Sex and Dominance in The Ghost Road Essay - 3936 Words

Sex and Dominance in The Ghost Road Pat Barkers The Ghost Road is a masterful literary integration of sex and war. The novels protagonist, the lascivious, bisexual Billy Prior once remarks: Whole bloody western fronts a wankers paradise, a statement with far-reaching implications concerning aggression and eroticism (Barker 177). The novel concludes a successful trilogy, beginning with Regeneration (1991) and The Eye in the Door (1993). Winner of the prestigious Booker Prize Award in 1995, The Ghost Road delves into many standard Booker motifs, such as war, the British class system, memory, and childhood, but Barker revitalizes these worn subjects. With prostitutes, lecherous priests, and the naked body, she†¦show more content†¦Unlike the crying child, Prior is duly subservient to the doctors orders. Doctor Mather infantilizes Prior, calling him laddie (Barker 11). His examination by the dominating doctor reminds Prior of his childhood, and of his early sexual liaisons with men. At this early point, Ba rker leaves the reader in the dark as to Priors history as a male prostitute. Clues to this history arise throughout the first half of the novel in flashes, as memories of childhood trauma. This opening scene incorporates a variety of dynamics. First, the squad of running soldiers entices Priors sexual appetite, as do the bodies of his own men later on at the baths. This outlines the sexual and military objectification of the male physique. Second, the domineering doctor anally penetrates the passive Prior with his fingers, which Prior interprets as an intermingling of medical and sexual authority. For Prior, the line between clinical and sexual authority blurs. Later, in the baths, Priors command authority over his naked men mixes with his desire to exercise sexual authority. Third and finally, the doctor infantilizes his patient, spurring ghostly memories of childhood sexual abuse. As steeped as this scene is in sexual innuendo, this is just the beginning; Barkers booker is overripe with sexual subtexts and FoucaultianShow MoreRelatedMarriage Is A Sacred Action, And The Bondage Between Individuals Essay1538 Words   |  7 Pageswhich one individual has multipl e spouses at the same time† (Cultural Anthropology, 207). Polygamy is mostly practiced in Asia and African. Polygamy has become better known through media, such as the television show â€Å"Sister Wives.† Polygamy, like same-sex marriage, has encountered problems. According to Peter Nash Swisher, in his article â€Å"‘I Now Pronounce You Husband and Wives’: The Case for Polygamous Marriage after United States v. Windsor and Burwell v. 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