Department of English, University of Louisville Phone: (502)852-6770 or (502)852-6801. Fax: (502)852-4182. I think her silence as a metaphor of oppression or abuse stops short at a "vict im psychology" reading of the Hunter character. I think her silence is a respon se to her situation, not just a consequence. It's an act of resistance, and it contributes a good deal to her power over the men, as she refuses in this way t o respond to her society's "hailing" of her as a subject, and as she controls h er own desire more fully than she would if she answered to the men's various en treaties, orders, etc. She's an oppressed character, but also quite a powerful one, and her silence is key to both things, within a social context in which op tions for resistance are limited. bitnet tbbyer01@ulkyvm; internet [log in to unmask] Thomas B. Byers Department of English/University of Louisville Louisville KY 40292