What is it about?
When the city of Jerusalem is personified as a woman in the Hebrew Bible, her body is often described in graphic or even "pornoprophetic" ways. Despite the violence she endures, Woman Jerusalem responds with remarkable agency. As a methodology, New Materialism forges new paths when considering the female body and agency: namely, literal and literary bodies possess the ability to transform their literal and literary worlds, even when—especially when—these bodies become entangled in violent acts.
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Why is it important?
We tend to think of violence as the end of agency. It is not. Instead, violence often awakens a new sense of agency in those who endure it.
Perspectives
This article is a part of my larger project that follows Woman Jerusalem through biblical and early Jewish texts. In some ways, this was the hardest chapter to write, because the violence against her is at its peak. But in other ways, it was the most inspiring, because that violence awakens and quickens her agency. Never again does she endure such abuse, outlasting her tormentors and emerging anew.
Dr. Cindy Dawson
University of Houston
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Matter of Violence, Biblical Interpretation, March 2024, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/15685152-20240002.
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