Patricia Lockwood's new poem

The Lady of The Shallot by John William Waterhouse

The poem aptly titled "Rape Joke" published in The Awl,, holds no delusions on what it is supposed to convey to the reader. It gives the reader a very straightforward and brutally honest look at why the act of rape is still a "rapejoke". As we all know, true art is not just meant for pleasing the eye (or in this case pleasing the ears), but also to nourish our hearts and coax our minds to think. The "RapeJoke" does precisely that and more. Patricia Lockwood succeeds not just in creating a literary masterpiece but also excels in drawing the reader to the plight of the young victim, barely out of school. The young victim who laughs on recounting her rapejoke to her devout catholic father. We are allowed a glimpse into how a father could possibly react:

"The rape joke is that when you told your father, he made the sign of the cross over you and said, “I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” which even in its total wrongheadedness, was so completely sweet."

Such reactions are not unheard of and it wasn't completely unexpected. In fact, it would have been unexpected if the father was to console the daughter and help her seek medical attention. The soul-crushing sadness is held constant throughout the work, but it feels empowering rather than disheartening as the victim is neither crying out loud or lamenting. Instead the poem takes on the perspective of an observer who is merely pointing out the events in a timeline. Casually observing! Very much like how we would observe past events that are unfortunate. With careful disdain. In capturing that essence, the poem becomes frighteningly real. 

Ms. Lockwood then turns the light on the victim-bashing! No rape incident would be complete without the inherent victim-bashing:

"The rape joke is that you asked why he did it. The rape joke is he said he didn’t know, like what else would a rape joke say? The rape joke said YOU were the one who was drunk, and the rape joke said you remembered it wrong, which made you laugh out loud for one long split-open second. The wine coolers weren’t Bartles & Jaymes, but it would be funnier for the rape joke if they were. It was some pussy flavor, like Passionate Mango or Destroyed Strawberry, which you drank down without question and trustingly in the heart of Cincinnati Ohio." 

It would be interesting to see how one could portray the view of the rapist in a poem. How does that mind actually work? Is it an uncertain, indecisive mind? To rape or not to rape? How would that go? Not to go out of context, Lockwood's poem is absolutely a definite classic and a true heart-burner!