poison away. How does the rape fit into this? Perhaps it is emblematic of both the defiance of fate and the urge towards life that ultimately defines his spirit, and also the despair and sorrow of a life mercilessly destroyed by arbitrary forces.

[exnihilo]

Covenant didn't feel oppressed by fate or nature, he had become a fatalist. His flaws had come to define him and he managed to go on living because he learned to accept them. His first experiences in The Land shattered everything he knew, or thought he knew about himself. Covenant raped Lena for the same reasons men rape women the world over. He felt inadequate and those inadequacies manifested in an uncontrolable rage. Lena was The Land incarnate so he took it out on her in the way that would bring him most gratification.

Tazz, that does seem like a very good formula for what rape normally is, although I think Covenant's fictional situation falls somewhat outside the usual norms.

[Avatar]

Nice to see you back ExNihilo. I'm insulted, you return, and don't visit us in the 'Tank?

Just kidding. Good post.

--A

[exnihilo]

Avatar, I was going to reply to the Use of Force thread but I thought better of it. Although I might add my $.02 sometime soon. Moving this week so time is limited!

[caamora]

Great thread and posts! I agree with everything that has been said.

I would like to add, however, that rape is also about control. It always seemed to me that TC was out of control when he got to the Land. For example, at the lepresaurium, he was able to bring his leprosy under control. He went into town to get control of his life back because the townsfolk were doing everything they could to control him and corral him at Haven Farm. He gets to the Land and they claim he is their messiah and his leprosy is healed - again, out of his control. Raping Lena was not only about anger, but also about control.

[Tjol]

Like many of his other mistakes, TC's rape was simply an attempt to wake himself from his perceived dream maybe....

I also, on the second reading of it, thought it was something of a frustration and a powerlessness that he forced upon someone else out of selfishness... kind of like a child acting out when it doesn't like the parent's rules.

Rape was a pretty violent way of expressing that about TC... maybe it was supposed to be a symbol of what foul wanted TC to become, expected TC to be... a starting point from which TC had to be changed if the land were to survive foul.

What if TC had struck Lena violently instead of raped her, would it still have turned my stomach the first time I read it? So much of the imagery of the stories is made to be gruesome.. if only to portray how heroic all the side characters are, how much they deserve TC to become something better than he was when he first enterred the land.

Maybe the rape was about TC creating a self fulfilling prophecy of himself... feeling guilt at being a leper and lusting after Lena, which in his world could mean condemning her to leprosy as well... maybe that TC is so disgusted with himself that he acts out of self hatred moreso than control. The rape seems to be more about TC, than Lena... I don't really know the psychology of rape though...

[Avatar]

Good points Caam & Tjol both.

Avatar, I was going to reply to the Use of Force thread but I thought better of it. Although I might add my $.02 sometime soon. Moving this week so time is limited!

You'll never get anywhere in the 'Tank if you stop to think. We'll be there when you've got the time. Look forward to your rejoining us.

--A

[caamora]

About the rape of Lena, SRD made a comment:

"Tortured characters do tortured things."


That says a lot.

[Buckarama]

About the rape of Lena, SRD made a comment:

"Tortured characters do tortured things."


That says a lot.

That post deserves it's own thread.

[Torrent]

Maybe a little off topic (and I agree with what you say about TC's motivations and Lena representing the Land):

In the German version of the books, the word that is used to translate 'desecration' is actually another word for rape. I'm just wondering if this is the same in English. Because I've always seen Lena's rape as a symbolic desecration (or a foreshadowing of something that might happen or at least something that Covenant is capable of).

[exnihilo]

I guess I keep returning to the thought of how much The Land contrasts with Covenant's real world existence. His experience is the very opposite of that: alienation, hatred, revulsion, fear, hostility, even down right maleficence. He exists in that context and his psychic integrity depends on this feeling of extreme persecution. Quite simply, I do not believe that he can (initially) exist in the environment The Land presents: kindness, nobility, elevation and purity of purpose, combined with a magical yet cruelly illusory healing of his disease (it does not last into "reality").

In a very real sense, The Land is an assault upon his ability to survive, and he interprets its existence as a manifestation of his own hidden deathwish and self-despite. Consequently Covenant sees Lena as a psychic aspect of himself that hides a deathwish within the seduction of her naive goodness and innocence. To love her or The Land is to embrace personal destruction (which as I reflect upon it is what ultimately happens, so far anyway). In a sense when he rapes her he is telling all the inner and outer forces that are seeking his destruction that he isn't going to give up that easily. If love and human decency present the path of his destruction, then with a single act of violence he is willing to cast them onto the fire along with everything else he has already lost.

It is an act of defiance IMO, a defiance that includes not simply the will to survive, but also the will to express his essence. And I also note that by raping Lena, he is able to transmit the outcast state he depends upon in the real world into the confines of The Land.

"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
-- Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

And so he does.