Feminist Reading of the Poem Rape by Adrienne Rich

The poem Rape by Adrienne Rich, on the surface is about a girl who has to tell a police officer that she has been the victim of rape. Rich speaks about who the police officer is and about how she feels he perceives her. The poem does not only give a blatant account of what it is like for a victim of rape to have to come forward with their side of the story, but also offers some of society's subliminal views on the women of rape cases. She uses imagery and descriptive words to capture the humiliation and harshness that a victim feels when they are seeking out help from officials and society. This poem is not only about a rape victim; it is also about the views of women in society in the 1970's and the views of women that are still present today. This poem also displays the patriarchal attitude that was present during the feminist movement in the 1960-1970's, which I feel is still present in today's society.

From the first line of the poem the reader is sent the message that there is something about the cop that is unsettling to Rich. The opening line states: "There is a cop who is both prowler and father" (Rich Line 1), hinting to the reader that the figure of authority, who is supposed to provide safety, is making Rich feel awkwardly insecure. Rich then proceeded to describe the cop as someone who is familiar to the victim, that the cop can be a figure of warmth to many such as family, but when the cop puts on his uniform and is given authority over a rape case, he becomes a sign. He is no longer the familiar person from your neighborhood; he has now become the sign of power with in the poem and also within the mentality of the rape victim. The cop contains phallic symbol, Rich states: "…one hand touching his gun" (Rich Line 5), which displays how the cop immediately draws attention to himself as the symbol of power and control within the poem. This is where the patriarchal unconscious is introduced in the poem. The main point that Rich is trying to convey through this opening of the poem is that the cop has the power and the cop is a man, therefore the cop can be compared to the rapist himself, because the cop is also "taking" something from the victim.

Rich continues to use figurative language in the second stanza of the poem by stating: "he has access to machinery that can kill you" (Rich Line 7), here establishing the theme of man becoming a machine within the poem. Society has created a machine of patriarchal unconscious which is what Rich is describing with this line. Rich is also beginning the process of describing what the actual progression of a rape investigation feels like to the victim. Society's view of victims of rape most often has an accusatory undertone to it. People look at the victim as if they did something to deserve the rape, that they must have provoked the man to receive such treatment. Due to the fact that rape is solely based on the word of a person, people become skeptical and cynical when dealing with a rape case.

The poem itself comes from a collection of works that Rich had written between the years of 1971-1972 titled Diving Into The Wreck. According to literary critic Wendy Martin, this collection of poems was a "…major shift in attitude" for Rich. Rich's earlier works were more ironic in their subjects, whereas this collection began to introduce a new aspect of her writing to the public. This collection was published during the peak of the feminist movement, supporting and fueling women everywhere to stand up for their rights. By the 1970's organizations all over the United States began to grow excessively, groups such as the National Organization for Women had over 400 chapters locally (Women's History).

Although the awareness levels and support for women continued to grow, there were still many cases of rape in the 1970's, but unlike previous times the U.S. Department of Justice was beginning to record the statistics. The number of rape victims in the 1970's remained at a constant of around 2,700 women victimized per year (Rape Statistics), so it is not to anyone's surprise that poets such as Rich would choose to refocus their topics of writing in order to address the current crisis in America during that time. In the article titled Rape from Ramparts Magazine, also published in 1972, there is an explanation of the social and legal views on rape during that time. The article states: "Men can feel free and uninhibited to force sexual violence onto women as they receive full protection from the law, police, and courts" (CWLU Herstory). This statement relates directly to the message behind Rich's poem. The focus of the victim in the poem is on the policeman who is controlling her and receiving pleasure from her pain in an almost sadist manner.

The laws protecting women against rape in the 1970's had many loopholes in them. Women did not usually even report a rape crime due to the fact that they felt society would not truly support their claims and would only place criticism upon them and point fingers at them. The article Rape also states: "…a woman who has been raped in her home by a former male friend need not press charges because NO COURT will believe she didn't consent" which shows how the loopholes in the rape laws would allow certain circumstances where rape was not an accusable crime. I think that this general sentiment of society is greatly expressed in Rich's poem. By identifying the policeman as someone familiar and then comparing him to a machine Rich is showing how this double standard was enacted in the 1970's. According to the public, if the person was someone familiar to the victim then it could not possibly have been rape, which in comparison to Rich describing the cop as a familiar character, establishes the cop as the "rapist" to the scared helpless victim who is giving the account of the crime that has been committed on her.

Another common view of rape victims that is still true in today's society is that they have done something to deserve the crime that has been committed on them. In the poem Rich states: "…you are guilty of the crime of having been forced" (Rich Lines 14-15), which is echoed again in line 25, "…what you secretly wanted." These two lines display how even though the victim has been raped, somehow in society's cynical eyes the victim it really the rapist, and has deserved whatever punishment that may come their way. Rich's argument in the poem is completely opposite from the common view that society has on rape victims. Rich is describing how a victim can know the views of society and see that even figures of authority are not sympathetic to her, and can then show the patriarchal cop as the "rapist" who is guilty of taking the victims security and reputation from them just as forcefully as the rapist committed his crime on her.

I feel that this poem successfully conveyed the feelings of someone who has had all security robbed from them. This poem also serves as a strong voice in a post-feminism era, in relation to the treatment of women and how it has improved or declined since the feminist movement in the 1960's and 1970's. This poem uses imagery to create vivid pictures for the reader that display how scared and insecure the victim of rape becomes when trying to seek help from supposed figures of authority. It also fulfills its purpose within the feminist movement by showing how the patriarchal unconscious was extremely present and needed to be altered.

Works Cited
CWLU Herstory Website. "Rape." Chicago Women's Liberation Union
http://www.cwluherstory.com/cwluarchive/rape.html

Martin, Wendy. "An American Triptych: Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, Adrienne Rich." Infotrac Online, 1984.
http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/515/241/29760488w7...

Rape Rates. Chart. U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Statistics, 2001.
http://www.ojp.usdof.gov/bjs/glance/rape.htm

Rich, Adrienne. "Rape." Diving Into the Wreck. 1972

"Women's History." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 5 Mar. 2003.
http://www.infoplease.com/be6/society/a085891.html