Rape Fantasies

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of rape, sexual violence, sexual content, and gender discrimination. 

The short story revolves around the protagonist Estelle’s so-called rape fantasies to explore the dangers of mistaking sexual fantasy for the reality of sexual violence. At the start of “Rape Fantasies,” Estelle describes the onslaught of magazine articles she’s been reading about rape; in these articles, sexual violence is represented in a seemingly positive manner, as if it were “a vaccine for cancer” (163). Such articles also claim that all women have fantasies of being attacked and violated by sexual predators. Because this messaging conflates harmless private imaginings about sexual pleasure with dangerous public trends of violence against women, Estelle and her compatriots come to regard the issue in a diluted manner. As a result, Estelle is unable to distinguish her own sexual desire from her perpetual terror of being raped. Reality and fantasy blur, disabling Estelle from perceiving true threats to her safety or pursuing sex in healthy, safe contexts. Atwood uses this confusion to critique how patriarchal media misrepresents women’s inner lives, casting them as complicit in their own victimization rather than as individuals navigating genuine fear.