So Much Water So Close to Home

Raymond CarverFiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1981

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1. What do the norms, laws, and prevailing attitudes of your society say about violence against women? Have these ideas changed over time?

Teaching Suggestion: This question orients students to the central conflict in the story: Claire’s fear that she will be a victim of gender-based violence or even femicide—a gender-based murder of a woman or girl, in particular by a man. Claire’s concern for her safety, as well as her concern for other women who are victims of gender-based violence, indicates that she is hyperaware of Gender Norms’ Harmful Effects On Women, which ultimately increases The Pervasiveness Of Doubt And Deception that she has toward her husband’s innocence. This story is a reminder that for women, any given man may be a latent violent threat. Carver’s story is decades old, but the reality of violence against women remains: One quarter of American women today have endured severe physical violence by a partner.