O Mother, Where Art Thou?

An Irigarayan Reading of the Book of Chronicles

Nonfiction, History, Ancient History
Cover of the book O Mother, Where Art Thou? by Julie Kelso, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Julie Kelso ISBN: 9781317490722
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: June 16, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Julie Kelso
ISBN: 9781317490722
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: June 16, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

According to Kelso, the Book of Chronicles silences women in specific ways, most radically through their association with maternity. Drawing on the work of two feminist philosophers, Luce Irigaray and Michelle Boulous Walker, she argues that we may discern two principal strategies of silencing women in Chronicles: disavowal and repression of the maternal body. In its simplest form, the silencing of women takes place through both an explicit and implicit strategy of excluding them from the central action. Largely banished from the central action, they are hardly able to contribute to the production of Israel s past. On a more complex level, however, women are most effectively silenced through their association with maternity, because the maternal body is both disavowed and repressed in Chronicles. The association of women with maternity, along with the disavowal and repression of the maternal body as origin of the masculine subject, effects and guarantees the silence of the feminine, enabling man to imagine himself as sole producer of his world. These strategies of silencing the feminine need to be understood in relation to the relative absence of women from the narrative world of Chronicles. Kelso argues that Chronicles depends on the absence and silence of women for its imaginary coherence. This argument is enabled by Irigarayan theory. But more importantly, Kelso suggests that Irigaray also offers us a viable mode (not method) of reading, writing, listening, and speaking as woman (whatever that might mean), in relation to the so-called origins of western culture, specifically the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. She argues that Irigaray enables a not only rigorous, feminist critique of patriarchy and its many texts, but also, somewhat more charitably, a mode of reading that enables women to read the past differently, seeking out what remains to be discovered, especially the forgotten future in the past.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

According to Kelso, the Book of Chronicles silences women in specific ways, most radically through their association with maternity. Drawing on the work of two feminist philosophers, Luce Irigaray and Michelle Boulous Walker, she argues that we may discern two principal strategies of silencing women in Chronicles: disavowal and repression of the maternal body. In its simplest form, the silencing of women takes place through both an explicit and implicit strategy of excluding them from the central action. Largely banished from the central action, they are hardly able to contribute to the production of Israel s past. On a more complex level, however, women are most effectively silenced through their association with maternity, because the maternal body is both disavowed and repressed in Chronicles. The association of women with maternity, along with the disavowal and repression of the maternal body as origin of the masculine subject, effects and guarantees the silence of the feminine, enabling man to imagine himself as sole producer of his world. These strategies of silencing the feminine need to be understood in relation to the relative absence of women from the narrative world of Chronicles. Kelso argues that Chronicles depends on the absence and silence of women for its imaginary coherence. This argument is enabled by Irigarayan theory. But more importantly, Kelso suggests that Irigaray also offers us a viable mode (not method) of reading, writing, listening, and speaking as woman (whatever that might mean), in relation to the so-called origins of western culture, specifically the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. She argues that Irigaray enables a not only rigorous, feminist critique of patriarchy and its many texts, but also, somewhat more charitably, a mode of reading that enables women to read the past differently, seeking out what remains to be discovered, especially the forgotten future in the past.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Skepticism and Belief in Early Modern England by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Digital Sociology by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Rock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Complex Words in English by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Anthropology and Alterity by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Maternity and Reproductive Health in Asian Societies by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Ideology and Social Knowledge by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Demanding Sex: Critical Reflections on the Regulation of Prostitution by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Environmental Management in Organizations by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Raja Serfoji II by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Routledge Revivals: Literary Fat Ladies (1987) by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Understanding Research in Education by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book A World of Polities by Julie Kelso
Cover of the book Japan and Germany as Regional Actors by Julie Kelso
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy