Mis‐taken Love: Conversations on the Problem of Incest in an Irish Context.

A "systemic" dis-position in conversations on father-daughter incest is explored, wherein a language of control and competition, implicitly negating individuals and their relationships, is suspended as a rationale for action.

Abstract

An emotive consciousness of the issues surrounding incest frequently calls forth revulsion, outrage, fear, concern, and competition. Such responses often legitimate a range of actions that include the protection of children, the blaming of mothers, and the punishment of fathers. This article explores a "systemic" dis-position in conversations on father-daughter incest. The notion of a "Fifth Province" (from Celtic mythology) is invoked wherein all emotions, judgements, and descriptions can find acceptance, and whereby a language of control and competition, implicitly negating individuals and their relationships, is suspended as a rationale for action.