Was It Ever Normal To Make Rape Jokes?- Murderers Row by Donald Hamilton

When I began reading Murderers’ Row by Donald Hamilton, I wasn’t expecting the highest quality espionage literature of the 1960s.  In fact, I was pretty sure that I was in for some low quality writing. But I wasn’t expecting a rape joke.

And I wasn’t expecting a rape joke directed at a female character.

And I wasn’t expecting the female character to like the rape joke.

Of course, I should have known better. Murderers’ Row came out in 1962. I’ve read (and written about)several books from that time period and some of the… questionable stuff… that happened. Here are a couple examples: 

Bad Lessons in Famous Books: The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins

The Golden Hawk by Frank Yerby- Uh,… isn’t that rape?

Now we have Murderers’ Row starring Matt Helm. Matt Helm was the cheap American knock off of James Bond in the early 1960s.  Matt Helm books were quick, action-packed, and didn’t bother with stuff like descriptions of exotic cars, exotic places, and exotic women.  The best part about Matt Helm books, though, is that he doesn’t play cards.  I don’t know how many James Bond novels I stopped reading because I got tired of reading multiple pages of card game ‘action’ sequences.

The plot in this Matt Helm book Murderers Row isn’t really worth describing (and it would probably make the book worse if I tried).  In the scene posted below, Helm has been captured by the femme fatale who had slipped a mickey into Helm’s drink.  That by itself shows what a lousy spy Matt Helm is: he fell for the mickey in his drink.  I’m the most gullible guy around, and even I know not to accept a drink from the femme fatale.  I don’t even try to slip a mickey into the femme fatale’s drink because I know she’s slick enough to switch drinks on me when she displays her… aw, never mind.

Let’s just say I never would have made a good spy.

Anyway, in this scene Helm is stuck with a damsel in distress and trying to figure a way out:

*****

“I-I’ll always be grateful. If- if we get out of this, I’ll show you how grateful I am,” she murmured, clinging to my arm.

“Cut it out,” I said. “Don’t strain my self-control. I might get ideas and rape you right now.”

That brought a startled little giggle from her. After a moment, she said, “Well, go ahead. There isn’t much else to do in this dismal box of a cabin…”

*****

And just in case you don’t believe me…

I wasn’t alive yet in 1962. Maybe the word ‘rape’ had a playful connotation to it that I don’t know about. Words sometimes change meaning over time, and maybe ‘rape’ is one of those words. I admit, I have astonishing gaps in my knowledge, and this could be one of those examples. I could be the only book blogger who doesn’t know that ‘rape’ once had a playful connotation to it. But I don’t think that’s the case. 

People my age often gripe about how ‘soft’ younger generations are and how younger folk are too sensitive and are too easily offended. I kind of agree with that sentiment sometimes, but then I’ll read an excerpt from an old book or see a scene from a decades old movie, and I’ll think, “Yeah, that kind of attitude maybe needed to go.”

*****

My own book might have a couple insensitive moments, but there aren’t any rape jokes.

*****

A grammar-obsessed English teacher falls in ‘luuuvvv’ but discovers how chaotic and dangerous ‘luuuvvv’ can be.

Or you can buy a copy here on Amazon!

Not sure? Read a sample chapter of The Sunset Rises: A 1990s Romantic Comedy.