Pornography: Men Possessing Women, by: Andrea ... - Feminish

power of the biographers to define their own terms within theaccepted bounds of a woman-hating society. Rose Keller was awhore because all women, especially working-class women, arewhores; Rose Keller was a whore because any woman who ishungry or unemployed will whore; Rose Keller was a whorebecause there is no absolute proof for every day of her life that shewas not a whore; Rose Keller was a whore because Sade said shewas a whore; Rose Keller was a whore because, after being torturedand escaping, she accepted money from Sade’s mother-in-law. RoseKeller was a liar because all women are liars, especially when theyaccuse men of forcing them to any sexual activity; Rose Keller was aliar because Sade said she was a liar; Rose Keller was a liar becauseshe accepted money, which proved that she had made up the storyto obtain money; Rose Keller was a liar because who was sheanyway compared to the heroic Sade?Hobart Ryland, the translator of Sade’s Adelaide of Brunswick intoEnglish, claimed that Keller “made up a fantastic story. ” 12GeoffreyGorer shed doubt on Keller’s credibility by meticulous analysis ofdetail: “A woman so badly wounded would surely have had somedifficulty in climbing walls. ” , 13 Thomas acknowledged that“[g]rievous bodily harm had been done to the young woman, ” andhe sternly admonished that “there was no question of excusing iteven if she was a whore. ” 14 Excusing it nonetheless, Thomascharacterized Sade’s torture of Keller as “a rather disagreeable houror two, and a few minutes of actual discomfort not far removed indegree from a visit to an eighteenth-century dentist. ” 15The moneymade it all worthwhile and “sensible men saw it in perspective andknew that it was just an incident. ” 16 Ronald Hay man, author of aso-called critical biography, strikes the same wretched note: “Scoresof men were taking their pleasure in very much the same way;scores of girls [sic]y no doubt, were exploiting the situation for whatit was worth. Money was an effective pain-killer. ” 17Angela Carter,in a recent pseudofeminist literary essay, claims that Keller“turnfed] her hand to blackmail and who can blame her? ” 18Enteringthe realm of literary affectation heretofore reserved for the boys,