From: "Andy Robertson" 
Subject: (urth)  "Hour of Trust"  and rape
Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2002 15:21:19 -0000

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Andre-Driussi" 
> It is a tactic to push the soldiers to commit more atrocities (killing
> white-flag waving civilians, even naked civilians), which will further
> erode civilian support for the government and boost support for the
rebels.


While you are right, I think you are looking at the etherial symbolism and
missing the earthy basics of his story.


What are wars fought for?


Wars are fought by men, to obtain power over the bodies of women and their
sexual/reproductive potential.   Ultimately.

The text focuses on the **women** rebels who take the suicide/flameout route
because these are the people who are effectively, devastatingly, negating
this, the most basic of male human motivations.

And symbolically proving to the troops who attack them that, even if they
win, they will lose.

Notice, the "government" people are at the top of the male power hierarchy.
They have women on tap.  But in the same way that the grunts are not going
to be able to rape any women even if they win, the executives and
politicians will not acually improve their Broad Reproductive Success by
fucking the models/prostituites.   They have in fact been out-evolved by the
women, who get more from the transaction than their male "exploiters".

The whole government side is sterile, an evolutionary dead end.


The trope of the rape of defeated women in war occurs elsewhere in Wolfe.
Mora's rape in IGJ, and "When I was Ming The Merciless", are two examples
that come immediately to mind.


    hartshorn




--