Women Protagonists in the Hebrew Morality Composition Tzemach Tzadiq by Leon Modena
Women Protagonists in the Hebrew Morality Composition Tzemach Tzadiq by Leon Modena
Author(s): Vered ToharSubject(s): Gender Studies, Jewish studies, Customs / Folklore, Studies of Literature, Ethics / Practical Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Leon Modena; The Hebrew story; morality literature; Jewish literature; Jewish folklore; gender studies;
Summary/Abstract: This article proposes a reading of three stories from the Hebrew morality book Tzemach Tzadiq [The Righteous Shoot], composed by Leon Modena (1571-1648) and based upon the 13th century Italian treatise Fiore di Virtu [The Flowers of the Virtues]. These stories, which present plots with female protagonists, demonstrate women’s mystique in this early Modern Hebrew compilation and reveal the attitude of Modena and his readership towards women who deviated from the norm. Although Tzemach Tzadiq is a hegemonic patriarchal text, it reveals an intra-gender relationship where these female protagonists protest against their social inferiority by means of self-violence.
Journal: Scripta Judaica Cracoviensia
- Issue Year: 2017
- Issue No: 15
- Page Range: 47-61
- Page Count: 15
- Language: English
