Entextualizing and contextualizing the status quo in domestic violence narratives

Abstract

Abstract Victim/survivors of domestic violence are asked to tell their stories many times, in different contexts, and for different audiences. These stories are contextualized for the new context and audience at the same time that they become texts – entextualization – in that context. This article argues that narrative is produced via the co-processes of entextualization and contextualization (Silverstein & Urban, 1996). The co-processes of entextualization/contextualization in domestic violence narratives about staying and leaving violent relationships produce stories that comport with the status quo, as it is envisioned in the stories of the victim/survivors. Using staying/leaving stories of domestic violence victim/survivors, I show that entextualizations/contextualizations are (1) socioculturally saturated processes and (2) rhetorical arguments. I argue that narratives entextualize/contextualize events of domestic violence in ways that involve and comply with the status quo. Ultimately, these processes create discursive resources that reinforce domestic violence.