what i'm doing about alice munro

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's personal experiences with sexual abuse and their reaction to the news about Alice Munro's daughter Andrea Skinner's essay detailing the sexual abuse she experienced as a child. The author reflects on the complexities of separating the artist from the art, the tendency to distance oneself from the oppressor, and the challenges of confronting the realities of abuse and complicity.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The author's personal experiences with sexual abuse

1. What were the author's personal experiences with sexual abuse?

• The author was molested by their aunt's husband and a close friend of their parents when they were young.
• The author's parents did not believe them at first and later made light of the abuse, leading to a sense of powerlessness and fear.
• The author still has recurring dreams about the abuse and the inability to escape the situation.

2. How does the author's personal experience inform their perspective on Skinner's essay?

• The author was struck by the clarity and directness with which Skinner handled the facts of the events, which the author recognized from their own life.
• The author was particularly affected by the aftermath of ambivalence toward the harm done, which the author experienced as well.

[02] The author's reaction to the news about Alice Munro

1. How did the author initially react to the news about Alice Munro's daughter's essay?

• The author's first and only thought was Andrea Skinner's words, which the author believed in their entirety.
• The author was shocked by the reactions of others, who seemed to be more concerned with the implications for Munro's work and legacy.

2. How does the author view the attempts to separate the artist from the art in this case?

• The author disagrees with the idea of separating the artist from the art, as they believe the two are inextricably linked.
• The author argues that Munro's complicity in the abuse of her daughter should be a part of the discourse around her work going forward.

3. What does the author see as the root of the confusion and handwringing around Munro's actions?

• The author suggests that the confusion stems from a desire to distance oneself from the oppressor and a reluctance to confront the realities of abuse and complicity.
• The author argues that people are embarrassed or saddened by the idea that someone so beloved could also be "common and small" in their actions.

[03] The author's perspective on the complexities of abuse and complicity

1. How does the author view the concept of "separating the artist from the art"?

• The author sees this as a "broken moral calculus" that confuses rectitude for an honest accounting of how we live in the world.
• The author argues that there is no true separation between the art and the artist, as the artist's actions and choices are inextricably linked to the art they produce.

2. What does the author see as the root of the desire to create a "safe art" that has no harmful valences?

• The author suggests that this desire stems from a need to feel comfortable in the rightness of the art one engages with, and a reluctance to confront the "commonness and smallness and the very humanness of monstrosity itself."

3. How does the author view the author's own complicity in Skinner's silencing?

• The author acknowledges that by participating in Munro's celebrity and art, they were feeding a cultural apparatus that permitted and necessitated Skinner's silencing.
• The author suggests that this realization is why some people are desperately trying to distance themselves from the knowledge that they had a small part in creating a "scapegoat of a young child."