The rhetoric of satire in Evelyn Conlon's Telling (2000)

Abstract

The work of Evelyn Conlon has often been approached from a feminist perspective. However, her multifaceted style and ironic wit are far from having been examined in depth. This essay examines two stories by Conlon entitled «The Park» and «Birth Certificates». These were first published in Taking Scarlet as a Real Colour in 1993, and reprinted in Telling in 2000. Here I apply Dustin Griffin’s interdisciplinary conception of satiric discourse based on a rhetoric of inquiry, provocation, play and display. Conlon’s writing is not only formally experimental, but also possesses rhetorical variety. Conlon offers new perspectives on the topics she deals with by making a skilful use of irony, paradox, wit and wry humour. Her control of the rhetoric of satire allows her to «tell» uncomfortable truths about the lives of women in Ireland whilst allowing her to denounce the way women were perceived in Ireland at this time.