Elizabeth Marshall’s text, “Girlhood, Sexual Violence, and Agency in Francesca Lia Block’s ‘Wolf’”, addresses the issues of liability and “victim power” in Francesca Lia Block’s contemporary tale, “Wolf” (Marshall 225). Marshall sets “Wolf” against the older stories of the “Little Red Cap” and “All Fur” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and argues that Block challenges predefined cultural ideas about a girl’s body in relation to rape (Marshall 218). However, Marshall claims that Block inadvertently ties “the girl’s agency to her identity as [a] victim”, using the term “victim power” to describe this process (Marshall 218). In contrast, the latter half of Marshall’s text centers on her students’ responses to “Wolf”, however I will focus on Marshall’s
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For instance in Charles Perrault’s “Cinderella: Or the Glass Slipper”, Cinderella is made vulnerable by the bad treatment of her stepsisters and stepmother, then she develops some agency and goes to the ball out of a desire to escape in the luxury of the ball (Perrault 97-102). With this in mind, since many literary characters’ agencies are connected to their vulnerability, the girl in “Wolf” can be seen as less limited than Marshall portrays her to be in her analysis. The girl is able to take what is known to be a traditionally male symbol, the gun, and use this power to protect herself and her grandmother. In doing so, the girl is proving that she can be just as powerful as the male figure, perhaps more so because her actions result in his death (Block 60). Rather than viewing the grandmother taking the blame for the male figure’s death, as limiting the girl’s agency, it can be viewed as a ‘happy ending’ for the girl. She finally has a parental figure in the grandmother that is strong, and focused on protecting her, such as from any repercussions from the crime.
Overall in her text, “Girlhood, Sexual Violence, and Agency in Francesca Lia Block’s ‘Wolf’”, Elizabeth Marshall explores the issues of liability and “victim power” in Francesca Lia Block’s “Wolf”. However, Marshall does not fully consider the mother’s role in terms of liability, nor does she consider the way in which the notion of “victim power” can be extended to other literary characters. Nevertheless Marshall’s text, offers insight into the background of the text, “Wolf”, and future analysis could be made of the latter half of Marshall’s text, regarding her students’
For instance in Charles Perrault’s “Cinderella: Or the Glass Slipper”, Cinderella is made vulnerable by the bad treatment of her stepsisters and stepmother, then she develops some agency and goes to the ball out of a desire to escape in the luxury of the ball (Perrault 97-102). With this in mind, since many literary characters’ agencies are connected to their vulnerability, the girl in “Wolf” can be seen as less limited than Marshall portrays her to be in her analysis. The girl is able to take what is known to be a traditionally male symbol, the gun, and use this power to protect herself and her grandmother. In doing so, the girl is proving that she can be just as powerful as the male figure, perhaps more so because her actions result in his death (Block 60). Rather than viewing the grandmother taking the blame for the male figure’s death, as limiting the girl’s agency, it can be viewed as a ‘happy ending’ for the girl. She finally has a parental figure in the grandmother that is strong, and focused on protecting her, such as from any repercussions from the crime.
Overall in her text, “Girlhood, Sexual Violence, and Agency in Francesca Lia Block’s ‘Wolf’”, Elizabeth Marshall explores the issues of liability and “victim power” in Francesca Lia Block’s “Wolf”. However, Marshall does not fully consider the mother’s role in terms of liability, nor does she consider the way in which the notion of “victim power” can be extended to other literary characters. Nevertheless Marshall’s text, offers insight into the background of the text, “Wolf”, and future analysis could be made of the latter half of Marshall’s text, regarding her students’