Encountering Eve's Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4

ISBN-13: 9780198842576 / Angielski / Twarda / 2020 / 256 str.

Gender a Holly Morse (Lecturer in Bible

Opis

Encountering Eve's Alternative Afterlives: A New Reception Critical Approach to Genesis 2-4 aims to destabilise the persistently pessimistic framing of Eve as a highly negative symbol of femininity within Western culture by engaging with marginal, and even heretical, interpretations that focus on more positive aspects of her character. In doing so it questions the myth that orthodox, popular readings represent the 'true' meaning of Genesis 2-4, and explores the possibility that previously ignored or muted rewritings of Eve are in fact equally 'valid' interpretations of the biblical text. By staging analytical and dialogic encounters between the biblical Eve and re-writings of her story, particularly those that help to challenge the interpretative status quo, this book re-frames the first woman using three key themes from her story: sin, knowledge, and life. Employing a method of ideological reception criticism, it considers how and why the image of Eve as a dangerous temptress has gained considerably more cultural currency than the equally viable pictures of her as a subversive wise woman or as a mourning mother. The book thus offers a re-evaluation of the meanings and the myths of Eve, deconstructing the dominance of her cultural incarnation as a predominantly flawed female, and reconstructing a more nuanced and balanced presentation of the first woman's role in the Bible and her afterlives.

Recenzje

Encountering Eve's Afterlives presents a rich, detailed, and diverse collection of portraits of Eve's story. The use of galleries as opposed to chapters requires some adaption on the reader's part but is a creative way to organize and present such a rich and diverse history.

O autorze

Dr Holly Morse is Lecturer in Bible, Gender and Culture at the University of Manchester. Her research interests include gender, visual arts, and the Bible, female biblical interpretation, and hermeneutics. Her doctoral thesis was on the biblical figure of Eve and her cultural reception, with a focus on marginalised readers and readings.