Two women at the well: The “good wife” in patriarchal society
Rebekah in Genesis, XXIV and the Samaritan girl in John’s Gospel, IV are the two characters of a diptych: both are portrayed while drawing water from a well. Yet Rebecca seems to be the pattern of the ‘good wife’ and the Samaritan girl – on the contrary – the pattern of the ‘bad wife’, according to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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UNICApress
2015-06-01
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| Series: | Anuac |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/anuac/article/view/1792 |
| Summary: | Rebekah in Genesis, XXIV and the Samaritan girl in John’s Gospel, IV are the two characters of a diptych: both are portrayed while drawing water from a well. Yet Rebecca seems to be the pattern of the ‘good wife’ and the Samaritan girl – on the contrary – the pattern of the ‘bad wife’, according to patriarchal morals. So the act of drawing water from a well becomes a symbol of woman’s subjection to man during patriarchism. In contemporary times, a short story of Grazia Deledda’s abolishes woman’s subjection, replacing it by husband’s and wife’s complementarity. |
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| ISSN: | 2239-625X |