Rage, Revenge and Regeneration in Joyce Carol Oates's the Rise of Life on Earth

Chatterjee, Srirupa and Neelakantan, G (2012) Rage, Revenge and Regeneration in Joyce Carol Oates's the Rise of Life on Earth. Notes on Contemporary Literature, 42 (2). pp. 8-10. ISSN 0029-4047

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Abstract

This essay claims that Oates's intention in presenting Kathleen as a cold-blooded murderer is far from creating a sensational thriller. Rather, the novella is a nuanced exploration of the socio-cultural pathologies that in turn lead to Kathleen's homicidal tendencies. Poor and unattractive without much education or income, Kathleen, is doubly marginalized by a capitalistic patriarchal society. Abused and exploited, first by her father, then by members of the foster families and her colleagues, and finally by the only man she ever loved and trusted, Kathleen's actions, while not justifiable, question the values of a culture that force her to such rage. Discussing the novella, Oates reveals: "My explicit desire was to write about somebody whom Dostoyevsky would have called 'among the insulted and the injured.

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