Miriam Toews' Women Talking and the Embodied Life of Feminist Nonviolence.

This article analyzes Miriam Toews' novel *Women Talking* (2018), focusing on how the women of a remote Mennonite colony embody feminist politics through gestures, postures, and bodily comportment as they respond to serial sexual violence and envision a nonhierarchical, nonviolent community. It argues that the novel stages a transformative feminist pacifism rooted in Mennonite faith, where nonviolence is reimagined as an active, relational practice involving embodied care, collective movement, and radical reorientation of social and gender norms. Key figures include Salome, whose anger catalyzes change, and Melvin, a transgender survivor whose identity challenges traditional gender roles, both contributing to the community's feminist transformation. The article highlights how the novel's emphasis on physical acts and bodily relations complements its focus on dialogue, suggesting that feminist nonviolence in the text is enacted through shared bodily rhythms, gestures, and mutual support, ultimately enabling the women's collective escape and the creation of new social possibilities.