58 pages • 1 hour read
Ruth WareThe Woman in Cabin 10
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Powerlessness and Violated Space
The theme of powerlessness and violated space is demonstrated through the trials that Lo experiences both in her own apartment and aboard the ship, in her cabin. Lo begins the novel as a victim; particularly, she is burglarized, and experiences symptoms of post-traumatic stress as a result of that experience. Lo becomes obsessed with the idea of privacy after this incident, and is troubled when she boards the ship and her items begin to go missing, as if someone has been rifling through her belongings. Lo's space is violated over and over again, and each time she becomes more powerless as a result, and more traumatized.
Lo fights her role as a victim, and is frequently pushing back against her own mental health problems and her responses to having her space violated by strangers, without her permission. This theme becomes more intense as the subject of sexual violence comes up–first, Ben attacks Lo in the hallway near their cabins; later, Lo witnesses the violent behavior of other men on the ship, particularly Richard Bullmer's associate, Archer. Lo's physical space is violated, though her body is not violated; Ware seems to be making a conscious connection between the traumatizing nature of violation, particular when it is experienced by women. Ultimately, many of the female characters in the novel bond over the ways they have been victimized, and this bonding gives them strength against their attackers.
Women and Mental Illness
Ware makes it clear that part of the work of this novel is a discussion of women and mental illness; particularly she seems interested in the ways that mental health is stigmatized, and the way that the testimony of women is rejected due to trauma and mental illness.
Lo is on antidepressants, and is transparent with the audience about her chemical need for the pills, which doesn't seem to stem from any childhood abuse, trauma, or emotional distress. This focus on the chemical treatment of depression is a unique one, and one that forces the reader to consider mental illness in the same way they might consider treatment for a physical ailment. Despite this narrative, Lo is silenced because of her drinking, her trauma, and her depression medication. As a woman, she is considered hysterical, and her testimony is rejected because of that fact. Ware speaks to the systematic silencing of women experiencing trauma in this story about Lo, and also critiques the male characters who refuse to consider her story as valid, despite her trauma. Ware also makes it clear that female testimony is often purposefully ignored in order to benefit powerful men, and that mental illness and trauma are frequently cited as proof that women are unreliable, despite the absurdity of that ideology.
Wealth, Masculinity, and Power
There are a number of powerful, wealthy, male characters in The Woman in Cabin 10, and very few of them are kind or well-meaning. With these characters, which include Richard Bullmer, Johann Nilsson, and the police force and other society men who defend him, Ware makes an argument about the inherent power that comes from being white, wealthy, and male in the Western world.
The ship that Bullmer owns is entirely white, and decorated luxuriously; it is a symbol of his resources, and of his power. It should not be lost on readers that Lo becomes trapped within this symbol of luxury; the boat becomes a physical and symbolic prison, which stops Lo from threatening Bullmer's reputation and influence. It is also significant that Lo feels uncomfortable in this white, luxurious world from the start; she is not a part of this world, and is excluded for a number of reasons, not the least of which are her wealth, power, and gender.
Even the male characters who are well-meaning and innocent of any crime are called into question as conspirators in this novel. Ben Howard, who turns out to be both innocent and helpful to Lo, as she tries to escape the ship, is complicit in sexual violence, questioning Lo's credibility, and aggressive and threatening behavior. By making even the well-meaning male characters part of this system of power and masculinity, Ware makes it clear that this problem is not about one evil man, but about a system of influence that benefits all powerful men, good and evil, and that all men benefit and are complicit in some way in this system.
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