By Danielle Szewc
Content warning: references to sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, suicide
Women Talking by Miriam Toews gives a fictional voice to the multiple assaults of over 100 Bolivian Mennonite women who were drugged with cattle anesthetics and raped by several men from their colony from 2005 to 2009. As with the women in Bolivia, the women of Molotschna—Toews' fictional South American colony—initially believe the assaults that occurred before the novel takes place to be divine punishment by demons. The assaults are also dismissed by the colony's leader, Peters, as made-up dreams and products of the hysterical female imagination. Once the men are proven to be the assailants, Peters only has the men arrested to avoid being harmed by the vengeful women.
Toews, an ex-Mennonite herself, creates a fictional narrative of the women's two days of decision making. It secretly takes place in a hayloft while the men of the colony are posting bail for the eight men who assaulted the women. The two choices the women have are to either stay and fight the men in the colony or leave the colony and all they know forever. These eight women know they cannot do nothing and have limited time to make a life-changing decision for the women of the colony. They have asked August Epp, the only man in the colony they trust due to his past ex-communication and friendship with Ona Friesen, to record the minutes of their meeting as Mennonite women are not taught how to read or write.
Having August as the minute taker showed that there is hope and allyship in men, as well as that it was necessary for the given situation and circumstances. The women want a written record of their voices, their first act of defiance against the colony, and ownership of themselves. However, his feelings for Ona take away from this aspect as he states he is only taking the minutes since he is in love with her.
The women make difficult decisions based on their upbringing and faith—can they forgive the men so they are able to enter the Kingdom of God, and if not, where would they go as they can neither read nor write and have no knowledge of the outside world. The women make valid arguments as they struggle with their beliefs before making a final decision.
The use of the different ages and generations within the same matriarchal families adds to the principal themes of family and upbringing displayed in Toews' novel. Faith and its role in creating the idea of the submissive female is called into question as these women realize they can be the writers of their own lives. Overall, in Women Talking, Toews has expertly crafted and created a #metoo piece for women whose voices may never be fully heard.