Threatened bodies: Gender and trauma in the narratives of Judith and Susanna

Abstract

This article explores the intersection of gender and trauma in the narratives of Judith and Susanna. While these novels focus on threatening situations ranging from cultural assimilation to genocide, scholarship has yet to examine them through the lens of cultural trauma theory. Written during a period of unprecedented globalization and the mingling of various cultures in the pluralistic melting-pot of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean world, Judith and Susanna provide a window into the complex anxieties and concerns Jews faced during this period. This article reads these narratives through the lens of cultural trauma theory and examines how the authors depict women as resilient figures, who overcome threatening situations. Specifically, this article (1) considers the historical context of Judith and Susanna, (2) examines the portrayal of trauma in these female-centered narratives, and (3) explores the role of women as figures of resiliency. This article demonstrates that the authors of Judith and Susanna interweave traumatic experiences into female-centered narratives that depict women as resilient, through their perseverance and faith in the face of danger.