10 On Forbidden Rooms and Intentional Forgetting
Themes:
Dealing with Sexual Assault, Trauma, Pain
Disciplines:
Education, Counselling, Psychology, Social Sciences, Law, Women and Gender Studies
Guiding Questions:
- What is your reaction to Elliott’s take on Charles Perrault’s interpretation of the tale of Bluebeard (p. 123)? What is your interpretation of the tale? Compare and contrast your interpretation to Elliott’s?
- What are your forbidden rooms?
- If Bluebeard’s story is a representation of what if occurring in society, what are Canada’s forbidden rooms?
- Write a variation of the tale of Bluebeard that represents your values and incorporates a perspective that is reflective of today’s society.
- What have you learned from Elliott’s approach to dealing with her sexual assault?
- Discuss Elliott’s statement that “There is a performative nature to pain?” (p. 129).
- Are we supposed to deal with trauma in prescribed ways that are acceptable to society? Expand on your answer fully.
- How would you respond to someone who is close to you and who shares with you they have experienced a significant trauma in their life?
- Image that you are an advice columnist for a major news outlet and you receive a request for advice on how to respond to a close friend who shares with you that they have experienced a significant trauma in their life. Taking into consideration what Elliott has shared in this chapter, how would respond to this request.
- “Though intentional forgetting is seen as a bad way to heal, there is mounting evidence that it is, in fact, a better alternative to intentionally remembering” (p. 125). Discuss the pros and cons of both approaches and relate to an event or experience in your life or someone close to you.
- Select a painting or picture that reflects how you feel about what Elliott shared in this chapter. Share the image of the painting or picture and explain your interpretation of it and how it relates to Elliott’s story.
- “Sexual assault has one of the smallest conviction rates of violent crime in Canada” (p. 133). Discuss this statistic and compare it to two other countries and explain the story behind the statistics.
