After Twenty Years: On the Place of “Women in Judaism” in Feminist Reading of Modern Hebrew Literature

Abstract

Feminist reading of literary texts was introduced at the end of the 1970s. Over the last twenty years, feminist methods of literary criticism have gradually entered the sphere of Modern Hebrew literature, radically changing the way in which Hebrew texts are viewed by both women and men. This article offers a comprehensive model that pertains to four thematic categories, derived from studies published in the Women in Judaism journal over the last twenty years. These are the categories:

1. Feminist reading of women writers’ works, examining representations of women, gender conflicts, relationships between sexes;
2. Presenting theoretical / poetic models based on readings of Modern Hebrew literature;
3. Suggestions of feminist reading of works written by men authors;
4. Deconstructive reading of misogynist myths.

As seen through the presented model, these categories may be supplemented with additional research categories, such as comparative studies of Hebrew and non-Hebrew women writers; examining poetic Anglo-Saxon impact upon currently written Hebrew Women Literature; and thematic studies of various fields (violence, education, art, politics) addressed by women who present an antithesis to male narratives.