Rape Fantasies

"Rape Fantasies" is a short story by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The story, notable for its dark humour, was originally published in the Canadian edition of Dancing Girls in 1977. The story gained greater attention and study when it was later published in the 1985 edition of Norton Anthology of Literature by Women.

Plot summary

The story centers around its narrator, a woman named Estelle, discussing her feelings and fantasies on rape. She recounts a story about her lunch break with her co-workers, where they discuss their fantasies of rape over a card game. While her friends all have romanticized rape fantasies, Estelle breaks the trend by having humorous turns of events in her fantasies that help her thwart the rape attempt. In her stories she manages to escape rape in many ways, from having the rapist help her get lemon juice to squirt in his eyes, to helping the rapist get to the bottom of his emotional problems. Concerned that her rape fantasies are abnormal, she continues to share more and more stories, none involving an actual rape.