Day of the Woman: Judges 4-5 as Slasher and Rape Revenge Narrative
In Judges 4 and 5, Jael viciously murders the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg to the head. This article approaches the text through horror, with particular reference to the slasher film and the rape-revenge film. Drawing on Carol Clover's landmark Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in...
| Published in: | Journal of religion and popular culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Saskatchewan
[2018]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and popular culture
Year: 2018, Volume: 30, Issue: 3, Pages: 193-205 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Judge 4-5
/ Jael, Biblical person
/ Sisera, Biblical person
/ Woman
/ Sexual abuse
/ Heroine (Motif)
/ Rape (Motif)
/ Vengeance (Motif)
/ Splatterfilm
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Final Girl
B Rape B Horror B Yael B Clover B Carol B Revenge B Jael B Judges 5 B slasher B Judges 4 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In Judges 4 and 5, Jael viciously murders the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg to the head. This article approaches the text through horror, with particular reference to the slasher film and the rape-revenge film. Drawing on Carol Clover's landmark Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Horror Film, I argue that Jael should be read as a "Final Girl" who triumphs over the villainous Sisera. The article further suggests that because of the strong suggestion of sexual violence and Sisera as rapist, Judges 4 and 5 also invokes the genre of the rape-revenge film. Jael thus becomes the avenging female survivor. These parallels to horror illuminate the complex intersections of gender, ethnicity, and audience identification. |
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| ISSN: | 1703-289X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.2017-0016 |