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As a novel on contemporary issues (shishi xiaoshuo 时事小说), the unfinished novel The Stone of Goddess Nüwa (Nüwa shi 女娲石; 1904-1905) recounts a story about new women’s attempts to save the nation, which is a reflection of late-Qing China. From a historical perspective, I aim to provide a study of the Nüwa stone and characterization of new women in the novel with the help of multiple intertexts. My thesis explores how the stone and the characterization elaborate the theme and design of the novel: new women saving the nation, which includes radical ideas for women and national salvation in the late Qing. Against the socio-cultural context of The Stone of Goddess Nüwa, I argue that through the characterization and narrative designs of the stone, the novel presents its explorations to solve social and political problems for national salvation, in which female power plays a central and crucial role. This thesis endeavors to both enrich the understanding and value of The Stone of Goddess Nüwa from a historical perspective and call critical attention to its meaning in the decades’ exploration of improving both China and Chinese women in literary works from the late Qing.

This study is about the artist Monica Sjoo’s (1938-2005) painting God giving birth (1968) that was accused of being blasphemous and obscene in the early 1970s. God giving birth could have had much in common with Niki de Saint-Phalle’s She – a cathedral (1966), both works suggesting a mother goddess image. The main difference however can be found in the fact that Monica Sjoo’s painting had connection to the women’s movement in the 1970s. Monica Sjoo’s artwork responded to other feminist artwork of that period. Among several feminist artists during the period about 1968-1985, an iconography was in use that focused on vulvar imagery, experience of childbirth and goddess images. In particulary the mother goddess was embraced. The female body in art was re-sacred and invested with meaning connected with women’s cycles of birth-death and rebirth and the earth as a mother goddess.

Les représentations des divinités féminines hindoues mises au jour au Bengale, stèles et statues de pierre ou de métal, ont été analysées à partir d'un corpus d'un peu plus de trois cents œuvres que nous avons collectées dans les musées indiens, bangladais et occidentaux, mais aussi dans les catalogues, études et publications diverses. L'étude iconographique sera faite par une mise en perspective des images, de l'épigraphie, de la littérature et des concepts théologiques exprimés dans les textes sacrés. La première partie de cette recherche est une étude chronologique consacrée (1) à l'étude des plaques de terre cuite produites au Bengale entre le IIIᵉ siècle av. notre ère et le IIᵉ après qui représentent divers personnages féminins portant déjà pour certains les caractéristiques iconographiques de la divinité telles qu'on les trouvera sur les images ultérieures, et (2) à l'apparition et au développement de la parèdre de Śiva dans son rôle d'épouse : à partir du IXᵉ siècle et jusqu'au XIIᵉ siècle, c'est en effet la Déesse, śakti du dieu, qui est omniprésente. Les déesses viṣṇuites n'occupent qu'une infime partie du corpus. Dans la deuxième partie, ce sont les formes redoutables de la Déesse śivaïte, Durgā siṃhavāhinī, Mahiṣāsuramardinī et Cāmuṇḍā/Kālī qui sont analysées. Les déesses serpents gardent leur spécificité malgré leur intégration dans le panthéon śivaïte. L'étude stylistique des images permet d'identifier le développement des différentes écoles de la région avec, à partir des XIᵉ et XIIᵉ siècles, une différence notable entre les stèles à la décoration foisonnante du nord-ouest du Bengale et celles dépouillées et empreintes de spiritualité de la région de Dhaka devenue le centre du pouvoir sous les Sena. Cette étude iconographique permet de constater que de la bhakti apparue à l'époque des Épopées, aux cultes tantriques ésotériques les plus transgressifs, le Bengale médiéval a beaucoup développé les cultes śākta en l'honneur de la Déesse Suprême rattachée au panthéon śivaïte : les courants orthodoxes, kaula et Trika non dualistes, et peut-être Nātha ont pu être identifiés. Mais quelle que soit la voie choisie, le but de l'adepte reste le même, la libération, mokṣa, et la fusion avec la Déesse Suprême. / The production in Bengal of stone stelae and stone and metal statues representing Hindu Goddesses, dated from prehistory up to the twelfth century was assembled in a collection of more than three hundred pieces from the museums in India, Bangladesh and Western countries, from catalogues and from other scholar research publications. The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is the analysis of the collection.The first part of this research is a chronological approach. Between the third century B.C. and the second century A.D., there was an important production of terracotta plaques with feminine figurines but it is difficult to say whether they were modeled for decoration or for cult purposes. Later, other than some beautiful terracotta statues representing Mahiṣāsuramardinī and snake goddesses dated around the fifth century, there is a paucity of images until the eighth century. The pieces dating from the ninth up to the twelfth century in the collection are quite all images of the Goddess, Śiva's śakti and wife, and the stelae are quite all narratives and dedicated to orthodox cults.The second part of the research is a more detailed analysis of the fearsome forms of the Goddess: Durgā siṃhavāhinī, Mahiṣāsuramardinī, Cāmuṇḍā; the snake goddesses, although being incorporated within the Śaiva pantheon, keep a specific role.Stylistic elements facilitate the identification of several schools of sculpture, with, by the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a substantial difference between the abundance of decorative elements on the stelae from North-West of Bengal and the bare style of those conceived in the area of Dhaka.From a religious point of view, an evolution from the narrative to the esoteric tantric images shows different types of beliefs and śākta cults: orthodox, non dualist kaula and Trika, and may be Nātha, being understood that whichever way is chosen, the goal remains the same: mokṣa and merge within the Supreme Goddess.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:49:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ANA LUISA ALVES CORDEIRO.pdf: 1151113 bytes, checksum: f7942a3c4ac0cf3c9c0de1dc63942b13 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-12 / To several readers of the holy Bible the idea of a single God, Yahweh, seems to be clear. Thought, the Bible and some other archaeological discoverys shows that things were not always like this. Before a monotheist theological elaboration on ancient Israel, there was a religious polytheistic reality, wich Yahweh was part of. The research intend to clarify this reality, questioning for the presence of the female divinity, specially Asherah, for the impacts of Josiah reform (around the VII b.C. century, in the ancient Israel) and the important points on the discution about the Goddess nowadays. The research intend to study 2Kings 23,4-7, showing that are actions taken for the good of monotheism, are held by intolerance, violence and suppression of the other. The female representation, while Goddess, was present in the ancient Israel and even suppressed in the monotheist elaboration process, the Goddess continue resurging nowadays like symbolic possibility to imagine the holy. / Para a maioria das pessoas que lêem a Bíblia, a idéia de um único Deus, Javé, parece ser clara. No entanto, tanto a Bíblia quanto algumas descobertas arqueológicas deixam entrever que nem sempre foi assim. Antes de uma elaboração teológica monoteísta no antigo Israel havia uma realidade religiosa politeísta, da qual Javé também fazia parte. A pesquisa busca elucidar essa realidade, perguntando pela presença da divindade feminina, em especial Aserá, pelos impactos da reforma de Josias (em meados do século VII a.C., no antigo Israel) e as relevâncias da discussão sobre a Deusa na atualidade. A pesquisa busca analisar o texto de 2Reis 23,4-7, demonstrando que se trata de medidas impetradas em prol do monoteísmo, permeadas de intolerância, violência e supressão do(a) outro(a). A representação feminina, enquanto Deusa, esteve presente no antigo Israel e apesar de suprimidas no processo de elaboração monoteísta, as Deusas continuam ressurgindo na atualidade como possibilidade simbólica de imaginar o sagrado.

Esta tese tem como objeto de estudo as antologias da literatura sânscrita conhecidas como Puräëa e tem como objetivo observá-las como uma unidade enunciativa, relacionado-as aos elementos históricos e sociais com os quais essas obras conviveram durante seu longo período de compilação, que se estende aproximadamente do século III d.C. até por volta do século XV d.C. Para tal fim, adotaram-se como linhas teóricas a Semiótica greimasiana, as contribuições dos escritos atribuídos a Mikhail Bakhtin e predominantemente a Análise do Discurso de linha francesa, cuja perspectiva permite investigar o universo de relações existentes entre construção lingüística e elementos sócio-culturais. Os relatos míticos detacam-se como tema privilegiado por esta pesquisa, visto que concentram, em suas narrativas, as interações e negociações culturais que participaram do processo de consolidação das práticas sociais hinduístas, das quais a recitação dos Puräëa faz parte. E, uma vez que os Puräëa consistem em antologias, a presença de determinados episódios míticos revela pressupostos culturais que possibilitam identificar o diálogo existente entre os vários estratos sociais que interagiram na formação do hinduísmo. Observa-se, ademais, o papel que essa literatura desempenhou em meio às outras literaturas de seu cenário cultural, examinando-se seu estatuto de escritura sagrada a partir do conceito de discurso constituinte, o que leva ao panorama das relações interdiscursivas dos enunciados purânicos com outras vertentes da cultura sânscrita, a saber, a tradição védica e o movimento cultural do tantrismo. Exemplifica-se, por fim, o conjunto das reflexões expostas na tese com o hino conhecido como Devé-mähätmya, composto antes do século VII d.C. e transmitido junto à antologia chamada Märkaëòeya. A mitologia da Grande Deusa é vista como um expoente das relações históricas vivenciadas durante o período em que ocorreram a compilação das antologias purânicas e a consolidação do hinduísmo. / The object of research of this thesis is the collection of anthologies known as Puräëa in Sanskrit Literature and its purpose is to survey them as an enunciative unity. This is done by relating the individual works to historical and social elements with which they coexisted during the long period of their compilation, which spreads approximately from III B.C.E to XV C.E. With this purpose in mind we assume as theoretical bases Greimasian Semiotics, the works attributed to Mikhail Bakhtin and mainly French Discourse Analysis, whose perspective allows one to investigate the whole of relations existing between verbal constructions and socio-cultural elements. The mythical narratives stand out as a significant subject of this research inasmuch as they condense in speech form the cultural interactions and negotiations that were in act in the process of consolidation of Hindu social practices, among which the recitation of the Puräëa took part. And since the Puräëa works are anthologies, the occurrence of some mythical accounts can disclose cultural presuppositions that allow us to recognize the existing dialogue between several social strata intervening in the shaping of Hinduism. Furthermore, we observe the role performed by Puräëa literature in the midst of other literatures sharing the same cultural environment by the examination of its status of sacred scripture through the concept of Self-Constituting discourse. That approach leads us to an overview of the interdiscoursive relations of Puräëa enunciates with other trends of Sanskrit culture, namely, the Vedic tradition and Tantrism as a cultural movement. At last, our ideas are exemplified by the analysis of the hymn known as Devémähätmya, composed before VII B.C.E and handed down along with the anthology called Märkaëòeya. The mythology of the Great Goddess it presents is seen as an exponent of the historical relations that took place during the time the Puräëa anthologies were compiled and Hinduism was consolidated.

The aim of this study has been to investigate in feminist terms whether or not the character Grendel’s mother symbolizes early matrilineal tribes in the form of the Norse goddess Gefion, also claimed to be the Earth goddess. The claim has been brought forward in an article by Frank Battaglia on the grounds that the chthonic deity is mentioned on several occasions in Beowulf. However, Grendel’s mother’s possible connection to the goddess has not been treated extensively in a feminist context, despite the apparent link between feminism and matrilineal tribes in a patriarchal hierarchy. The modern translations of her character as a monster stand in stark contrast to the original manuscript where she is depicted as an aglӕcwif, “female warrior”. The subject has given rise to a number of feminist researches on the theme of the so called “woman-as-monster” stereotype. These argue that Grendel’s mother has fallen victim to enforced marginalization due to etymological faults as well as sexist stereotypes in Anglo-Saxon literary culture. On the background of Moi’s definition of a woman and Kristeva’s concept of the abject, results demonstrate that Grendel’s mother may very well symbolize the female Other in a new social order, embodied or represented as the Earth goddess.

Esta tese tem como objeto de estudo as antologias da literatura sânscrita conhecidas como Puräëa e tem como objetivo observá-las como uma unidade enunciativa, relacionado-as aos elementos históricos e sociais com os quais essas obras conviveram durante seu longo período de compilação, que se estende aproximadamente do século III d.C. até por volta do século XV d.C. Para tal fim, adotaram-se como linhas teóricas a Semiótica greimasiana, as contribuições dos escritos atribuídos a Mikhail Bakhtin e predominantemente a Análise do Discurso de linha francesa, cuja perspectiva permite investigar o universo de relações existentes entre construção lingüística e elementos sócio-culturais. Os relatos míticos detacam-se como tema privilegiado por esta pesquisa, visto que concentram, em suas narrativas, as interações e negociações culturais que participaram do processo de consolidação das práticas sociais hinduístas, das quais a recitação dos Puräëa faz parte. E, uma vez que os Puräëa consistem em antologias, a presença de determinados episódios míticos revela pressupostos culturais que possibilitam identificar o diálogo existente entre os vários estratos sociais que interagiram na formação do hinduísmo. Observa-se, ademais, o papel que essa literatura desempenhou em meio às outras literaturas de seu cenário cultural, examinando-se seu estatuto de escritura sagrada a partir do conceito de discurso constituinte, o que leva ao panorama das relações interdiscursivas dos enunciados purânicos com outras vertentes da cultura sânscrita, a saber, a tradição védica e o movimento cultural do tantrismo. Exemplifica-se, por fim, o conjunto das reflexões expostas na tese com o hino conhecido como Devé-mähätmya, composto antes do século VII d.C. e transmitido junto à antologia chamada Märkaëòeya. A mitologia da Grande Deusa é vista como um expoente das relações históricas vivenciadas durante o período em que ocorreram a compilação das antologias purânicas e a consolidação do hinduísmo. / The object of research of this thesis is the collection of anthologies known as Puräëa in Sanskrit Literature and its purpose is to survey them as an enunciative unity. This is done by relating the individual works to historical and social elements with which they coexisted during the long period of their compilation, which spreads approximately from III B.C.E to XV C.E. With this purpose in mind we assume as theoretical bases Greimasian Semiotics, the works attributed to Mikhail Bakhtin and mainly French Discourse Analysis, whose perspective allows one to investigate the whole of relations existing between verbal constructions and socio-cultural elements. The mythical narratives stand out as a significant subject of this research inasmuch as they condense in speech form the cultural interactions and negotiations that were in act in the process of consolidation of Hindu social practices, among which the recitation of the Puräëa took part. And since the Puräëa works are anthologies, the occurrence of some mythical accounts can disclose cultural presuppositions that allow us to recognize the existing dialogue between several social strata intervening in the shaping of Hinduism. Furthermore, we observe the role performed by Puräëa literature in the midst of other literatures sharing the same cultural environment by the examination of its status of sacred scripture through the concept of Self-Constituting discourse. That approach leads us to an overview of the interdiscoursive relations of Puräëa enunciates with other trends of Sanskrit culture, namely, the Vedic tradition and Tantrism as a cultural movement. At last, our ideas are exemplified by the analysis of the hymn known as Devémähätmya, composed before VII B.C.E and handed down along with the anthology called Märkaëòeya. The mythology of the Great Goddess it presents is seen as an exponent of the historical relations that took place during the time the Puräëa anthologies were compiled and Hinduism was consolidated.

The present study is an interpretation of the two myths copied in the Old Babylonian period in which the Sumerian mother goddess is one of the main actors. The first myth is commonly called “Enki and Ninḫursaĝa”, and the second “Enki and Ninmaḫ”. The theoretical point of departure is that myths have society as their referents, i.e. they are “talking about” society, and that this is done in an ideological way. This study aims at investigating on the one hand which contexts in the Mesopotamian society each section of the myths refers to, and on the other hand which ideological aspects that the myths express in terms of power relations. The myths are contextualized in relation to their historical and social setting. If the myth for example deals with working men, male work in the area during the relevant period is discussed. The same method of contextualization is used regarding marriage, geographical points of reference and so on. Also constellations of mythical ideas are contextualized, through comparison with similar constellations in other Mesopotamian myths. Besides the method of contextualization, the power relations in the myths are investigated. According to this latter method, the categories at issue, their ranking, as well as their changed ranking, are noted. The topics of the myths are issues important for the kingship and the country, such as irrigation, trade, health and healing, birth, collective work, artisanry and rivalry. All these aspects are used in order to express what the power relations between the goddess Ninḫursaĝa/Ninmaḫ and the god Enki look like. The relations are negotiated and recalibrated, which leads to the goddess getting a lowered status. Part of the negotiations and recalibrations is gender behavior, which is related to historical developments in society. The present work points to the function of these myths as tools of recalibrating not only deities, but also men and women in society.

The present study is an interpretation of the two myths copied in the Old Babylonian period in which the Sumerian mother goddess is one of the main actors. The first myth is commonly called “Enki and Ninḫursaĝa”, and the second “Enki and Ninmaḫ”. The theoretical point of departure is that myths have society as their referents, i.e. they are “talking about” society, and that this is done in an ideological way. This study aims at investigating on the one hand which contexts in the Mesopotamian society each section of the myths refers to, and on the other hand which ideological aspects that the myths express in terms of power relations. The myths are contextualized in relation to their historical and social setting. If the myth for example deals with working men, male work in the area during the relevant period is discussed. The same method of contextualization is used regarding marriage, geographical points of reference and so on. Also constellations of mythical ideas are contextualized, through comparison with similar constellations in other Mesopotamian myths. Besides the method of contextualization, the power relations in the myths are investigated. According to this latter method, the categories at issue, their ranking, as well as their changed ranking, are noted. The topics of the myths is issues important for the kingship and the country, such as irrigation, trade, health and healing, birth, collective work, artisanry and rivalry. All these aspects are used in order to express what the power relations between the goddess Ninḫursaĝa/Ninmaḫ and the god Enki look like. The relations are negotiated and recalibrated, which leads to the goddess getting a lowered status. Part of the negotiations and recalibrations is gender behavior, which is related to historical developments in society. The present work points to the function of these myths as tools of recalibrating not only deities, but also men and women in society.