Christine Hill: ‘Rules for Girls’
Christine Hill reading ‘Rules for Girls’
1. Listen to the man
Tout homme
2. Do what the man says
Toujours
3. Stay silent
Même si l’homme te fait mal
4. The man decides who owns you
Et quando.
5. Obey the priest.
Il primero Papa
fu Pierre
Upon this rock
hypocrisy was built,
pédophiles cachés.
Praise the church?
Obey the priest?
Tu blagues!
6. Fais attention aux animaux hommes!
Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit
selon le prêtre.
Don’t be too loose, too louche, trop salope
too
pissed
No lo des todo
Cover up les jambes, les seins,
your silky skin
o il grande lupo cattivo ti divorerà.
7. Stay alive
Don’t lead him on
Dale lo que quiere
Don’t be too demanding
o demasiado cansado
o troppo brutto
Put on some lipstick, look happy
y no te quejes
Don’t make him kill you.
8. Own your prayers.
Au nom du Dieu le Père
et Dieu le Fils…
For god’s sake,
even a Holy Ghost
is conjured up to humble you,
te mettre à genoux.
Where is God the Girl?
Preghiamo per lei.
9. Know your father.
Le non du père, selon Lacan
Can take you further
farther from your mother
Le Nom du Père
is there
Go find your self
Choose other
règles du jeu.
Translation and notes
Translation and notes (opens in a new page).
Christine Hill is a midwife, psychotherapist, and writer from Melbourne. She studied French and Spanish at university and continues to enjoy reading, writing, and conversing in these ‘other ways’. She is learning Italian.
Her PhD included an experimental play about the emotional world of a baby. Her essay, ‘How could you do this to us?’ was awarded the 2017 Writers Victoria Grace Marion Wilson Prize. In 2018 Meanjin re-published the essay. She is currently writing a selection of short stories.