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Thank you. PA often seems to be the most sensible one of the lot. Modern feminist exegesis: What could a daughter do but obey her father? pat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------- In a message dated 1/12/01 3:46:28 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: > John Marenbon. _The Philosophy of Peter Abelard_. > Cambridge UP, 1999. > > p. 80 [re Ab's little book of hymns and sequences > done at Hel's request] "Sometimes Ab uses and reshapes > an extra-biblical tradition - for instance, in his > presentation of Jephtha's [sic] daughter's sacrifice." > p. 275 "The story of Jephtha, who must sacrifice his > daughter if he is to keep an oath made to God, is a > case in point; but here Ab just blames Jephtha for > making the original promise." > p. 319-20 "At least in the _Planctus_ for Samson and > J's d [please forgive the abbreviation], the events > they commemorate are at once lamentable disasters and, > in some sense, victories...for J's d...when by > accepting execution she at once enables her father to > fulfil his hasty vow...and shows an exemplary calm and > constancy in the face of death. Ab talks of J's d > elsewhere, in the _Hymnarius Paraclitensis_ and in his > Letter 7. In both places J'd d is presented as an > heroic woman....She...accepted death...encouraging > rather than fearing it....[Ab asks one to consider how > she would have borne up had she been a Christian asked > to deny Christ or die. This argument is also applied > to the pagan Diogenes.] Ab presents the girl's death > in terms of a marriage ceremony - an idea he took from > a first-century work called the _Liber antiquitatum > biblicarum_." > Marenbon then discusses the ambiguous tone of Ab's > poem. > "It is hard to be sure of the tone of the remark, but > the girl's words and manner until now would suggest > one of haughty sarcasm. If so, the comment would bring > to its climax a contrast which Ab has developed > throughout the poem, between the calm resolution of > the victim...and...the horror of her situation, > underlined by the mock wedding ceremony, and the folly > which lies behind this unnecessary execution of an > innocent, openly berated in the final verse." > > Hope this helps. > MG > >