ABSTRACT
This chapter raises critical questions about voice, silence, and agency in feminist theorizing and practice. Noting that agency has often been viewed as a positive in feminist circles, aided by voice and disabled by silence, the argument unfolds here that the famous triad can be entirely or partially undone by a number of factors. Among these is the agentic ontology of war, which rarely provides opportunities for voice, disables silence as a shield from harm, and can subject some to the brutal agency of others. As well, feminist disagreements over the problematic concept of difference can silence some “difficult” feminist voices and enable others to be heard, understood and enacted. Throughout, the arguments draw from a combination of feminist circumstance, dilemmas presented in war novels, and literary analysis to make the point that the voice, silence, agency triad is not as useful in some instances as it is in others; in fact, the triad might be in need of a serious rethink.
