The Business Trip

The villain of The Business Trip is narrator Jasmine. However, the novel also examines the problematic nature of male anger in the obvious villains of abusive Glenn and arrogant Trent McCarthy. They distract the reader from Jasmine’s secret violent streak, and their volatile anger is central to their characterization.

Through Glenn and Trent, the novel shows how language can reflect misogyny and the potential for violence. Both Glenn and Trent use the slur “bitch” throughout the novel to express their anger at women who they feel have slighted them. They have contempt for not just individual women but women in general. Slurs are paired with violent fantasies. For example, when Glenn learns that Jasmine has told Anna about his abusive behavior, he imagines killing them. He repeats the slur “bitch” while imagining Jasmine and Anna laughing at him. He also uses the slur while destroying Jasmine’s personal photos; in this case, the photos are a stand-in for Jasmine’s body. He cannot control or harm her physically, so he harms her by destroying what she loves.

Jasmine leaving makes Glenn feel emasculated; he does not miss the relationship but the power he had over Jasmine. He longs to regain the upper hand. As Glenn muses, “[T]he thought of me regaining power of these two bitches filled me with elation” (52).

Trent’s language also reflects his misogyny. He does not see women as equals but as objects. When women don’t validate him or feed his ego, he becomes enraged. For example, he uses the slur “bitch” during the conference, referring to fellow conference-goer Dorothy after she “turn[s] to speak to some people at the table next to [them] […] ignoring [Trent]” (146). He uses the slur again when the woman whom he believes is Stephanie takes his hotel room key but does not come by to have sex with him: “I was done with her. Bitch. Cop-out. Cold fish” (153). Like Glenn, Trent uses slurs because he feels enraged toward women, whom he views as objects, and because he feels both entitled and inadequate.

Even seemingly good men like station manager Dave and Stephanie’s neighbor Robert demonstrate a capacity for rage. This suggests that all men are capable of intense anger. When Dave learns that Stephanie is taking a week off despite his protestations, he expresses his anger in small ways, such as by slamming the door. Although his behavior doesn’t hurt anyone, Dave is “seething.” Similarly, Robert responds violently when he overhears two strangers suggesting that Stephanie intentionally put herself in danger. He is barely able to “stop [himself] from charging at them and wringing their sagging necks” (121). Although neither Dave nor Robert acts violently toward others, their anger suggests that, like Glenn and Trent, they are volatile. The novel may be suggesting that they are good men for not lashing out at women. However, Garcia may also be implying that all men have a capacity for violence and that it is a slippery slope from hurting objects to hurting humans.