Womanist Wisdom in the Song of Songs: Secrets of an African Princess

Springer Verlag (2019)
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Abstract

Belonging to Hebrew Wisdom literature, the Song of Songs offers a fresh look at love and relationships through its main female character, the Shulamite, which profoundly differs from traditional, religious approaches to love and sexuality. Drawing from exegetical as well as philosophical resources, Abi Doukhan follows the Shulamite's journey away from patriarchy to her own self-individuation as she discovers a wisdom that is deeply personal and feminine.

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9783030300517   9783030300524   3030300544   303030051X

DOI

10.1007/978-3-030-30052-4
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Chapters

Is God a Woman?

A reading of the Song which does not include a note on its traditional mystical interpretation would not be complete. And so, in this chapter, I suggest an alternative mystical reading of our Song. While traditional mystical readings have interpreted our Song as playing out the deeper drama of a rom... see more

The Crucible of Grace

This chapter is a reflection on grace in the Song of Songs. What is striking about the Song is that the lovers endure, and this in spite of their essential differences, their irrecuperable mistakes, the depth of their betrayals and their continuous recklessness. In the end, love is said to triumph e... see more

Secrets of Lovemaking

This chapter is attentive to the teachings on sexuality whispered between the lines uttered by the lovers to each other. There is a genuine art of sex to be discovered in the Song of Songs and it is this art that I shall attempt to unveil in this chapter. I show, moreover, that in the Song, pleasure... see more

Infidelity’s Dark Night

The notion of patience is, however, inseparable from the virtue of trust which every proficient lover must learn to cultivate. This chapter constitutes a commentary on the metaphor of the “lilies” which can be read as hinting to the other women that the man cannot help noticing and desiring. Yet, ac... see more

A Room of Her Own

The rediscovery of the voice of discretion then leads to a discussion on patience in this chapter. This section is a commentary on what constitutes the heart of the book, the failed rendez-vous between the man and the woman described in chapter five. One wonders why a failed encounter would be place... see more

The Art of Seduction

Having explored the implications of experiencing one’s femininity as a form of generosity of self, a gift of self that is whole-hearted and generous, I then explore, in this chapter, the structure of this gift. There is an art of giving of oneself that must be rediscovered. This is the art form that... see more

Virginity Re-imagined

This chapter develops a sense of self which is indissociable from its intrinsic generosity and responsibility toward the other. This section attempts a commentary on the metaphor of the “vineyard” which, in the Song of Songs, refers to the woman’s sexuality. I show how this metaphor is used in a sub... see more

Introduction: The Unconventional Feminine

Ever since the sexual revolution when it was determined that woman would no longer passively submit to the rigid and degrading roles inflicted upon her by patriarchy, woman has been searching for new ways to express herself and individuate as a woman. Womanhood has been in the making since then and ... see more

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Abi Doukhan
Queens College (CUNY)

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