In the course of the seminar “Patricia Duncker’s Fiction” we read, analysed and discussed several works by the British author that all had the similarity of being mysterious, uncanny and captivating. What made these attributes arise was not only the thrilling plot but also the character constellation. Most of the works contain only two or three protagonists and the particularity that the relationship between these protagonists only seems to be harmonious but that is actually based on an unequal balance of power. While one character is superior and dominates the thoughts and actions of the other person, the latter is not able to escape or prevent this inferiority leading to fear, confusion or even death. Interestingly enough, one can state that in Patricia Duncker’s works this unequal relationship is not arbitrary in reference to sexes but often portrays women as victims and men as offenders. In some cases the victim and the offender are even lovers, which makes it difficult to recognise the offender’s obsession with the victim from the beginning. Moreover, it is conspicuous that every work contains different types of women’s victimisation, i.e. manipulation, stalking and violence but that each work clearly focuses on one type in particular. Consequently, all works together contribute to the reader’s understanding about the range and varieties of this recurring topic.
In this term paper I will focus on this victimisation of women in Patricia Duncker’s works and analyse The Deadly Space Between, The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge and the short story Stalker in Seven Tales of Sex and Death. At first, I will give a short definition of the term victimisation in a sociological context and explain the above mentioned typical subcategories. Then, I will analyse the focused type of victimisation in the different works in order to show that more than one of the mentioned types of victimisation appear but that one of them always predominates. To understand how the victimisation is carried out I will afterwards also look at the victim’s introspection and perception by others. In the next step, I will do a short comparison of the victimisation and victims in the different works and finally, as a conclusion, sum up the main findings and give an outlook over further possibilities to expand the topic.
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. WOMEN’S VICTIMISATION: A DEFINITION
3. THE DEADLY SPACE BETWEEN
3.1. MAIN TYPE OF VICTIMISATION: MANIPULATION
3.2. INTROSPECTION AND PERCEPTION BY OTHERS
4. THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COMPOSER AND HIS JUDGE
4.1. MAIN TYPE OF VICTIMISATION: STALKING
4.2. INTROSPECTION AND PERCEPTION BY OTHERS
5. SEVEN TALES OF SEX AND DEATH
5.1. MAIN TYPE OF VICTIMISATION: VIOLENCE
5.2. INTROSPECTION AND PERCEPTION BY OTHERS
6. VICTIM-OFFENDER-RELATIONSHIP: A SHORT COMPARISON
7. CONCLUSION
Objectives and Research Themes
This paper examines the portrayal of female victimisation within selected works by British author Patricia Duncker, specifically investigating how different forms of manipulation, stalking, and violence establish unequal power dynamics between male offenders and female victims.
- Sociological definition and categorization of victimisation.
- Analysis of manipulation as a psychological control mechanism in The Deadly Space Between.
- Investigation of stalking and harassment in The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge.
- Examination of severe physical violence and its fatal consequences in the short story Stalker.
- Comparative analysis of victim-offender relationships and the perception of suffering.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Main Type of Victimisation: Manipulation
In The Deadly Space Between the victim-offender-relationship of the two main protagonists Isobel Hawk and Roehm can be analysed as an example for manipulation as the main type of victimisation. Even if Isobel is presented as a strong, emancipated woman who works successfully as a painter and raises her son on her own, the reader soon gets the impression that she is more and more externally controlled by Roehm in the course of the story. Only at the end it is revealed that Isobel also had to suffer other forms of victimisation: violence and stalking.
In the beginning the manipulation does not come to the surface as her behaviour can also be interpreted as the one of a woman who is simply in love with her boyfriend: “[She] is watching him, smiling [,] nodding [and] grinning” (The Deadly Space Between 31). Also his behaviour towards her does not seem to be unusual. He tries to make a good impression by making friends with her son and giving her presents. But the more the story develops, the more Roehm is present and tries to charm her into doing everything he wants. For the reader this manipulation therefore starts by the way he influences her family in order to make her proud of having him as a partner. Her son Toby is soon fascinated by his appearance so that Roehm even “fills [his] days and [his] dreams” (131) and also Lucy and Liberty are starting to sympathise with Roehm, not only after getting extremely well chosen Christmas presents (cf. 118) but also because they cannot prove their initial mistrust against him.
Summary of Chapters
1. INTRODUCTION: Outlines the focus on Patricia Duncker’s fiction and the analytical approach to identifying recurring patterns of female victimisation.
2. WOMEN’S VICTIMISATION: A DEFINITION: Defines the sociological concept of victimisation and distinguishes between manipulation, stalking, and physical violence.
3. THE DEADLY SPACE BETWEEN: Analyzes the psychological manipulation exerted by the character Roehm and the resulting loss of autonomy for the protagonist.
3.1. MAIN TYPE OF VICTIMISATION: MANIPULATION: Examines the specific tactics used by the offender to gain control over the victim and her social circle.
3.2. INTROSPECTION AND PERCEPTION BY OTHERS: Discusses the narrative perspective of the story and how the external perception of the characters impacts the understanding of the victim’s situation.
4. THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COMPOSER AND HIS JUDGE: Explores the power dynamic between a professional judge and a composer, focusing on stalking as a method of intimidation.
4.1. MAIN TYPE OF VICTIMISATION: STALKING: Investigates the use of persistent communication and forced proximity to manipulate the target.
4.2. INTROSPECTION AND PERCEPTION BY OTHERS: Analyzes the internal conflict of the female protagonist regarding her professional duty versus personal fascination.
5. SEVEN TALES OF SEX AND DEATH: Focuses on the collection's short story Stalker, which portrays the most extreme form of victimisation leading to death.
5.1. MAIN TYPE OF VICTIMISATION: VIOLENCE: Discusses the brutal reality of sexual violence and its fatal consequences in the narrative.
5.2. INTROSPECTION AND PERCEPTION BY OTHERS: Reflects on how the narrator processes the constant threat of violence while analyzing the patterns of the offender.
6. VICTIM-OFFENDER-RELATIONSHIP: A SHORT COMPARISON: Compares the different degrees of suffering across the analyzed works, noting how closeness to the offender correlates with the type of victimisation.
7. CONCLUSION: Summarizes findings and suggests that psychological harm is often more difficult to detect but equally intense as physical violence.
Keywords
Women's Victimisation, Patricia Duncker, Manipulation, Stalking, Violence, Sexual Violence, Gender Studies, Offender, Victim-Offender-Relationship, Psychological Control, Power Dynamics, Literary Analysis, Fear, Introspection, Harassment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the victimisation of women in selected works by Patricia Duncker, exploring the dynamics of manipulation, stalking, and physical violence.
Which works by the author are being analyzed?
The analysis covers the novels The Deadly Space Between and The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge, as well as the short story Stalker from the collection Seven Tales of Sex and Death.
What is the primary research question?
The study explores how different types of victimisation are carried out in these works and how they are perceived by the victims and their social environment.
What methodology is employed to analyze these texts?
The author uses a literary and sociological approach, applying definitions of victimisation to the narrative structures and character developments in Duncker's fiction.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The body chapters analyze specific types of victimisation in each work, focusing on the offender's methods, the victim's introspection, and the perception of the events by surrounding characters.
Which keywords best describe the thematic core of the paper?
Key terms include women's victimisation, manipulation, stalking, violence, power dynamics, and the psychological impact of being a target.
How does the relationship between victim and offender influence the type of victimisation?
The paper concludes that there is a correlation between the closeness of a relationship and the type of victimisation, suggesting that personal intimacy often leads to more subtle, psychological forms of control.
Why is the role of the narrator important in The Deadly Space Between?
The narrator, Toby, provides a subjective and limited perspective, which highlights the difficulty for outsiders to prove or prevent the victimisation occurring within the home.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding the victims' suffering?
The author argues that while physical violence is more immediately lethal, psychological victimisation through manipulation and stalking often leaves victims in a longer, more enduring state of suffering due to their inability to easily escape or be helped.
- Quote paper
- Cristina dSF (Author), 2013, Manipulation, Stalking, Violence: Women's Victimisation in Selected Novels by Patricia Duncker, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/270533
