How to write about incest realistically

For my AS English Lit coursework I have to do a creative response to a book, and I've chosen Lolita. I'm taking the theme of an unreliable narrator trying to make a taboo subject sound acceptable - ie HH makes being a paedophile and having sex with Lolita sound like an okayish thing, so that you have to step back from the novel and think 'this is wrong' - and what I'm doing is writing about a relationship between a brother and sister and trying to make it sound acceptable. but i really don't know how to do this..any help/tips/ideas lol?

Reply 1

JW92

18

I'm just imagining the look on your teacher's face when she reads it.

Reply 2

Xenopus

9

In the ancient times it was the "divine prerogative", only gods were allowed to do it, and it was taboo for non-gods (in Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Japanes cultures, and others). The pharaoh in Egypt used to do it with his sisters (They believed the Pharaoh was of divine descent), I think, his wife was always a relative. Hope that helps.

Reply 3

polaroid13

16

I did a similar thing for my English coursework; it was about a woman who gets raped falling for her rapist.
In my opinion, the trick is to pay a lot of attention to detail, build the feelings very very gradually between the characters, be very descriptive and emotive. Read around for taboo stories - steer away from the literotica because although they do have a good amount of incest stuff its there to get you aroused not to think about incest on a serious level. Actually this post is just stating the obvious but its quite easy to fall down on.

Reply 4

ormaybeitsjustnarcissism

14

Read The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan.

Reply 5

KatieCruel

Firstly i'm jealous, wish I could have done something with a book I acually like (ie Lolita) for my AS's.

Are they a half or step brother and sister, do they know that they are brother and sister adopted etc?

Reply 6

hay.hay

1

Write it from the point that they met as adults?

I'd find it easier to understand(?) incest if it was like that.

Reply 7

Meliae

I remember reading an article in The Times or maybe The Guardian or something by a woman in love with her brother. I think that'd be a really good starting point. I'll see if I can find it.

Edit - Here we go: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4332635.ece

Reply 8

Smeh

14

Read Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides.
...Okay it's relly about a hermaphrodite but there's quite a bit of incest in there.

Reply 9

Smeh

14

Or maybe you could do something like twins/brother and sister being separated at birth, falling in love and not realising they were related?

Reply 10

kamc

15

Its quite common aparently if they grow up apart and meet when they're adults, on one C4 documentary a while ago there was even a mother having sex with her son she'd had adopted after they'd been reunited...

Reply 11

anna_disraeli

OP

2

Meliae

I remember reading an article in The Times or maybe The Guardian or something by a woman in love with her brother. I think that'd be a really good starting point. I'll see if I can find it.

Edit - Here we go: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4332635.ece

ooh, thanks, that's really interesting!

Reply 12

anna_disraeli

OP

2

kamc

Its quite common aparently if they grow up apart and meet when they're adults, on one C4 documentary a while ago there was even a mother having sex with her son she'd had adopted after they'd been reunited...

urgh i know i saw that, but i WANT it to be as taboo as poss so if they grew up together that would obviously be even worse.

Reply 13

VacouiTempore

1

Just read articles and don't keep the taboo in mind...

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 14

Sorcerer's Storm

20

Original post by VacouiTempore

In reality, the incest taboo comes more from misconceptions since something as simple as sharing blood is glorified more than the emotional relationships themselves between family members; I write these kinds of topics all the time because they interest me and I don't find them

Thread's 13 years old.

How to write about incest realistically

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