Judith: Sexual Warrior: Women and Power in Western Culture

By Margarita Stocker

Book Overview

The Old Testament story of the widow Judith--the irresistible siren who lured her people's deadly enemy, Holofernes, to his death, beheading him in his own bed to save Jerusalem--is an enduring cultural myth in Western society. In this original and provocative book, Margarita Stocker explores the Western fascination with the image of Judith and the abundance of interpretations that have surrounded her at different times between the early Middle Ages and the present day. The myth of Judith provides an important key to modern society's view of women and power, the book argues. In dealing with the threatening image of a powerful femme fatale who is also a saint, the vested interests of Western culture have deliberately, often deviously, subverted images of sex and death as a way of marginalizing women and protecting traditional notions of masculinity.

The book investigates the periodic resurgence of the Judith legend and how the myth and history become confused. An ambiguous figure, Judith has served symbolic purposes for such diverse groups as Protestant partisans during the Wars of Religion and their Catholic counterparts, aristocratic women supporters of the Protestant Reformation, opponents of the French Revolution, Nazi myth- makers, filmmakers obsessed with gun-toting girls, freedom fighters, partisans in the former Yugoslavia, and many others. Judith's various guises illuminate central issues of Western consciousness--sex, death, violence, politics, beliefs, identity, psychology, and perversion. In exploring the theme of Judith, an alternative history of Western attitudes emerges. Judith is not so much a killer as a liberating figure challenging our thinking about women and power and showing ways to break free from unconscious attitudes that imprison us.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300186959
• ISBN13: 9780300186956
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Judith -- a heroine for all eras

"Judith: Sexual Warrior" is a book that would appeal to historians, sociologists, artists, theologians and the general public alike. Margarita Stocker does a phenomenal job of exploring the myth of the Apocryphal heroine, Judith. In great detail, she analyzes how the story has affected and been interpreted by societies and individuals througout the ages. Through paintings, sculpture, plays and poetry; erotica, political propaganda, housewares and Hollywood; the myth of Judith has been employed to speak on behalf of sexual freedom, feminism, Protestantism and democracy. Just as the Apocryphal story has caught the intellect and instigated the passions of millions throughout history, so will "Judith: Sexual Warrior" capture your mind and challenge your beliefs about how we as human beings imprison ourselves in our own mythologies.I would not recommend this book for readers younger than college age. The book explores patterns of -- and beliefs about -- sex, violence and murder in graphic and realistic language innappropriate for young readers. It reads at a College or Master's level and employs the use of many Latin, French, Italian and German words and phrases, for which translations are not provided.I would highly recommend this book to any adult interested in human behavior, literary analysis, Biblical interpretation, and the development of society. It will make you think, will make you question your views of gender, politics, religion and society. I would have given the book a five star rating, if not for the rather difficult language and the fact that it is not appropriate for all audiences. As it stands, I would have given it four and a half stars if that were an option.Buy this book and enjoy the adventure!