A Hockey Culture

A hockey culture is a loaded phrase. Much like author George Orwell pointed out with certain
political buzzwords the phrase has different definitions depending on who you ask. Sometimes
these varying definitions can actually be from the same person over decades of reflection, as in
the case of Rank in the novel The Antagonist. Through reflection Rank reveals the varying
treatment of women he has seen throughout his life. What can be inferred through analyzing the
novel is the role of women in the eye of this so called hockey culture storm both pre and post
Ranks actually playing of the sport. Rank, however, is not the topic of this analysis, rather he
acts as a scope used to view the role of women in the story. Despite being exposed to this culture
Rank remains in a so called pure state, which allows the author to analyze the various social
groups through an objective lens.

Childhood
Although Ranks childhood came before his hockey playing days the culture is still present to an
extent. All throughout his childhood Ranks Father, Gord, embodies this competitive and
sometimes aggressive personality trait, particularly in the way he treats Ranks Mother, Sylvie.
This mistreatment is a good place to start when analyzing the text from a feminist perspective, as
it not only appears first chronologically but also occurs at a time where Rank is at his peak of
vulnerability. While the violence is not physical it very much still exists, only in the form of
verbal attacks. If not for the twos relationship ship status it would likely be considered bullying
instead of domestic abuse. What is ironic about the situation is that Rank learns the opposite of
what would be expected through growing up in this environment, as he actually learns to respect
women more through watching a woman he holds as a saint walking the Earth getting mistreated.

Hockey Years
In an attempt to work less at his Fathers business, Rank joins a hockey team in his high school
years. Rank intentionally downplays his interest in the sport however, as he knows that if his
Father finds out he enjoys it he will ruin it for him, further linking Gord to the hockey culture.
Ranks intimidating figure aids him in his hockey career to the point where he is given a
university scholarship for his play. At this point in the novel a moral dilemma arrives for Rank,
as a fight he was involved in when in high school makes him petrified of his physical abilities.
This may sound like the plot to a super hero movie, but in reality it is yet another example of
Coady use of Ranks character to give her take on this male dominated world she has created
based on her real world perception. The moral dilemma comes to a front when Ranks hockey
coach all but singles him out for not playing to his strengths, also known as his 64 stature. He
spouts things such as (as he so elegantly puts it) I'm so sick of trying to coach a bunch of
goddamn pussies. Again, after being exposed to this kind of environment for so long you would
think Rank would start to take on some of these qualities. This is not the case however, and as
the author tries to show this is yet another case of what she would likely call a hockey culture.
A male dominated cracking skulls environment where the big and strong rule the roost. You
can see how someone being exposed to this line of thinking would start to be effected, as the
novel tries to show, not through the corruption of Rank, rather the anomaly of a situation in
which he is not effected.

Post Hockey
After Rank quits the team due to his disagreements with his coach more feminist based topics
arise. Ive already covered these occurrences in the novel, so to summarize Rank defends the

innocence of women to an extent which even he himself knows to be ridiculous. Id argue that
the use of Ranks character as an upstanding moral person goes further than the need for him to
be sympathetic, rather that Coady uses the character to show how unlikely it is for a regular
person to go through all these experiences and different atmospheres and still hold no prejudices
or ignorant beliefs. Ranks journey throughout his young life probably doesnt differ too much
from the experience of many people, however the results do. This is not to say that this hockey
culture effects everyone or even the majority of people, rather that, like many environments, it
does have negative effects. Rank is the exception and it would be foolish to assume he is the
norm in relation to feminism.