Ruined

The play’s Introduction, by Kate Whoriskey, makes clear the significance of rape during wartime: “it was not just a tool to humiliate the women or to degrade the opposing side’s masculinity, it was a way to strip women of their wombs” (xi). All of the women in the play suffer from a rape-related physical injury and/or the psychological effects of rape. Sophie’s injuries via a bayonet attack have rendered her incapable of having sexual intercourse, which means that at the age of eighteen, she has already been stripped of the opportunity to bear children. Salima’s imprisonment by soldiers results in an unwanted pregnancy of uncertain paternity, and in desperation, Salima appears to kill the baby and herself in a powerful display of the knock-on emotional effects of her imprisonment. Though the soldiers allowed Salima to live, ultimately, they directly contribute to her cause of death. Even Mama Nadi, despite all of her strength and brazen ambition, admits in a vulnerable moment to having been “ruined” earlier in her life; she feels undeserving of the marriage and happy life Christian offers her, due to her own experiences with sexual violence. No matter if they are