Most readers classify the widow in the âParable of the Widow and the Judge (Luke 18.2-5)â as a righteous victim of a corrupt legal system; they similarly regard the judge as unrighteous and immoral. The message of the parable then becomes, as Lukeâs contextualization (18.1, 6-8) insists, one of encouraging constant prayer. Such readings ignore the morally ambivalent characterizations of both the widow and judge as well as suppress the parableâs challenges to stereotypes of widows and powerful men. The widowâs demand may be for vengeance rather than justice; the line between the two desires is often indeterminable. Likewise, the judge may be wise in his resistance to the widowâs demand rather than her subjugator; his decision in her favor may exacerbate a wish for revenge rather than heal an unjust situation.
Combining historical-critical research with both a womanist hermeneutic and cultural criticism, I interrogate the parable for its unsettled content concerning gender roles, morality, and public protest. Analyzing how the parable challenges conventional images of widows and judges in Jesusâ context (as best as that setting can be reconstructed), I, then, place those challenges into conversation with stereotypes of African American women (Mammy, Jezebel, Sapphire) and African American men (âCool Black Male,â the Master-Pastor, Foolish Judge). This exercise allows me to recover the parable both as an ancient text of provocation and as a resource for readers today concerned with stereotype, sexism, racism, and the way our legal system functions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-08092017-001024 |
| Date | 10 August 2017 |
| Creators | Dickerson, Febbie Claudina |
| Contributors | stacey.floyd-thomas@vanderbilt.edu, Herbert R. Marbury, Barbara E. Reid, Amy-Jill Levine |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-08092017-001024/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds