I've had a line from one of James Fenton's poems kicking around in my head for ages now: Every victim is an accomplice. It's such a chilling thought - that in a way we collude in our own misfortunes, and I am sure that some who have been subject to domestic violence might take issue with what Fenton is saying.
However, in creative writing terms, I think it has mileage. It is an intriguing and unsettling notion, and if your reader is intrigued and unsettled, then they are engaging intensely with what you are writing. If it makes them (and you) look at something in a different way, then in a sense your work as an author is done. I'm not suggesting that you should be controversial for controversy's sake, as you would end up telling a story that is merely gratuitous, but what I am saying is that you shouldn't be afraid of dark and tricky themes, as working at the outer reaches of your comfort zone is probably where you will write best.
As if to prove this point, Deborah Harvey, in her new collection of poems Communion, (from the sequence Iago) sums up the whole difficult dynamic...
I shall dismantle you and smile
You will not notice how.
I’ll only hurt you
as much as you allow.
Perhaps it could be another writing door for you to open?
Hello Kate
ReplyDeleteIn context, it becomes clear that this second section of Iago is written from the point of view of the abuser. I'm pleased to say that it doesn't represent my beliefs!
Collusion is an interesting notion. From the outside, it can seem that victims indeed acquiesce to their situation, whether that be mental, physical or emotional abuse. But when you are in that situation personally, it can very difficult to see the relationship as abusive. Typically, victims are controlled, manipulated, and terrorised until they don't really know what is real and what isn't any more. The abuser, detecting a deficiency in him or herself, projects his or her mindset onto the victim; they, in turn, project goodness and altruism and feelings onto their partners because until that avalanche of pennies drops, who can believe that there are people among us bereft of conscience? After all, that's what makes us human.
Outside of consensual S&M situations, I don't believe anyone ever asks to be abused.
But yes, what possibilities this throws up for fiction!
I think you sum up the dynamic with astonishing clarity, and it is precisely because there are so many interconnecting layers of manipulation, deceit, susceptibility and interdependence that it is such a rich seam to mine for fiction - and poetry!
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