This interdisciplinary commentary ranges from early midrashic interpretation to contemporary rewritings introducing interpretations of the only biblical book not to mention God. Unearths a wealth of neglected rewritings inspired by the story’s relevance to themes of nationhood, rebellion, providence, revenge, female heroism, Jewish identity, exile, genocide and ‘multiculturalism’ Reveals the various struggles and strategies used by religious commentators to make sense of this only biblical book that does not mention God Asks why Esther is underestimated by contemporary feminist scholars despite a long history of subversive rewritings Compares the most influential Jewish and Christian interpretations and interpreters Includes an introduction to the book’s myriad representations in literature, music, and art Published in the reception-history series, Blackwell Bible Commentaries
The poems in Birthright embody multiple legacies: genetic, historical, religious, and literary. Through the lens of one person's experience of inheritance, the poems suggest ways in which all of us may be influenced by how we perceive and process our lives and times. Here, a poet claims what is hers as a child of her particular parents; as a grandchild of refugees from Nazi Germany; as a Jew, a woman, a Gen Xer, and a New Yorker; as a reader of the Bible and Shakespeare and Flaubert and Lucille Clifton. This poet's birthright is as unique as her DNA. But it resonates far beyond herself. Erika Dreifus's poems in Birthright are about the skull and the heart, the bone, and the muscle. They are poems about holiness and everydayness and, in part, about the convergence of these two movements as a way to embrace and discover mercy, love, and honesty. What they illustrate is the beauty that happens in that space, when both elements are embraced and when forces collide: "I've always remembered the Sabbath day; I just haven't kept it holy." Birthright is a book that explores connectedness and connective tissue. These are poems that embrace faith, family, and the forest of good intention in all of its contradictory forces. It's about the expensive nature of coloring one's hair and the expansive nature, which explodes in the beaming colors of the Diaspora. Every time I come back to Birthright I am born again out of the little pieces in me that have died. This is the magic of Erika Dreifus's poems. They are the flame in the darkness of Deuteronomy; they are the spellbound silence of history that helps to bind you with the people right next to you and to the "ancestral spirits that mingle above." -Matthew Lippman, author of Mesmerizingly Sadly Beautiful and A Little Gut Magic. Full of humor and history, the personal and the painful, Erika Dreifus's Birthright is a thoughtful reflection on life and loss, on inheritance and the individual, collective, and intergenerational nature of Jewish experience. The book's midrashic reflections challenge readers to reconsider ancient texts and their modern resonances. Some of its more political poems, while offering a perspective that is not always easy to hear, add a critical voice to the dissonant chorus that composes today's commentary on Israel-Palestine. At its most moving moments, Birthright relays intimate and familial experiences with an earnest and generous vulnerability. With its honest, accessible language and straightforward storytelling, Erika Dreifus's first full-length collection is a welcome addition to the modern American poetry canon-narrative, Jewish, feminist, or otherwise.-Sivan Butler-Rotholz, Managing Editor, "Saturday Poetry Series," As It Ought to Be Magazine. These clear, unvarnished poems take us deeply into a life engaged with history, family, tradition, politics, and contemporary culture. -Richard Chess, author of Love Nailed to the Doorpost, Third Temple, and other books.
This book is the first edition and detailed study of a recently discovered 14th-century Judeo-Provençal poem on the story of Esther. The book makes an important contribution in several fields of studies, especially Jewish Studies, Romance Philology, History of Provençal Jews.
Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman, is captured and becomes the wife of the Persian king, Xerxes, but when she discovers the king's plan to commit genocide against her people she knows she must act.
The Apollo Academy, a musical club founded in 1731 by Maurice Greene and his friend Michael Christian Festing, was the performance location of various oratorios, odes and masques produced by composers in Greene's circle of friends, colleagues and pupils. Many of the works performed both in and outside the academy meetings are based on subjects such as Jephtha, Deborah and the choice of Hercules which were well known in eighteenth-century England and also attracted the attention of Handel. This long-overdue study explores these works in terms of their intellectual contexts (political, religious, social and cultural), comparing them to Handel's compositions on the same or similar subjects. Additionally, detailed source information and musical analysis of the works is included as well as a discussion of the competition between Handel and his English contemporaries in order to provide a fuller picture of the diverse musical and cultural life in London during the first half of the eighteenth century.
DigiCat presents to you this unique collection of feminist masterpieces - from fictional protagonists who influenced generations of young women to the real heroines of the past, their life stories and their legacy. Fiction: Camilla (Fanny Burney) Maria; Or, The Wrongs of Woman (Mary Wollstonecraft) Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë) The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) Lady Macbeth of the Mzinsk District (Nikolai Leskov) Hester (Margaret Oliphant) Life in the Iron Mills (Rebecca Davis) Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) The Portrait of a Lady (Henry James) Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy) North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell) The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) Herland (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen) Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen) The Awakening (Kate Chopin) The Woman Who Did (Grant Allen) Miss Cayley's Adventures (Grant Allen) New Amazonia (Elizabeth Corbett) A Girl of the Limberlost (Gene Stratton-Porter) The Iron Woman (Margaret Deland) My Ántonia (Willa Cather) The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton) Summer (Edith Wharton) Sister Carrie (Theodore Dreiser) Sisters (Ada Cambridge) Hagar (Mary Johnston) Samantha on the Woman Question (Marietta Holley) The Precipice (Elia Wilkinson Peattie) To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf) Miss Lulu Bett (Zona Gale) Lady Chatterley's Lover (D. H. Lawrence) The Enchanted April (Elizabeth von Arnim) Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell) Emily of New Moon (Lucy Maud Montgomery) Memoirs: Madame Vigée Lebrun Jane Austen Caroline Herschel Mrs. Seacole Elizabeth Cady Stanton Emmeline Pankhurst Biographies: Lucretia Sappho Aspasia of Cyrus Portia Octavia Cleopatra Julia Domna Zenobia Valeria Hypatia Roswitha the Nun Marie de France Mechthild of Magdeburg Joan of Arc Catharine of Arragon Anne Boleyn Queen Elizabeth Mary, Queen of Scots Queen Anne Maria Theresa Marie Antoinette Madame de Stael Augustina Saragoza Charlotte Brontë Florence Nightingale Harriet Tubman
The Greatest Feminist Classics in One Volume curates an unparalleled collection of literary works that together trace the evolution and impact of feminist thought across generations and geographies. Including an array of literary styles from the pioneering novel to insightful essays, and groundbreaking plays this anthology situates itself within a critical period of social and literary history where the voices of women, and some supportive men, began to loudly question and dismantle the patriarchal structures limiting their lives. The breadth of diversity and the literary richness of works, inclusive of seminal pieces by figures like Virginia Woolf and Harriet Martineau, illustrate the multifaceted nature of feminist discourse, showcasing variations in approach, perspective, and outcome that have enriched the dialogue on gender equality and womens rights. The contributors to this volume, ranging from Henrik Ibsen to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, are as varied in their backgrounds as in their writing styles, representing a wide spectrum of the 19th and early 20th centuries' intellectual and cultural landscape. These authors, collectively, offer insights into feminist thought's evolution, aligning with several critical movements from Romanticism to Modernism. Their works collectively highlight how different cultures, historical periods, and personal experiences have shaped understandings and expressions of gender and identity, providing readers with a comprehensive overview of feminisms literary and social significance. For readers seeking to immerse themselves in the foundational texts of feminist literature, The Greatest Feminist Classics in One Volume presents a unique and enriching opportunity. It invites a broad audience to explore the transformative power of words in shaping societal norms and values regarding gender. This collection not only serves as an educational resource but also as a starting point for discussions about the diversity of feminist perspectives and the ongoing struggle for equality. Engaging with these texts offers an unparalleled insight into the legacy of feminist thought, making this anthology an essential addition to any literary collection.
