Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
16
ChapterI
1.3Themalefemalerelationshipasasource
ofpotentialaggression
1.3.1Thefirstconflictbetweenamanandawoman
ThereasonfortheconictbetweenamanAdam,andawoman,hiswife
Lilith,wasapparentlytheissueofhisdomination.IntheTalmud,Lilith,whose
namemeans“wind”or“night”,wasAdam’srstwife.Shewascreated,like
him,outofearthandthereforesheconsideredherselfhisequal,whileAdam’s
behaviourindicatedhisfeelingofsuperiority.Anargumentensued,afterwhich
Lilithdisappeared.AdamcomplainedtoLord,whosentthreeangelstobring
herback.TheyfoundherontheshoreoftheRedSea,butsherefusedtoreturn,
preferringtolivealoneinthedesertthantosubmittoaman.Sincethenshe
continuedlivingintheformofademon,whileAdamreceivedasecondwife,
Eve,whowasmoresubmissive,becauseshehadbeencreatedfromadifferent
materialthanLilith.Thusisthisfamiliar“male”argumentationgroundedin
theBible.
Therejectedwomanlivedinexile,inanemptyplace,where“thewildbeasts
ofthedesert[...]meetthewildbeastsoftheisland”(Iz34,14).Inthecaseof
LilithorAgar,seclusionandreclusivelifewereassociatedwithrejection;the
samewastrueinthecaseofthescapegoat,theultimatesymbolofevil.Inmid-
rashicliterature,andespeciallytheCabbalah,Lilithisknownunderadifferent
guise:asababy-strangler,motherofdemons,andtheembodimentofevilforces
activeinthehumansphere,whocausedbodilysicknessandallmannerofsuffer-
ing,andwithherlovelyhairseducedmensleepingalone.ThisTalmudicimage
offemininityhasitsjustificationinthesecondchapteroftheBookofGenesis,
wherethesubordinationofawomantoamanisexpounded.Inthemodernpsy-
chologicalconceptionoffemininity,however,Lilithgainsanewdimension:she
maybeperceivedasthepatternofafree,self-assuredwomancapableofchoos-
ingherowndestinywithallitsconsequences.
1.3.2Thefemaleroleinapatriarchalsystem
AllthelegislationfoundinthePentateuchreflectstheperceptionofawoman
inthelightofsexualityandmarriage,typicaltoapatriarchalculture.Inthepa-
triarchalsystem,theworthofawomanwasrelativetoherchildbearingcapaci-
ties,whilebarrennesswashergreatesttroubleandcauseofsuffering.Symboli-
cally,barrennesswasasignofbeingrejectedbytheworld;acaseinpointis
Saul’sdaughterMichal,oneofKingDavid’swives,who“lovedhim”(ISm18,28)