Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 10407
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Zinck , Arlette.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: Vindication of the Feminine in the Showings of Julian of Norwich
  • Source: Sovereign Lady: Essays on Women in Middle English Literature.  Edited by Muriel Whitaker.  Garland Publishing, 1995.  Pages 171 - 187.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Essay
  • Subject (See Also): Domestic Life, Image of Femininity Jesus Christ as Mother Julian of Norwich, Mystic Mystics Religious Life Theology Visions
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: British Isles
  • Century: 14- 15
  • Primary Evidence:
  • Illustrations:
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  • Abstract:
  • Related Resources: "Arlette Zinck's essay forms a fitting conclusion to the volume, for she writes of a woman's growth in confidence, self-knowledge, and self-acceptance. "A Vindication of the Feminine in the Showingsof Julian of Norwich" analyses the two different versions of the mystic's writings. The two versions were written more than fifteen years apart. In the first text, the author shows herself to be anxious and insecure, apologetic in her role as a teacher and communicator of mystical revelations. She is acutely aware that this is no role for a woman. The later writing "exhibits a specific confidence in her femininity and in her roles as both woman and religious writer." (176) This growth in confidence can be seen in her use of domestic images and similes to describe her experiences of God. In describing God as a mother, she affirms the feminine and her own feminine self." From the review written by Elizabeth Walsh of "Sovereign Lady," "Medieval Review" (TMR ID: 96.12.11). [Reproduced by permission of the "Medieval Review."].
  • Author's Affiliation:
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 1995.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: Not Available