Reimagining Delilah’s Afterlives as Femme Fatale

The Lost Seduction

Reimagining Delilah’s Afterlives as Femme Fatale

The Lost Seduction

Caroline Blyth (Author)

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Description

The story of Samson and Delilah in Judges 16 has been studied and retold over the centuries by biblical interpreters, artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers. Within these scholarly and cultural retellings, Delilah is frequently fashioned as the quintessential femme fatale - the shamelessly seductive 'fatal woman' whose sexual treachery ultimately leads to Samson's downfall. Yet these ubiquitous portrayals of Delilah as femme fatale tend to eclipse the many other viable readings of her character that lie, underexplored, within the ambiguity-laden narrative of Judges 16 - interpretations that offer alternative and more sympathetic portrayals of her biblical persona.

In Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale, Caroline Blyth guides readers through an in-depth exploration of Delilah's afterlives as femme fatale in both biblical interpretation and popular culture, tracing the social and historical factors that may have inspired them. She then considers alternative afterlives for Delilah's character, using as inspiration both the Judges 16 narrative and a number of cultural texts which deconstruct traditional understandings of the femme fatale, thereby inviting readers to view this iconic biblical character in new and fascinating lights.

List of Images
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Femme Fatale: Cultural Icon
Chapter 2: Mind the Gap Part 1: Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale in Biblical Interpretation
Chapter 3: Mind the Gap Part 2: Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale in Popular Culture
Chapter 4: Alternative Afterlives: Deconstructing Delilah as Femme Fatale
Conclusions
Bibliography
Author Index
Index of Biblical Texts

Product details

Published	05 Oct 2017
Format	Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition	1st
Extent	192
ISBN	9780567680013
Imprint	T&T Clark
Illustrations	16 bw illus
Series	Playing the Texts
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Caroline Blyth

Caroline Blyth is lecturer in theology at the Univ…

Blyth offers an erudite and informative inspection of the ways in which the character of Delilah has been received and transformed by later interpreters. I would recommend her book to anyone who is interested in contributing productively to issues of gender equity and biblical interpretation.

Biblical Theology Bulletin
[T]he most refreshing element of Blyth's work is her careful attention to distinctions between the putative threats embodied by Delilah as femme fatale in each specific context of a cultural retelling, which makes Blyth's reception history of Delilah's afterlives far more nuanced than any rote catalog of interpretations.

Religious Studies Review
This book is a fascinating study of a contemporary cultural icon and its helpful role in leading us to understand Judg 16.

Bulletin of Biblical Research
The book offers an important contribution to the wider discussion about gender stereotypes in engaging the image of Delilah as femme fatale, thus creating room for a different view and appreciation of this image rather than discarding it.

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