tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post6562519118343803565..comments2024-03-27T01:28:28.346-07:00Comments on False Machine: a souffte amblynge pacepjamesstuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13288777018721199748noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-69636492750436708412015-06-19T17:27:45.195-07:002015-06-19T17:27:45.195-07:00'To rape' means 'to abduct' or ...'To rape' means 'to abduct' or 'to carry off' as late as the eighteenth century. (You know, like hawks and other 'raptors' do to their prey.) That's why you'll see writers on the Trojan war writing about 'The Rape of Helen' even if, in their version, she eloped with Paris willingly: he carried her off from the house of her husband, ergo it was a rape. Note that Malory himself uses a different word - 'ravish' - to refer specifically to forced, non-consensual sex.<br /><br />So, basically, Malory's robbed Mr Smith twice. The first time he took his wife; the second time he took his wife AND his money. What Joan thought of all this - whether she was a willing accomplice, unwilling victim, or somewhere in between - is anyone's guess.<br /><br />Great blog, by the way. Currently reading through the whole archive...!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-81551977606219203912015-06-19T03:46:44.156-07:002015-06-19T03:46:44.156-07:00Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge, says at the ...Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge, says at the time "rape" could also mean (consensual) sex with a married woman if the husband didn't consent. It's even got a citation. <br /><br />I think you could see Malory as somebody who had lived the life of a rogue and then regretted it afterwards. These sorts of people are always fascinating. I think King David fits into the same model. He wrote all these beautiful psalms but there's a pattern of him being a murderous adulterer who regrets it later on. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-33867128245776178432015-06-16T21:14:51.937-07:002015-06-16T21:14:51.937-07:00It's a pretty "cold case", but I hav...It's a pretty "cold case", but I have to wonder whether those "rapes" were actually consentual liaisons, claimed as rapes to spare poor Mrs. Smith the likely harsh consequences of an adultery charge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-24558405336938523602015-06-14T23:11:18.451-07:002015-06-14T23:11:18.451-07:00Yeah there are strong suggestions of political inv...Yeah there are strong suggestions of political involvement, especially him going in and out of prison as different factions gain or lose in strength. pjamesstuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13288777018721199748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4522018539311056682.post-34892022976684505722015-06-14T15:24:59.256-07:002015-06-14T15:24:59.256-07:00The numbers involved suggest that he wasn't ju...The numbers involved suggest that he wasn't just some rowdy dude, and the dates indicate that this was possibly tied up with the lead-in to the War of the Roses?<br /><br />So maybe this doesn't so much mean he was a murderhobo so much as some guy doing things Westerosi-style.<br /><br />(That doesn't make it any less fascinating, though.)Rushputinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07867389429325778387noreply@blogger.com