Assault as plot device?- trigger warning

mentacle

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In one of my YA novel wip's, a historical drama in psuedo 18th century Europe, my male 17-year-old MC is roofied and nearly sexually assaulted by a male villain after attending a ball.

Up to this point the MC was a bit naive and overconfident. The scene is meant to awaken him to the danger of moving against a certain powerful member of Society. The villain can't beat him up because it would leave evidence in the form of injuries; MC is still a noble and therefore protected and relatively privileged. MC has also resisted previous hints and threats. So they try to resort to rape.

The villains's goal is to psychologically scar him, isolate him, humiliate him into silence, and force the MC to give up his quest. It's treated as horrific and frightening (the villain is eventually maimed). MC's rescued before anything happens, though the intended assault is implied via dialogue.

Do you think this scene is an automatic turnoff for readers? And how would I give trigger warnings without spoiling the plot? Should I go for an alternative form of physical attack? I'm trying to gauge how essential to the story this is. He's a visitor to the country, so he doesn't have anyone close to him to threaten, but the villain can't straight up beat him.

I'm also very worried that this could be seen as demonifying gayness, even though there is another "good" gay side character and the second MC, his eventual ally, is trans, bisexual, and non- binary.

Thoughts?
 

frimble3

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No expert here, more informed people will be along, I'm sure, but if you don't make the villain gay, wouldn't that change things in favour of the 'good' gay and bi characters?

Make the villain the kind of creep who's sexual preference is women, but who likes to hurt people. And hurting a young man in a way that can't be publicly discussed just makes the idea better. He's the kind of villain who would rape a young woman for exactly the same reasons, and the higher her rank the better, because the public shame would mean she can't say much about it.
So, he attempts an assault on your MC, then strolls off to his mistress to sulk over being foiled.
 

JKRowley

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When I think of this sort of topic, I think of "Speak". It takes place after the incident, and the MC is dealing with it and all the afters.
 

LadyRedRover

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For me, as a reader, it would probably be a deal-breaker. To most of the survivors I know, the inclusion of any kind of rape is a no-go, especially if it's treated as a plot device (which it almost always is). You should also be aware that there's a good chance that it would probably trigger any of your young adult audience that has gone through assault or rape.

As a writer, I feel as though there are other, better ways to address this. The MC is naive and privileged, which means he likely has little emotional resilience to setbacks and failure. Leverage that. Also, look into your world-building. What would be devastating for a noble in your world? What is taboo and what is embarrassing? How does him being a stranger in a strange land affect others perceptions/prejudices of him? Who does he care about/look up to and what situations can the antagonist put the MC into to make the MC fail that person's expectations in a public way?

There's other power-plays that the antagonist can use to accomplish your goals here. It's up to you whether or not you want to use them or possibly lose a portion of your audience.
 

Woollybear

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Recently beta'd a ms that used rape as a plot device. It didn't work for me.

I wonder if there are other ways the protagonist's naivete can be upended. Character assassination by the villain comes to mind.
 

Animad345

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LadyRedRover wrote:
There's other power-plays that the antagonist can use to accomplish your goals here.
It's up to you whether or not you want to use them or possibly lose a portion of your audience.
Patty wrote:
I wonder if there are other ways the protagonist's naivete can be upended. Character assassination by the villain comes to mind.

I completely agree with their thoughts and suggestions. You've said that the villain's intention is to '
psychologically scar him, isolate him, humiliate him into silence, and force the MC to give up his quest'. I don't think this has to be achieved via a rape scene.

Sounds like a very interesting story, by the way!
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Cobalt Jade

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I think the situation of almost-rape would be more appropriate for an adult novel. I don't think younger readers would be comfortable with it and would probably also miss the subtle nuances.

Could you sub some other sort of assault on dignity and privacy? Like, say, have the villain lure the kid up to the roof, then surprise him by telling him personal information he's found out, or showing him something he's stolen of his, like a secret diary?