On Femininities in the Song of Songs and Beyond: “The Most Beautiful Woman”

— —

Vita Daphna Arbel (University of British Columbia, Canada) Jacqueline Vayntrub (Yale University USA)

On Femininities in the Song of Songs and Beyond

“The Most Beautiful Woman”

Vita Daphna Arbel (University of British Columbia, Canada), Jacqueline Vayntrub (Yale University USA), Laura Quick (Princeton University USA)

$59.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

T.& T.Clark Ltd
27 July 2023

Old Testaments

Series: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies

Vita Daphna Arbel uses critical theories of gender to offer an alternative reading of the multilayered conceptualization of the Song of Song's feminine protagonist: “the most beautiful woman”. Arbel treats “the most beautiful woman” as a culturally constructed and performed representation of “woman,” and situates this representation within the cultural-discursive contexts in which the Song partly emerged. She examines the gender norms and cultural ideologies it both reflects and constructs, and considers the manner in which this complex representation disrupts rigid, ahistorical notions of femininity, and how it consequently indirectly characterizes “womanhood” as dynamic and diverse.

Finally, Arbel examines the reception and impact of these ideas on later conceptualizations of the Song of Songs' female protagonist with a heuristic examination of Mark Chagall’s Song of Songs painting cycle, Le Cantique des Cantiques. These compositions—selected for their diverse depictions of the Song’s protagonist, their impact on European art, and their vast popularity and bearing in the broader cultural imagination—illustrate a fascinating dialogue between the present and the past about the “most beautiful woman” and about multiple femininities.

By: Vita Daphna Arbel (University of British Columbia Canada)
Edited by: Jacqueline Vayntrub (Yale University USA), Laura Quick (Princeton University USA)
Imprint: T.& T.Clark Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780567700094
ISBN 10: 0567700097
Series: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 27 July 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction 2. On Patriarchy, Female Eroticism, and Idealized Femininity 3. On Many Shades of Femininity 4. On Conformity and Resistance through Dressing and Undressing 5. ‘The Most Beautiful Woman” and Later Generations Bibliography Index

Vita Daphna Arbel is Professor Emerita of Biblical/Early Jewish Literature at the The University of British Columbia, Canada.

Reviews for On Femininities in the Song of Songs and Beyond: “The Most Beautiful Woman”

This monograph studies the most beautiful woman (Song 1:8, 5:9, 6:2), the female protagonist of the Song, using gender criticism and other critical methods ... This is a fine addition to a growing library of scholarly works on the Song of Songs. --The Bible Today