To Leave or Not to Leave, That Is the Question: Discussing Notions of Particularity in “Breaking the Cycle” through the Lens of Feminist Literary Theory

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents a comparative investigation of intimate partner violence centering on the analysis of Breaking the Cycle (Zane 2005). The article addresses incest as both a pattern of intimate partner violence and a factor that influences the abused character’s decision to desert her perpetrator, putting an end to a seemingly endless cycle of violence. In this respect, incest is examined as one among other resistance factors that stress the necessity for the victim to take counteraction to end the cycle of violence within an intimate relationship once the safety of the abused woman’s children is at stake. The literary works discussed constitute the raw material for examination since they highlight different patterns of intimate partner violence against women and the factors that impact a woman’s decision to leave an abusive intimate relationship. The analytical approach adopted is that of qualitative content analysis. A central concern in this article is to voice the victim’s struggle and efforts to escape her violent marriage from a feminist perspective, highlighting the particularity of her experience rather than its generalizability, which has not been addressed in the available research on literary domestic violence studies to date.