The Proof of the Pudding: Proverbs and Gender in the Performance Arena

Abstract

Context of use often determines the final, embedded meaning of an aphorism. Use in a ‘performance arena' proceeds through a complex interaction between folklore users and audiences, and a shared set of meanings which is invoked by the saying. Issues of status, gender, and age of proverb users and audiences also influence performance and meaning. Building on the work of folklorist John Miles Foley and others, this study outlines features of the performance arena for the use of aphorisms, usingElihu in Job 32.6-10, and a slave woman's use of a proverbial sayingin the Westcar Papyrus. A visual model of proverb performance based on computer object editing is proposed.

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