Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Marriage and Metaphor: Constructions of Gender in Rabbinic Literature

Marriage and Metaphor: Constructions of Gender in Rabbinic Literature

Labovitz, Gail

Paperback

Literary CriticismJudaismGeneral Gender Studies

ISBN10: 0739179349
ISBN13: 9780739179345
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: Oct 24 2012
Pages: 300
Weight: 0.99
Height: 0.87 Width: 5.99 Depth: 9.00
Language: English

In Marriage and Metaphor, Gail Labovitz explores gender relations in marriage within rabbinic culture. Labovitz shows how rabbis use the concepts of property and ownership to discuss the roles of a husband and wife, thereby modeling marriage after a business transaction-one in which the wife is seen as an acquisition owned by and subject to the husband. This ownership metaphor is clearly present in all strata of rabbinic literature and the book explores how it continues to guide rabbinic thinking, serve as a tool for legal reasoning, and produce new linguistic applications. With a close and careful reading of rabbinic texts, Labovitz applies metaphor theory and feminist linguistics to demonstrate the ways in which rabbis regularly use information from the realm of property and commercial transactions to structure their understanding of marriage and gender relations.

Labovitz examines the qualities deemed masculine and feminine, seeking out the methods used by members of rabbinic culture to promote, contest, legislate, and exemplify the ideas and ideals associated with proper, normative gender roles. What comes of this is a striking work of feminist scholarship that should be read by those interested in gender studies and Jewish culture and history.

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