“It happened to all of us”: Disclosing Sexual Abuse in Catholic Ireland in Roddy Doyle’s Smile

Abstract

In Smile (2017), Roddy Doyle represents a society that is still heavily influenced by the moral authority of the Catholic Church and that, therefore, avoids any open discussion about sexuality in any of its manifestations. In the midst of this climate, Victor Forde, the working-class protagonist of the novel, tries to disclose the sexual abuse he suffered as a child in a Christian Brotherhood School. In my article, I argue that the silences and taboos that permeate the society as represented in the novel, and the protagonist’s awareness that his social position made him the perfect target for abuse, condition Victor’s only opportunity for disclosure; this – and the absolute failure of his attempts at divulgence – ultimately frustrates his chances of healing from trauma and of leading an ordinary life.