What makes men and women identify with Judith? A Jungian mythological perspective on the feminist value of Judith today

Abstract

Inspired by her student’s overwhelmingly positive interpretation of Judith as a model for women’s liberation in diverse African contexts – despite the debate around the feminist value of Judith-Judith – the author deals with what could possibly allow men and women, particularly the latter, to interpret Judith positively today. Given her interest in Jungian individuation theory and Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) mythology, the author investigates the subject matter by exploring Judith’s relation to male and female individuation patterns, the myths of the hero’s quest and Demeter-Kore, and ANE warrior-goddess myths.

Keywords

• Judith
• feminist debate
• Jungian individuation theory
• myths of the hero’s quest
• Demeter-Kore
• ANE warrior-goddesses