56 pages • 1 hour read
H. D. CarltonDoes It Hurt?
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Genre Context: Dark Romance
Content Warning: This section discusses rape and sexual assault.
Dark romance is a controversial genre that mixes themes and elements from thrillers, suspense, and horror with narrative tropes and techniques from the romance genre. Where romance generally focuses on characters meeting and falling in love in idyllic or romanticized settings, dark romance presents relationships where at least one of the participants exhibits problematic or immoral traits, and there are often undercurrents of trauma, violence, or sexual violence. In dark romance novels, characters’ relationships usually unfold in a contextual setting that is meant to disturb or unsettle the reader. Some dark romance works incorporate supernatural or paranormal elements, blending in distinct aspects of horror to enhance the setting in which the romance builds. Carlton is known for her work in dark romance, which is often seen as pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable in the genre; her novel includes instances of dubious consent, violence, and rape. For example, in Carlton’s book Haunting Adeline, the male romantic lead stalks the titular character and similarly features sexual assault and coercion.
Does It Hurt? follows Carlton’s pattern of including morally gray characters that follow an “enemies to lovers” narrative. In the novel, Sawyer and Enzo develop conflicting feelings of love and hate for one another. Unlike many works in this subgenre, Enzo and Sawyer begin their relationship as lovers, grow to hate one another, and finally overcome their hate to find love. This narrative choice fits inside the dark romance genre, which Carlton layers with ghosts, a dangerous setting, and the threat of both mortal and sexual violence. Kacey’s character particularly adds a distinct horror element to the story. Her presentation as a ghost in most of the novel, then as a captive at the end, combines body horror and psychological horror to complete Sawyer and Enzo’s narrative of survival.
Cultural Context: Rape Culture
Rape culture is defined as a culture in which sexual violence is normalized or excused, often through misogyny, objectification, and denial. A large part of rape culture is the socially prevalent urge to disbelieve or reject claims of sexual violence, either by diverting blame to the victim—which is called victim-blaming—or by disregarding the prevalence of sexual violence. In each instance, society takes the stance that either sexual violence does not occur or that women cannot be trusted to accurately report instances of sexual violence. Often, this paradigm relies on the assumption that men are inherently trustworthy, and only women who stray outside of socially acceptable behavior open themselves to the possibility of sexual violence.
Rape culture plays a significant role in understanding Does It Hurt? as Sawyer describes how no one believed her claim that Kevin, her twin brother, was sexually abusing her. Instead, Sawyer’s parents and others choose to believe that Kevin is more trustworthy, and they blame Sawyer for trying to tarnish his reputation. Following Sawyer murdering Kevin, she flees the country rather than argue self-defense precisely because of the rape culture of the United States, in which she already knows she will not be believed. Throughout the novel, Sawyer draws comparisons between Enzo saying Sawyer is “easy” or a “slut” and the ways Kevin sought to undermine Sawyer’s sense of self and trust—highlighting that they are both examples of rape culture.
Related Titles
By H. D. Carlton
