Return to search

The physicality of the pregnant female body : applying Benjamin Harshav's theory of integrational semantics to Psalm 139, Job and Isaiah 42:14

In this thesis, I explore the physicality of the pregnant body in the womb imagery in Psalm 139 and Job 3 and in the simile “like a woman in labor,” specifically, the simile of YHWH as a woman in labor in Isa 42:14. I show that the metaphorical pregnant body is not an idea of a body; rather, it is a detailed physical body with images of gestation in the womb, physical descriptions of a body writhing in labor (e.g. face, breath, hands, heart, legs), and descriptions of a baby delivered from the womb. Using Benjamin Harshav’s theory of Integrational Semantics, I mine the text for details of and allusions to the physicality of the pregnant body. I look at the text through the lens of the pregnant female body and ask how the physicality of this body contributes to meaning. I show that the full impact of the text is lost when the physical properties of the pregnant body are not integrated within an interpretation.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:753120
Date January 2018
CreatorsLangton, Karen
PublisherUniversity of Birmingham
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8390/

Page generated in 0.0014 seconds