Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood’s “Rape Fantasies” (1977) is a short story written from the first-person point of view of the protagonist Estelle. The short story revolves around Estelle’s attempts to understand why recent magazine articles feature frequent discussions of rape. After she and her office coworkers share their rape fantasies, Estelle delves into her own sexual imaginings. Rooted in the cultural context of the 1970s Women’s Movement, “Rape Fantasies” explores themes including the Conflation of Fantasy and Reality, Societal Misunderstandings of Rape, and the Dynamics of Female Discourse. 

This guide refers to the pdf version of “Rape Fantasies” freely available through the online resource PBWorks. 

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include depictions of sexual violence, graphic violence, sexual content, gender discrimination, and rape. 

Plot Summary

Estelle thinks about the frequent recent magazine articles about rape. She doesn’t understand why these articles represent the issue of rape as if it is new. She and her coworkers have discussed it before. 

Estelle recalls playing bridge with Chrissy, Sondra, Darlene, and Greta in the breakroom during lunch. Chrissy, the receptionist, was reading a magazine and asked her coworkers if they had rape fantasies. Darlene was offended, but Chrissy said the magazine insisted all women had them. Darlene scoffed, and Sondra anxiously ate her celery. Chrissy looked embarrassed as soon as the others asked what she meant. Darlene tried to end the conversation, insisting that women shouldn’t “go out alone at night” because they were endangering themselves (164). Studying Darlene, Estelle remembered reading her personnel file, discovering that she’s 41 and divorced. 

Greta argued they didn’t need to worry about rape because they lived in Toronto. She used to work in Detroit and thought it was much worse. Estelle was annoyed because Greta and Darlene always vie for attention. Finally, Greta admitted she did have a rape fantasy. She described a scenario where a man swung into her 18th-floor apartment, leading to sex. Chrissy then admitted she had one, too. In hers, she was taking a bubble bath when a strange man entered and joined her naked in the tub. Greta and Darlene interrogated her, but Chrissy insisted she wouldn’t run away or scream. Estelle made a joke about Greta’s fantasy, but no one laughed. Finally, she told the group that their fantasies weren’t really about rape. Annoyed, Chrissy demanded that Estelle share hers. 

Estelle described a scenario where she would be walking in the dark alone and a man would grab her arm. She’d then dig in her bag for her plastic lemon, which she’d use to ward him off as they recommend in the magazines and on TV. However, she wouldn’t be able to find the lemon. The man would confirm that he wanted to rape her, but she would ask him to wait until she could find the lemon. Finally, she’d find it, the man would help her remove the lid, and she’d squirt his eyes with lemon juice. Privately, Estelle wondered if she sounded rude in her fantasy. 

Chrissy and Darlene scoffed. Estelle was unbothered because she knew “how they saw” her. Lunch ended and the women never returned to their conversation. 

Ever since, however, Estelle has considered her rape fantasies. She wonders if it’s normal to think about rape fantasies so much. She knows if she were actually in such a situation, she’d feel anxious and forget everything she’d planned to say and do. She has one fantasy where Mr. Clean comes in her window. She has another where a man with a pimply face pins her to an alley wall but can’t get his zipper undone. When Estelle teases him, he starts crying. Estelle feels bad for him and gives him advice on dealing with his acne. She remembers being awkward and ugly, too, and has felt alone since moving to Toronto. She wonders if it’s similar for men. 

In another fantasy, Estelle is lying in bed with a cold when an ugly man who also has a cold breaks in and tries to rape her. Beforehand, however, he needs a tissue. Realizing he’s unwell, Estelle offers him a scotch. They end up drinking and watching TV together for the rest of the night. 

In the scariest fantasy, Estelle is at her mother’s house when a man breaks in and tells her that the angels told him to kill her. Terrified, Estelle says the angels told her she’s going to give birth to Saint Anne. The man apologizes and leaves. This fantasy terrifies her. She tries not to think about it too much because, as her mother says, worrying won’t help. 

In another fantasy, Estelle imagines fighting the man with kung fu. In another, she pushes her fingers into his eyes. This one creeps her out because she hates the idea of touching someone’s eyes or blinding someone. She wonders if men think this way, too. 

Estelle’s favorite fantasy is one where a man in the street grabs her arm, and she tells him she’s dying of leukemia. The man admits he has leukemia, too; he’s raping people because he’s upset about his condition. The two end up walking around and talking about their diagnoses. They get coffee and go home together. They spend the rest of their short lives lying in bed. Estelle is never sure which of them would die first. Sometimes just thinking about this fantasy makes her cry. 

Estelle doesn’t know if any of these fantasies qualify as rape fantasies. The magazines say women are most likely to be raped by someone they know, but Estelle always imagines being raped by a stranger. She wonders if Derek Cummins from the office is capable of rape. She isn’t sure, but she knows that she can’t stay locked up inside or hide in the Filing Department. She likes going out for drinks and is as careful as possible when she’s alone. Estelle isn’t sure why she’s thinking about this. All she wants is for people to understand her. She thinks if there were more understanding between people, rape wouldn’t happen. She can’t make sense of how a man could rape a woman after learning who she is.