But he knew how it had happened. The health which the Land gave him had taken him by surprise. After months of impotence and repressed fury, he had not been prepared for the sudden rush of his vitality.
Covenant explains his rape of Lena, (to paraphrase), "Oh, I just couldn't help myself. That's why I hit her too. I couldn't help slapping her face before I raped her."
Ahhh, the old idea that rape is about desire and not power, and that men are just too filled with lust to control themselves.
This is one step away from, "Lena was gagging for it. She was asking for it. She likes to play rough, and I just gave her what she wanted."
